Tesla - Time's Makin' Changes Page 4
by Martin Popoff

How serious are the other guys about putting together a studio album?

"Oh, I think it's pretty heavy on their minds. Like I say, Brian has Soulmotor going and he has Troy playing with him now and me and Tommy have this Bar 7 thing. You know, I'm interested in making another Bar 7 album, but at the same time I'm very eager to write with Tesla. We're not really talking about it, but after a few more of these gigs, maybe we'll get serious. I think we could make a great record today."

What you think was the unique contribution of Tesla? Why did you escape with your critical reputation intact?

"I think because it was true and honest. We didn't always take that easy route. We were the kind of band who said, 'by God, we're taking the hard route for the sake of it.' We always got lumped in with the hair bands, and hey, we did use a little Aquanet in the first year or two. But we said man, that's not what's important. What's important is that we're relating with the people and we're on the same level with them and we're enjoying the music and they're enjoying the music that we're writing for them. And when we get together for a concert we're enjoying ourselves, having a good time, and that's what it was all about. It wasn't an image thing. I think if Tommy would have stayed in the band, we would have pulled out of this grunge movement thing. We would have survived. I know we always got clumped in with the hair bands, the '80s thing, and personally I've got no problem with that, because we were part of that era. But at the same time that's not totally what we were about. I think that helped with our longevity. We'll pick up on that. We've got a lot of loyal fans out there still. People tell us today, we're still selling lots of records out of our catalog. I think if we came back and put something out today and stayed true to the Tesla feel and showed our influences from today, I think we could make a great album."