Veteran rockers TESLA release dtheir new live album, “Full Throttle Live”, on May 26. The LP includes the band’s latest single, “Time To Rock!”, plus other songs, all recorded last August at Full Throttle Saloon in Sturgis, South Dakota.
Independently recorded, mixed and produced by guitarist Frank Hannon and bassist Brian Wheat, this new live album truly captures TESLA in pure honest form, and even dives deeper into their roots by recording a live version of the 1974 AEROSMITH classic “S.O.S. (Too Bad)” as a bonus track. The heavier song choices range from “Miles Away” to more recent hard releases like the aforementioned “Time To Rock!” and “Cold Blue Steel”. But don’t worry, there are old TESLA classics captured too, like “Changes” and “Lazy Days, Crazy Nights”, all recorded as TESLA is best — 100% full-throttle live.
“Miles Away” is the lead-off single release from “Full Throttle Live”. The guys chose to put this song out first because it represents TESLA and the new live album’s harder heavier sound. “Miles Away” is a fan favorite in concert with its heavy 6/8 rolling groove and blistering guitar solo. This is also an ironic song choice because the song lyrics are written about being a “rock star” on the road away from reality and missing home.
Track listing:
01. Miles Away
02. Changes
03. Time to Rock
04. Breakin’ Free
05. Call It What You Want
06. Lazy Days Crazy Nights
07. Cold Blue Steel
08. Edison’s Medicine
09. S.O.S. (Too Bad)
In a recent interview with Metal Edge, Hannon stated about “Full Throttle Live”: “It’s 100% live, and it was recorded at the Sturgis Bike Rally, which is one of the great events that we love. It’s got motorcycles, rock music and a ton of energy. We love it, and the night that we played there, man, we were on fire. And I think we really captured it with this record… like lightning in a bottle. We’ve got a bonus track that we’ll include, an old AEROSMITH song called ‘S.O.S. (Too Bad)’, and I don’t think too many people know it. We basically went back to California, hunkered down in my garage, set up some microphones, and recorded it live right then and there. I think that song is one of their best songs, and it was killer to get to record it.”
Regarding what inspired him and his bandmates to cover “S.O.S. (Too Bad)”, Hannon said: “I’ve always loved it; it frickin’ rocks. I feel that it’s an example of AEROSMITH in their prime doing those sleazy guitar riffs. The ‘Live! Bootleg’ album was a game changer for me as a kid. When that came out, I studied that album by listening to it repeatedly through my headphones, and one of the things that I loved most was the raw energy. I’ve always loved live recordings, which really influenced TESLA in the ’80s. When we made our first albums in the studio, like ‘Mechanical Resonance’ and ‘The Great Radio Controversy’, we recorded those as a band, together in a room. It was all live. There’s a spontaneous energy there that can only be captured when the group is playing together, and I think you really lose that when you’re playing separately. There’s no way around that. Sure, we’ve done records that way recently out of convenience, but nothing feels better when we’re in a room together, hammering it out. So, to do this AEROSMITH song in my garage live, with no restraints, was like taking the emergency brake off and just stepping on the gas.”
In September 2021, TESLA drummer Troy Luccketta announced that he would “take a little time from the road” to spend with family and friends. He has since been replaced at TESLA‘s gigs by Steve Brown, the younger brother of former DOKKEN drummer Mick Brown.
Due to overwhelming demand, TESLA recently added five shows to its residency at House Of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort And Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new dates will begin on Friday, September 29.