Tesla's Jeff Keith took time out of his busy schedule to give us his thoughts about the band's new album Into The Now and takes us on a track by track journey...

BW&BK; - The songs, track by track starting with 'Into The Now'...

"The first song that we really put together. I just had the title 'Into The Now' Frank and I just bounced lyrics back and forth at each other and when we first started to write for the album I was just fearing the unknown of 'Oh my God, we're not going to be able to compete with the kids today and we're gonna be labeled as the '80s hair band.' That's when Frank just kind of pulled me out of the dump and said 'Come on man let's just bounce some stuff off each other. Let's talk about what we've been through and how everything just fell through our fingers, and we've got a chance to do this all over again. So what if we're not going to be able to compete with the new kids on the block these days. We can be content with what we always have loved and that's playing the music that we love to play and playing for the people and that's good enough for us.' So, that's what we wrote about, how we're here, we're now and we might be labeled as the '80s hair band,' people might go 'Ah I don't wanna hear that music because it's 'old school' but hey, we're here, we're now, it's 2004, we've got an album, like it or not and we're happy with it and that song was really some great therapy for me 'cuz it talks about how nobody can see the future, break the crystal ball. You're in the unknown. I feared the unknown big time and that's when the guys said 'listen Jeff, we just gotta do what we know best and not worry about that stuff, and ever since then that's when everything was flowing so 'Into The Now' is about we're here, we're now, call us whatever you want, but we're happy with it and this is what we're all about today.

BW&BK;: What were your fears?

"To have your song on the radio; you know, I can't compete with the intensity of how songs are today. They're just hard and very, sometimes bitter and angry. I've always been the kind of guy to turn the story into a happy ending. You know if this makes you feel bitter and angry... what is the happy message so we can maybe resolve what is making these angry feelings. And I just felt that I couldn't compete with today's music and maybe I can't write a song, and could we compete with the bands today..."

BW&BK; - Track number two, 'Look At Me'...

"Look at Me is talking about what I was up to after the band broke up. I was DJ-ing at a strip club and all these stupid things because I knew I didn't want to play music if I couldn't be with my buddies. So, it's talking about now. Maybe there are things that we got wrong in the past that actually played a part in the band's falling apart, but now it's like 'give me another chance; look at me now because things are different'. We're trying to get it right, we can't get everything right all the time, but we're really striving to get it right and so it's like 'give it another chance, you know, if we disappointed you in the past we're here to make up for that'.

BW&BK; - 'What A Shame', track number three...

"That's sort of a personal experience for me. I was married for thirteen years and then divorced. Actually, the guys approached me with the song. Brian had done the music and everyone in the band was crazy about it; so I thought I could at least put something together that I'm happy with and I'll just talk about the experience of how this person still hasn't changed and I'm making some changes that I think are for the better, but this person because of things that they were doing; they're still the same way. In other words, they were a part of something that fell apart and instead of learning so the next one doesn't fall apart they just continue to do the same thing. So, that was about an ex-wife."

BW&BK; - Track four, 'Heaven Nine Eleven'. Obviously, we're talking about September 11 and the tragedy.

"I know that when that all went down Frank had immediately called us and said, "I put together this idea for this song. When I saw those buildings crashing down it was just like the world was crumbling and seeing all this stuff that's going on... well, heaven's looking more and more inviting and that was really personal for Frank."

BW&BK; - Was he referring to suicide?

"No no, more on a 'hey, the sooner we get to heaven the better because this is just getting out of hand'. Now I'm trying to talk for Frank, but I know it was just something that was mind-blowing. It's still mind-blowing when you think about it. Frank did a really great job. We played it on the Rock Never Stops tour and we totally changed it around and that's a song that has a loop... just to try a new flavor. I love the song and the feel the way it is."

BW&BK; - 'Words Can't Explain'...

"That's something I put together a little bit before the Bar 7 days actually. I'm re-married now. Life is just beautiful with a partner that loves me and I love her and she's my everything so that was talking about how she made me feel. She just came and lifted me up when love had walked away. It also started playing into the effect of the band when Tesla got back together. It's love that walked out the door and now it's come and lifted me up. I wish I could explain it in words and that's what the song's about. A lot of this record is just off of experiences that we went through and how we're back together and we're doing things differently and it actually gave me a lot of stuff to inspire me to write about."

BW&BK; - 'Caught In A Dream' - the first single...

"Yeah. It's a pipe dream that I've always had. There's nothing more I would love to see than everybody just getting along, sharing love, respecting one another, being kind to animals, people and all living things alike... and you know, the race thing, it's something that I do honestly daydream all the time about that someday I'm just going to believe that we'll all live as one, we're all gonna get along."

BW&BK; - 'Miles Away'...

"I love that one. Sometimes the fans the think "ah, you just got it. I'd love to do what you do. Nothing ever goes wrong in your life." But they don't have a clue. They just judge you by what they see up on stage. That's how life is, but they don't realize that everybody is human. We have our ups and downs. We hurt and when our hearts bleeds; it bleeds onto the floor just like everybody else. People judge us by "oh, he's a guy in a band", but they're missing the mark by a long shot. Tesla is very blue-collar kind of guys, but people think that you're just the 'rock star thing'. People think, "you've got the life", but we lost a few great friends last year. We lost somebody in the Rhode Island fire. So, as the song was being written it would progress into talking about how we have friends that die too. Even though people think we've "got it going on and life is just peaches & cream". They just have no idea. The thing the song sums up is that Tesla never played the 'rock star attitude'."

BW&BK; - 'Mighty Mouse'...

"It's a very far fetched fantasy theme. When I was a kid and Mighty Mouse would come on and say 'here I come to save the day'... dude as a little five year old kid I would get chills up and down my arm. He'd come 'boom boom boom' all the cats 'cuz they were the bad guys. So, that song is about how this world is so whacked out and crazy. We're missing a superhero. Sometimes it seems so hopeless 'cuz things are just getting worst and worst. It's a song about a childhood fantasy that I wish it was just as easy as Mighty Mouse. It's a novelty song. I was expecting the guys to think it was far out, but they loved it! Maybe someday all the bad guys will get their asses kicked by Mighty Mouse."

BW&BK; - Track nine 'Got No Glory'...

"That's just how Tesla is. We never try to glorify something. We're going to give it to you straight up. Tesla has always been a true no gimmick band, so that's what it's about. If people were expecting more of a 'bing ba da boom' we ain't got no glory. We're just keepin' it real."

BW&BK; - 'Come To Me'...

"Tesla has always had that 'be your friend' kind of vibe. It's a song for someone that just needs a hand. It's a brotherly little song about helping each other. It's saying 'we may not have all the answers for you, but as a friend we'll try and help you figure it out.' We all need each other... that camaraderie."

BW&BK; - 'Recognize'...

"It's based on how you see this hellion of a kid who's way off the deep end and you go 'what is up with this person', but you look at the parents and go 'what great people. What happened here?' But it comes down to what the kid 'recognizes'. You can give him the best knowledge possible, but if they don't take it in and 'recognize it'... So, it's up to us to 'recognize' what we have before us. It's about some bat out-of-hell hellion kid who's got the sweetest parents and trying to make that connection that if that kid doesn't absorb what these people are giving to him than it's not going to work. It's up to us to read between the lines and not take things for granted. Unless you take the time to 'recognize' the knowledge given to us... it's all useless. It's about personal responsibility."

BW&BK; - 'Only You'...

"Only You is a very very desperate song about knowing that you have to let go of something and having a hard time with it. It's a song of desperation. When I put to sleep the dog (who was the subject of the song What You Give), I got another dog and now I had to put her down. She's here for every lyric I write. This song is just so beautiful and I want to write something to her that says 'I know that you have to leave me and I just wish there was some way I could make it not happen.' It's not a song about a dog, but it's a song about a lost love and knowing that you'll have to lose it and have to accept it. There's no choice and you'll have to deal with it. It's a song about letting go of something you don't want to let go of. I LOVE that slow song."

BW&BK; - Any leftover tracks?

"We had thirteen songs that we recorded, but decided that the song ain't quite fitting and so twelve will be good. Maybe it'll be a bonus track 'cuz I heard it just the other day and it didn't come out too bad. The song is called Bitch IOU (laughs)."

BW&BK; - How does 'Into The Now' stack up to the past albums?

"It's probably the most exciting 'cuz we had to do it all ourselves. The outcome was going to be what we put into in. We wanted it to be a band effort. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth, but we're very happy with it."

BW&BK; - Touring plans... There are a lot of rumours....

"The thought of going out with a Van Halen is a nice little thought, but it's not what's going to work best for us. We'd rather do a theatre tour and do our own thing because if we play bigger places we'll be opening and we'll be crammed for time. We're trying to put together a two-hour show and we like doing it ourselves even if it may be on a lower level. We're not sitting here saying we won't do the Van Halen thing because supposedly we're being looked at by them... We may very well have the time to go do our own thing and do that. But to sit here out of the gate and go into an opening slot would be like 'ahhhh'. It would be hard, but if we decide that'll be the best choice than that's what we'll do."

BW&BK; - Quickly... Bar 7 is that still a side project or is that pretty much done now that Tesla's back together?

"Bar 7 was a fun project, but the only reason for me to be in Bar 7 was that I was playing with my buddy Tommy. I never would have started up the band up if it weren't for somebody from Tesla. I was working in the strip club wanting to write music again, but I just didn't want to do it without my buddies so, when Tommy came along and said 'let's put something together,' but the second that Tesla agreed to get back together it was like, the only reason there was Bar 7 - as much as I loved it - was because there was no Tesla."

BW&BK; - Any last thoughts? Is this a farewell tour?

"Absolutely NOT! It's on and there's no end in sight!"

For more info visit - www.teslatheband.com