Tesla guitarist Frank Hannon recently appeared on Rob Rush Radio. During the chat, which can be heard below, Hannon revealed that Tesla will release a new single, "Cold Blue Steel", on August 27th. An excerpt of the interview has been transcribed as follows: 

"Jeff Keith and I got together and we wrote the brand new Tesla song that's coming out this year. We're releasing a very real-sounding rock and roll new song called 'Cold Blue Steel'. It's influenced by (late Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist) Ronnie Van Zant. It just turned out that when I was in the garage playing my guitar, writing the riff for the music, JK had pulled up and he was listening to 'Saturday Night Special' by Lynyrd Skynyrd. And so we decided to kind of touch on that subject. And we wrote that song. And we're really happy with the way it sounds. It's really raw and edgy. And we kept all the recordings of the demo is what we made for the single. We didn't overproduce it. And that's where we got the idea, 'Let's get real. Just keep it real.' The lyrics even say 'Let's get real' in there. And that's what our whole motto is."

Asked if "Cold Blue Steel" will appear on the next Tesla album, Hannon replied: "We're gonna put all our new songs together on an album and approach it that way after the songs are done. So rather than putting the pressure up, 'Okay, we've gotta write an album,' and commit to 10 or 12 songs before they even got written, we're gonna do it the other way — we're gonna do it the other way. We're gonna write the songs and release 'em as singles, and then at the end of it, we'll put 'em all together on a collection. And that, creatively, just makes much more of a free-flowing creative thing. You're not fabricating anything for the sake of making an album."

 

After an 18-month hiatus that the world has taken from live concerts due to the Covid-19 lockdown, America’s multi-platinum rock band, Tesla, is announcing their return to performing live concerts with the “Let's Get Real!” tour - kicking off August 5th in Grants Pass, Oregon. The tour will include shows with legendary artists Styx, Kid Rock, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and will continue until November 2021 - hitting the continental US and Mexico.

Frank Hannon: “We are so excited and anxious to get back to performing ‘real’ live concerts again. There’s nothing like the energy of being in the same spontaneous moment with an audience of people. Tesla has always taken pride in being a high energy live band relying on performances without any backing tracks or pre-recorded help. We are planning some surprises for our fans on this upcoming tour by playing some deeper Tesla cuts as well as a fresh brand new song we just wrote. Of course we will play the hits as well, but introducing a fresh new track on this return is something we are very excited about!”

Tickets and special VIP Soundcheck packages are on sale now at TeslaTheBand.com.

Tour dates (more to be added):

August
5 - Grants Pass, OR - Josephine County Fairgrounds
6 - Grand Ronde, OR - Spirit Mountain Casino
9 - Sturgis, SD - Full Throttle Saloon
11 - Harris, MI - Island Resort & Casino
12 - Harris, MI - Island Resort & Casino
14 - Dubuque, IA - Q Casino & Hotel: Back Waters Stage
15 - Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort - Mt Pleasant, MI (with Kid Rock)
18 - Des Moines, IA - Iowa State Fair (with Styx)
20 - Island Lake, IL - Bands in the Sand at 3D Sideouts
21 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
24 - Anderson, IN - Paramount Theatre
25 - Wabash, IN - Honeywell Center
27 - Holmdel, NJ - PNC Bank Arts Center (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)

September
16 - Roanoke, VA - Dr Pepper Park
17 - Ocean City, MD - O.C. Bike Fest
19 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza
21 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
23 - Mansfield,MA - Xfinity Center (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
27 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)

October
1 - Irvine, CA - Fivepoint Amphitheatre (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
16 - Pigeon Forge, TN - Monsters on the Mountain Festival
25 - 30 -Quintana Roo MX - The Sands 2021 at Dreams Playa Mujeres Golf & Spa Resort

November
5  - Knoxville, TN - Thompson Boling Arena (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
6  - Charleston, WV - Charleston Coliseum (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
9  - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore   
13 - Greensboro, NC - Greensboro Coliseum (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
14 - Atlanta, GA - Coca Cola Roxy    
19 - Bossier City, LA - Century Link Center (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)
20 - Tupelo, MS - BancorpSouth Arena (with Lynyrd Skynyrd)