Adventures of Tesla Live On
SacTV.com "video of the day" review by
Alex Cosper on Jan. 2, 2012
This concert video promo of Tesla at Thunder Valley Casino Resort was chosen as "video of the day"
because its brevity, production and content make it an ideal prototype for promoting local events
in the new online video age. Tesla remains Sacramento's all-time most successful band, selling over
16 million units (according to Mayor Johnson on Tesla Day 2011). They've played so many big shows in town we've all lost count. This particular
well-produced short video gives you a concise snapshop of their talent and personality with performance and
interview clips featuring singer Jeff Keith and guitarist Frank Hannon explaining a few things about
the band, interviewed by Sam Smith of Thunder Valley.
What this video presents is a checklist for artists who want to make great promos for their concerts.
All you need is a short video that gives musical highlights of the band in action mixed with short
interviews that reveal some of the band's character. Give all the relevant details to the show but
also design the video to be a timeless time capsule that documents the event as part of the artist's
history. This method is a powerful way to use YouTube or other online video sites for
promoting local events.
In the past couple years Tesla has sold out Thunder Valley Resort Casino, who are the presenters of this video
that promoted Tesla's July 9, 2011 show. After the setback of the band's studio burning down in
late 2010, they released a live album in 2011 called Twisted Wires and
the Acoustic Sessions. Tesla's history now spans over 25 years. Formed by Brian Wheat in 1981, they were signed
to Geffen later in the decade and became Tesla, naming themselves after one of the modern world's all-time
greatest inventors. They went on to score several big national rock hits and multi-platinum
albums through 1996 before taking a break.
They returned in the 2000s on Sanctuary Records and later went indie, launching their own label called
Tesla Electric Company Recordings in 2008. On Dec. 7, 2011 Mayor Kevin Johnson honored
the band with the Key to the City and recognized the date as "Tesla Day"
at the Sacramento Rock & Roll Museum (20th & I St, the old Oasis Ballroom). At the ceremony Tesla founder
Brian Wheat gave a brief history of the band. Jeff Keith credited 98 Rock's Pat Martin for encouraging the band to reunite.
The footage of the Tesla Day ceremony can be found on Tesla's website at TeslaTheBand.com.
Tesla performs at Ace of Spades (1417 R St) on Friday (1/27) and Saturday (1/28) in 2012.
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