The band, which split up in 1995, reunited for a show October 25 at Sacramento’s Arco Arena with Oleander and 3 Doors Down in support. The show was so successful that the original members have decided to road-test the band with dates in San Diego, Las Vegas and Fresno, Calif., December 7 – 9.

Pat Martin, program director for Sacramento’s KRXQ-FM convinced the five members – all of whom had been working on other projects – to perform for the station’s Halloween concert.

“Pat was so convincing that he actually managed to patch things up to the point where the guys said, ‘Yeah, sure, let’s do it,'” band spokesman Victor Somogyi told Pollstar.

It wasn’t a matter of bad blood, Somogyi stressed; it was just that the former band mates were really busy.

“They hadn’t really played together all that time. Tommy Skeoch (lead guitar) hadn’t been in the band for six years. It wasn’t like guns and knives and all that. It’s just that the guys have other things. Brian Wheat (bass) has the Soulmotor project (with drummer Troy Lucketta), and Frank Hannon had Moon Dog Mane,” Somogyi stressed.

“Tommy and Jeff Keith (vocals) have a side project with Bar 7, and they were all just busy. But getting together seemed like a good thing to do. It was a local show, and it was great. It was a terrific bill.”

Promoters in other cities showed interest in booking a resurrected Tesla, and so the mini-tour was born.

“The promoters just really, really wanted the shows in those particular cities. Brian is at the very end of recording and everyone’s still very busy, so we were limited to three shows. These cities are relatively nearby, and the promoters wanted them badly, so there’s no reason not to do them,” Somogyi said.

Tesla fans outside of California shouldn’t feel too left out. There are plans to put together a national tour in 2001, and the band hopes to issue a live album next year as well.

“There are plans for a tour beginning in mid-February or mid-March, probably at least three legs, so we’ll do most of the country. We’re also looking at some summer dates, but that’s still in the ‘thinking about’ stage,” the rep revealed.

Tesla recorded their set at the Sacramento show in October and plan to record their December 9 gig at Fresno’s Warnors Theatre as well. But they’re taking a pragmatic view of what they want to release.

“There’s really no hurry on this, so if they’re not absolutely thrilled with the results, then maybe we’ll just record the shows we do in the winter and keep going at it until we get exactly what we want,” Somogyi said.

Tesla first hit the charts in 1986 with their debut album, Mechanical Resonance. They established themselves as a rock band to be reckoned with in 1989 with The Great Radio Controversy, including their breakout single, the ballad “Love Song.”

But it was their followup to that album, Five Man Acoustical Jam, that proved the band’s versatility and scored their biggest hit, a cover of the Five Man Electrical Band’s “Signs.”