GEORGETOWN, Calif. — Residents in the historic mountain town of Georgetown got a surprise taste of rock-and-roll nostalgia last week when hometown native Jeff Keith returned to film a video at a hotel along Main Street.
Keith, best known as the longtime frontman for Sacramento-based hard rock band Tesla, spent time reconnecting with old friends and family members during the visit, according to local residents who encountered the singer around town.
The appearance quickly became a topic of conversation throughout Georgetown, where Keith’s ties to the rural El Dorado County community remain well known. Several residents reported seeing camera equipment and a small production crew near one of the town’s historic hotel properties along Main Street as filming took place.
While details surrounding the project have not yet been publicly released, locals described the atmosphere as relaxed and personal, with Keith taking time to speak with longtime acquaintances and community members between filming sessions.
“It was good seeing Jeff back in town,”
one Georgetown resident said.
“No matter how famous he became, people here still remember him as one of our own.”
Founded in Sacramento in the early 1980s, Tesla rose to international fame with hits including “Love Song,” “Signs,” “Modern Day Cowboy,” and “What You Give.” The band became one of the defining rock acts of the late 1980s and early 1990s, earning multi-platinum success and maintaining a loyal fan base for decades.
Keith has frequently acknowledged his Northern California upbringing in interviews over the years, and his return to Georgetown appeared to resonate strongly with local residents proud of the town’s connection to a nationally recognized musician.
Jeff Keith of Tesla was first exposed to music by his father, who played guitar for a local bar band in Georgetown, CA. After graduating high school, Jeff bought a guitar chord book and learned his favorite Beatles and Rolling Stones songs to play at campfires. He later auditioned and got the gig for the band City Kidd. They played Top 40 hits with a few of their own songs mixed in. City Kidd was eventually renamed, Tesla. Tesla went on tour with Mötley Crüe in 1990. Nikki Sixx “in a loving, joking way” described Tesla as “a bunch of tomato farmers from Sacramento.” But Jeff says, “We were proud to be tomato farmers from Sacramento.” Some of his biggest influences are Steven Tyler, Bon Scott, and his favorite band: Foghat. “Foghat, early ZZ Top, all that good stuff. I’m stuck in the 60’s and 70’s
The filming also brought renewed attention to Georgetown’s historic downtown district, where preserved Gold Rush-era buildings continue to attract filmmakers, tourists and history enthusiasts alike. Community members said the production generated excitement for local businesses and created a rare entertainment spotlight for the small Sierra foothill town.
Neither representatives for Tesla nor Keith have officially announced the nature of the video project as of Friday.
Tesla continues to tour nationally and internationally, with the band remaining active more than four decades after its formation.
Jeff Keith, the lead singer of the rock band Tesla, lives in Granite Bay, California. He resides there with his wife, Vera, and their children.
For many in Georgetown, however, last week’s visit was less about celebrity and more about hometown roots.
“Georgetown never forgets its own,”
another resident remarked.
“And Jeff never seems to forget Georgetown.”
