Tesla is a rock band that can do without makeup, which is ironic if you consider that they're from California --home of Motley Crue, Poison and a dozen other "hair" bands.

Guitarists Frank Hannon and Tommy Skeoch, vocalist Jeff Keith, drummer Troy Luccketta and bassist Brian Wheat will bring their hard rock act to Rec Hall Sunday night along with fellow rockers Firehouse in a show sponsored by the University Concert Committee.

Justine Russo, UCC secretary, said Thursday that "about 400" tickets remained for the performance, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.

Firehouse will play for about 45 minutes and Tesla is expected to do about two hours worth of songs, Russo said.

According to a news release from Geffen Records, the band is currently in the midst of a U.S. tour which includes a stop at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Their current album, Psychotic Supper, debuted on the Billboard magazine album chart in 1991 at number 13 and features songs recorded at a studio in New York City.

The album, titled in reference to the neuroses of the late great inventor Nikola Tesla, after whom the band is named, follows the band's highly successful 1990 album Five Man Acoustical Jam.

Jam featured a Top 10 single, "Signs," and went platinum (selling 1 million copies) quicker than their two previous efforts, Mechanical Resonance and The Great Radio Controversy.

The inventor Tesla -- nicknamed "The Father of Radio" -- is a source of inspiration for the band. A song on Psychotic Supper named "Edison's Medicine," about the rivalry between Thomas Edison and Tesla, is one example of their fascination with the man.

In the past the band has circulated petitions at its shows, calling for the Smithsonian Institution to recognize the accomplishments of the inventor, who was frequently ignored by the media and public for his unorthodox methods and unusual personality.