Tune in to “Live from Music City” radio show May 17 to hear special guest Gunnar Nelson of NELSON talk about the music industry, songwriting, and his musical career with NELSON. ”Live from Music City” airs live from Nashville on Blog Talk Radio, plus, podcast downloads of the show are also available on iTunes.
Here’s link to listen to “Live from Music City”:
“To our die hard fans, all classic rock fans and fellow bike enthusiasts, we regrettably announce that our involvement with the Bike N Roll Festivals has ceased immediately. To say that we’re disappointed is an understatement – Rivertown Entertainment Group/Rivertown Live has not honored their end of the contract.
Simply put, the promoters have failed to send the contracted artist deposit payments owed to all of the bands that were going to play. Our teams of managers and agents have tried everything possible to fix the situation with no luck. We urge fans that have purchased tickets to reach out immediately to obtain a refund.
Not only were we ready to give our best NELSON performances yet, but also we were stoked to perform with our friends GREAT WHITE, SLAUGHTER, KEEL, DIZZY REED and STEPHEN PEARCY. We promise to return to the Grand Rapids and Madison areas as soon as we can. We can’t wait.”
-Matthew & Gunnar Nelson
NELSON featuring Matthew Nelson (l) & Gunnar Nelson (Photo: Brian Lowe)
New NELSON videos have been added to our official NELSON rock website NelsonKicksAss.com! Check out all the cool new videos in our media player on the home page (to the right) including NELSON music video “You’re All I Need Tonight” (Frontiers) the first music video we’ve done in over 15 years… plus extended behind the scenes interviews with Matthew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson on the set of their music video shoot in Hollywood!
Rock on!
May issue Full Access Magazine (photo: Brian Lowe/artwork: blue august)
Check out this month’s issue of Full Access Magazine with NELSON on the cover! Gunnar Nelson spoke recently with writer Amy Newman about NELSON for the print magazine’s cover story complete with live concert photos of Matthew and Gunnar Nelson performing in Central Florida recently at EPCOT.
NELSON is featured in the May print issue. The cover photo is by photographer Brian Lowe with artwork design by Chris Harless of blue august agency. The monthly print magazine is free and available at retailers in the Tampa Bay area. Definitely pick one up!
GUNNAR NELSON was a guest on the HOOTERS NATION radio show live on Monday, April 18, 2011 and chatted up the airwaves with Original Hooter’s Girl host Lynne Austin (a fmr Playboy Playmate) and her co-host Mike Pepper. The show airs in Tampa on WQYK / CBS and also streams live on UStream.
Lynne and Pep played the new NELSON single, “Call Me” and Gunnar talked about the new NELSON Lightning Strikes Twice album (now available on Amazon.com and iTunes) as well as headlining at the 2011 Flower Power Concert Series at EPCOT® for the 9th consecutive year over Easter weekend in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.
Listen to the interview online now at http://tampa.cbslocal.com/2011/04/19/hooters-nation-vs-gunnar-nelson/
Check out the new NELSON rock tour dates now posted on our official rock website NelsonKicksAss.com! From the homepage simply click the “Shows” tab above at top of page right to find out where NELSON is performing in the U.S. this summer.
See you on the road!
(English Translation from www.queensofsteel.tk)
- Hello and first of all, thanks for taking your time. We haven’t heard anything from you after releasing “Like Father, Like Sons”. What have you been up to after releasing that album?
(GUNNAR NELSON): Matthew and I had a lot of family business to attend to in the past few years- most specifically the real and intellectual properties of our father, Ricky Nelson. We also spent our time over the past seven years or so touring incessantly (between 75-100 dates per year), assembling a sound business team for our family endeavors, and living real lives in the short moments in between all of that. We’d just gotten our own label, Stone Canyon Records, to the level of strength it’s currently at about fourteen months ago- which coincided with being approached by Frontiers with doing the Lightning Strikes Twice album.
- And, of course, what prompted you to come back? Especially to the Melodic Rock paths, since your newer albums were more orientated to Country music. 10 years have passed and I guess you’re now more mature, wiser… Does this make you living the release of a new album with bigger intensity?
(GUNNAR NELSON): I’ve always had a burning desire to make a follow up to our debut record that would prove for once and for all that NELSON was no ‘one hit wonder’ (even though we had four top tens in the US). I had a good 80% of the record written for that purpose when I was approached by Serafino Perugino of Frontiers Records
NELSON twin lead front men Gunnar Nelson & Matthew Nelson (Photo: Brian Lowe)
to make a follow up to the “After The Rain” album… and what I found was that the record I’d already been working so hard on was in fact was that very record that we all wanted- the record I always felt NELSON should have been allowed to make 20 years ago. Matthew then came in to write with me for the remaining 20% of the album… and that was when something magical happened. That was when we realized that we had both been carrying around the same desire to finish what we started with “After The Rain” all this time… and that this was our opportunity to do just that. Serafino is not just a shrewd business man- he’s a true FAN of the music he sells through Frontiers, first and foremost.
NELSON features Matthew & Gunnar Nelson (Photo: Brian Lowe)
- And do you feel the same excitement and energy as this was your debut album?
(GUNNAR NELSON): After the Rain is a great record, and it was the beginning of a dream… but only the beginning. This new record of ours has 20 more years of touring, shredding, writing, and recording experience behind it… and it’s because of that that I think it outshines even our debut. Give it a listen with fresh ears… resist the temptation to compare it to that one single record from the past, and instead compare it to everything else out there. I’m hopeful you’ll find as many are that it’s fresh, vital, powerful, and exciting all on its own… and that it hopefully creates a whole new benchmark for us as well as everyone else out there to beat.
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, the twin sons of American Teen Idol Ricky Nelson, have recently released ‘Lightning Strikes Twice’. The aptly named album marks the 20th anniversary after the enormous success brought about by ‘After The Rain’.
Over the past two decades, these third generation musicians have put out several other albums, many of which were released on their own label. They have shown their level of diversity by covering other genres of music, and diligently working with many other renowned musicians.
As I dedicated fan, ‘After The Rain’ holds special significance for me. Therefore, I was ever grateful to converse with Matthew Nelson. My mettle curiosity had me determined to discover why the two blond ambitious brothers have chosen to return to their musical roots, and what has been happening, since?
I invite you to join me and discover just how our unexpected dialogue played out that heartfelt day when Matthew called.
Matthew: Hi, this is Matt Nelson.
Matthew Nelson
MettleMaiden: Hello there, I am a bit nervous, because I am a fan of the band Nelson. The band has really had an impact on me over the years.
Matthew: There is no pressure, really.
MettleMaiden: I apologize because this interview was thrust upon me rather abruptly.
Matthew: Me too, but an impromptu experience can be quite liberating.
MettleMaiden: I have not had a lot of opportunity to listen to ‘Lightning Strikes Twice’, but from what I have heard, I do agree it sounds a lot like ‘After The Rain’.
Matthew: This seems to be the consensus.
MettleMaiden: It may even be better because of modern production values. You are a lot more experienced with writing and producing now, after all these years of doing it on your own.
Matthew: Thank you, this is very true.
MettleMaiden: Why did you decide to recapture the sound, feel, and style of the first album?
Matthew: We were contacted by a record company that specifically wanted an album that sounded like our favored past. They were searching for that logical progression which should have occurred after we recorded ‘After The Rain’.
MettleMaiden: This is why I am such a strong supporter of Frontiers Records!
Matthew: Artistically speaking though, it is a lot more difficult than you would think to revisit the mood and feel of that bygone era.
MettleMaiden: I see what you mean.
Those who don’t believe lightning can strike twice may soon change their tune – especially if they’re NELSON fans. The duo recently released their sophomore album titled “Lightning Strikes Twice,” the long anticipated follow-up to their 1980 multi-platinum debut “After the Rain.” The record is a welcome resurgence of classic melodic rock, with NELSON’s signature harmonies accompanied by some serious “get off your a** and party” rock riffs. With a catalog of well-crafted songs, clever lyrics, and a Brand New take on a classic sound, the Nelson boys are back for strike two.
The album’s first single “You’re All I Need Tonight” is perhaps most reminiscent of the songs off The Band‘s debut CD, but the rest of the record is a highly charged sequel that reflects their musical maturity. “Kickin My Heart Around,” probably their biggest departure in terms of melodic structure and composition, has an edgier, grittier feel and contains all the makings of a kick-ass music video.
“In It For The Money” is a modernized ode to a gold-digger, while “How Can I Miss You” features the oh-so- familiar tale of a clingy female. The song’s gorgeous guitar intro and bountiful catch phrases like “Just give me some room before lust turns to hate. I’d rather starve than suffocate,” make this up-tempo ditty worth a listen.
NELSON twin lead front men Gunnar Nelson-Matthew Nelson (Photo: Brian Lowe)
No body of rock is complete without a set of power ballads, especially from a duo with such notable harmonizing skills. “To Get Back To You,” is a classic road song with haunting vocals, co-written by Gunnar and Slaugher’s Mark Slaughter. Gunnar lists it as one of his favorite tracks on the CD, along with the songs “Call Me” (which he labels “a straight ahead Elton pop/rock song”) and “Ready Willing and Able,” – a song we label “sexy rock at it’s best.”
“Take Me There,” the second ballad on the record, remains one of the most poignant tracks with it’s powerful lyrics and epic guitar solo. During a recent interview with Popstar, Gunnar stated, “I love to channel Brian May on that one because that’s probably my favorite guitar solo I’ve ever played. I also like The Theme of the song. It’s just a very positive song.”
One of the catchier pop tracks is “Call Me,” an upbeat serenade that has Gunnar – who performs lead vocals throughout the record – singing, “When you’re done being his Plan B, call me.” You Get the idea.
Where “After the Rain” left off with a younger, yet respectable collection of hit melodic rock songs, “Lightning Strikes Twice” picks up with a bolder anthology of bankable radio-worthy tunes. As the group has matured, so have their fan base - who will No Doubt appreciate the duo’s ability and desire to maintain the integrity of their signature sound, while cranking it up a notch for posterity.
Lightning Strikes Twice is now available on iTunes and Amazon. For more info, visit NELSON’s official website.
By Jennifer Maurer
Gunnar Nelson appears on DAYTIME with Cindi Edwards & Jamie Jacobs
Gunnar Nelson of NELSON makes a guest TV appearance on the nationally syndicated lifestyle & entertainment TV show DAYTIME to promote the new NELSON album CD Lightning Strikes Twice (Frontiers-EMI-Stone Canyon Records). Gunnar gives a rare special acoustic performance on the show besides talking with hosts Cyndi Edwards and Jamie Jacobs. Gunnar’s appearance will be in the episode airing Friday, March 4, 2011. DAYTIME airs on over 114 TV stations across the U.S. Check local listings for times or visit the DAYTIME TV website at http://daytime.tbo.com/about.htm
The new NELSON CD Lightning Strikes Twice is now available on iTunes and Amazon.com.