Gunner Nelson | Nelson | August 2003 |
This month has been a long time coming..
I've been a Nelson fan since the "After the Rain" album.. and its great to know the boys are still going strong,
All though they got a bad rap for being "hair band pretty boys.."
They were actually the opposite, and could actually PLAY their instruments..
And write there own songs..
So enough of me.. here's Gunnar Nelson to catch you up with what's going
on in the world of NELSON....
J - First off we gotta go wayy back to the gold ol days.. How did you find the players for the "After the Rain" c.d.?
G - We'd first tried to take out ads in the local musician mags. It didn't really work all that well. We had a bunch of meetings with respondents that were much more concerned with their look than their playing chops. The first official member to join was Bobby Rock, who Matt and I had met at the American Music Awards. He was sitting behind us with the Vinnie
Vincent Invasion. Vinnie had been a friend/cowriter for a while. I knew that VVI had been winding down, so I called Vin, who told me how great Bobby was. After meeting up with Bobby and playing him the demos, Bobby was in, and present from that point on with every band candidate we met with. Second on the hit list was Brett Garsed. Our manager at the time was an Aussie, and had just come back from down under with a video tape of national hero John Farnham. He was all excited about the unknown guitarist John had found and was using in his show. He played us that tape, and there was Brett- a complete freak in the sense that he was a true virtuoso that had taught himself how to play all by himself on a sheep farm out in the sticks. We went through all of the bs one has to to settle up immigration proceedings with the US, and sponsored him to come over here. It was a great decision. Paul Mirkovich came next. He was an awesome studio keyboardist who had played on our demos for Geffen... but he was not a 'road' guy at the time. His look was super poindexter... and we hadn't seen him in about six months. But as fate would have it, Paul had spent those six months touring with Geoffrey Osbourne and Cher. He was ready to tour, and had gotten completely cool. What a player. Another great decision. We made our record with that group of fellas. We were totally spoiled. They were truly an all star band...guys who were born to play their instruments. I haven't found anyone close to as competent as those guys ever since. Bottom line, in putting the band together, we'd tried to advertise for them, and it didn't work. It was all the personal recommendations of friends that found us these players.
J - Was this a real "group" effort? or were they hired guns?
G - It was always a group effort. The music business isn't unicef- we're all hired guns. But if you're asking if they truly had input in the overall sound and the way we approached the music... absolutely. We produced the overall boundaries... but everything within those boundaries we left up to them.
J - Who wrote the songs?
G - Matthew, myself, and Marc Tanner.
J - How long did it take you guys to get signed?
G - 19 years. Actually, we'd started playing when we were six, and had our first recording at 12, with our first pro club gigs beginning at 13. We'd been trying to get signed all those years until Geffen hooked us up when we were 19.
J - How important was the look back then, and do you ever look back and think "What was I thinking"?
G - The look was and is very important... still to this day. I think it's a shame that a lot of acts now a days don't put any thought into their visual presentation. Everyone wants to look like the freakin' roadie or their Momma's plumber. What a waste. I believe that stars should look like stars, period. It wasn't to cover up for a lack of substance or creed, we all had that too... it was just that we felt that as a new band, it was our job to stand out from the tired old 'black leather and levis' thing. It worked. Love us or hate us, you knew who we were!
J - What was your favorite tour back in the 90's?any good road stories?
It was the headlining tour we did of theatres all across America. They are gorgeous venues, with great acoustics. So much better than concrete arenas, and not too big that you completely lose the intimacy with your audience.
J - What's the craziest thing a fan has ever done to meet you?
G - Brought her hot mother with her to my hotel room. Whoa.
J - What was the biggest crowd you ever played for?
G - 62,000 people who came to see us in Erie, PA.
J - What led to the break up of the Nelson band?
G - Lack of touring, to be precise. The music world had changed with the whole 'Seattle' paradigm shift, Geffen had changed their priorities, and Matt and I were the last to know. Geffen kept us on a string for a long time before we'd figured things out... and our guys needed to make a living, you know?
J - Do you still talk to any of the guys or know where they are?
G - Of course! We're always going to be family... we've been through the wars together. We speak about every month.
J - You guys have continued to release many more cd's through the years.. what would you say is your favorite.. and really shows your true musical style?
G - Hmmm... honestly, I'd have to say that the new one we just made is my favorite... not just because it's the latest thing we've worked on...it's just really really good. We've made records that all have very different personalities to them... I suppose it would be dependent upon what kind of mood I was in at the time I wanted to listen. If I wanted to feel nostalgic, it would be the After The Rain cd. If I felt centered, I'd listen to Because They Can. If pissed off, Imaginator. If I wanted to hear a good story or two, Brother Harmony. Great pop/rock songs done purely and simply: the LIFE record. You know where I'm coming from?
J - Least favorite..or just didn't turn out as well as hoped?
G - The Silence is Broken record. It definitely had some shining moments... but the engineer we were working with at the time was an incompetent tool that was more concerned with where we were going to be eating lunch that day than recording/mixing a great record. We learned though... and we'll never go through that again. But as I said, it was all redeemed by the four GREAT songs I feel are on there. I'm just a perfectionist, and want each NELSON record to be awesome from stem to stern.
J - How do you feel about all these 80's bands getting back together w/different members?
G - Well, all I'll say is this: WITHOUT THE ORIGINAL LEAD SINGER, IT'S NOT THE SAME BAND. Dig?
J - What do you think of file sharing? and Mp3 downloading?
G - Let it rip, if you'll excuse the pun. It promotes the bands. As a downloader though, just 'pay as you exit'... meaning, support the cause of a musical society (and the bands' alimony payments) and get out there and see the shows of the bands you're downloading if they come to your town. Then, buy a freaking Tshirt before you leave. That money goes to the bandmembers who brought you the music you've stolen from them... without having to filter through the thieving record companies. It goes STRAIGHT to the band. If they support your happiness, please help them support their families.
J - What kind of "New" bands are you into?
G - Not many. Jimmy Eat World is cool. They actually play guitar solos in their songs. I'm a freak for No Doubt (I wish Gwen all of the happiness in the world!) I actually find that very very few bands make good records all the way through... just moments of brilliance and 8 tracks of crap. So, I've converted back to being a singles kind of guy. I'll buy the singles I know I like. If I find I've bought three singles off the same album, then I'll buy the whole CD.
J - What would be in your c.d. player right now?
G - Jellyfish's 'Bellybutton' CD.
J - Whats in store for you guys this year?
G - We've got a new record that's going to come out that's going to redefine us to a lot of folks. New, competent management. We want to OWN hot AC radio.
J - Any touring plans?
G - Yes... but they're all coming together now. We're looking for 100 dates in the US, 12 in the UK/Europe, and 10 or so in Australia. Stay tuned!
J - How about the new c.d. whats the sound like? How would you describe it to someone who hasnt heard it before?
G - It's very difficult to describe what something sounds like. It's kind of like trying to explain what food tastes like or what a color looks like... it must be experienced first hand. I suggest everyone go to www.TheNelsonBrothers.com and check it out for themselves. There are samples of the new record right there. If I were to be put in a corner about it, I would say that the songs feature me and Matt doing a parallel lead singing thing, big background vocals, and modern meets organics sonics on songs that groove like INXS and surprise like The Cars.
J - Do you have a website people can keep up with what your doing?
G - Yes! www.TheNelsonBrothers.com Come be a part of our trip!
J - Ok.. thats about it...What would you like to say to your fans reading this?
G - Well, if you've read down this far, you need to find something more productive to do with your time! No... just kiddin'... the only thing that hasn't changed over the years is Matt and my collective sense of appreciation to be doing what we do with our lives and our music... and none of it would be possible without our fans and supporters digging what we do. Thanks for enhancing our lives in any way that you do... and we hope that our music enhances your life in some small way. Come see us on the road and say 'hi'... stay tuned for the new releases... and check out the website for constantly updated info and interaction. To quote Marti DeBurghi, director of 'This Is Spinal Tap': "Well... enough of my yakkin'... LET'S BOOGIE!"
