Nelson (band)
Nelson is an American rock band founded by singer/songwriters Matthew and Gunnar Nelson (twin sons of Ricky Nelson and Kristin Nelson). The band achieved success during the early 1990s with their debut album After the Rain, that included "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection".[6]
Nelson
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
1986–present
Geffen, Victor Entertainment, Fuel 2000, Perris Records, Stone Canyon, Frontiers
- Matthew Nelson
- Gunnar Nelson
After the success of their first album, the band claims to have been faced with conflicts with their record label, lack of support from the media, and the shift in music towards grunge and alternative rock. They eventually split with Geffen Records in 1995. Despite this, the band has continued to produce and release albums independently under their own label, Stone Canyon Records.[7]
Matthew and Gunnar also perform under the name of Ricky Nelson Remembered, as a tribute to their father. They are listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the only family to reach number one record status in three successive generations (beginning with grandparents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson).
Band history[edit]
Early years[edit]
Matthew and Gunnar Nelson, the twin sons of Ricky Nelson and Kristin Nelson, were involved in music from an early age. In an interview, Gunnar once said that he and Matthew had been writing songs since they were six years old.[7]
During the 1980s, Matthew and Gunnar played as Strange Agents and as The Nelsons, with which they played the Los Angeles club scene. A year after the death of their father in a plane crash, Lorne Michaels agreed to have the Nelsons as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, at the request of their manager at the time. They became the first unsigned band to play on the show.
During this iteration of the band, Matthew was the lead singer and bassist, while Gunnar played the drums. As they returned home from the show, Gunnar claims he had what he called "an epiphany", which he shared with his brother. He told him that they should break up the band as it was and start sharing the front stage together. Gunnar promised to learn to play guitar and did so in a year.[7][8]
As the band tried to find a record deal, they settled with Geffen Records and began approaching A&R executive John Kalodner. According to Gunnar, they met with Kalodner "every month for a year", during which he filtered the songs they brought him until they had enough for an album.[9] During this time, they were also introduced to Marc Tanner, who helped them polish their songwriting skills.[7]
During this time, Nelson was also approached to contribute a song to the film Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. Matthew and Gunnar then co-wrote a song with Dweezil Zappa called "Two Heads are Better than One". Since the band was in the process of being signed up to Geffen, Kalodner recommended them not to use their names for the song, so they were billed as Power Tool instead. The song eventually became the film's theme song.[7][10]
Record deal and success with After the Rain[edit]
After a year of meeting with Kalodner without being signed, Matthew and Gunnar met with him, against the wishes of their managers, and played an acoustic version of "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection". Kalodner was impressed and the band was signed the next day.[9]
As the Nelsons prepared to go into the studio, they started assembling a band. They met drummer Bobby Rock at the MTV Music Awards, when he was still with Vinnie Vincent Invasion, and kept in touch. After that band broke up, Nelson asked him to join their band. Joey Cathcart had played guitar with the brothers in high school so they decided to approach him. They were introduced to guitarist Brett Garsed by their manager in Australia. Finally, they contacted Paul Mirkovich, who had worked with them during the demo sessions for the album.[9][11]
The full band headed to the studio where they worked with Marc Tanner. According to the Nelsons, John Kalodner "basically let us do our own thing".[9] After the Rain was released on June 26, 1990, and became an instant success. The album ended up selling more than 3,000,000 copies, eventually being certified double platinum by RIAA. As a result, the band began a World Tour with over 300 concerts. Their first single, "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" peaked at number 1 on Billboard's Hot 100. Their other songs "After the Rain", "More than Ever", and "Only Time Will Tell" peaked at number 6, number 14, and number 28 respectively. The band started with a headlining club tour before heading out in April/May opening arenas for Cinderella & Lynch Mob. The brothers then finished the summer headlining their own tour with support from Tyketto & Enuff Z'Nuff.
They performed "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection" on the inaugural Billboard Music Awards as it was the number 1 song on the Hot 100 the week of the show. The show's producer, Paul Flattery, and director, Jim Yukich, had also made the music video for the song.
Struggles with Geffen and Imaginator[edit]
After several years of touring, the band went into the studio to record their follow-up. The result of this was a darker and harder concept album titled Imaginator. According to Gunnar "it was about the machine that is the media. That same machine that built us up and was also so ready to tear us down." According to the band, producer John Kalodner was not involved with the recording process because he "was too busy making Aerosmith records". When they presented the album to the executives at Geffen Records, they were not pleased and gave the band the choice to either produce and record another album, more according to what they were expecting, or they would be released from their contract.[7][9][10]
Current members
Former members