The Nelson twins are synonymous with many things, not the least of which is music.  Lightening struck fast and furious when their debut album "After the Rain" went platinum in1990, and with a new CD in the works, they're primed for a second strike.  It's not unlikely, afterall.  Talent does have a way of repeating itself.

Mathew Nelson and Gunnar Nelson surged onto the musical scene in 1990 with their long blond locks, boyish good looks, and a handful of catchy pop/rock songs and videos.  Their so-called  "overnight success" began with a platinum debut album that garnered a #1 hit with "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection," followed by four top-ten hits, four #1 videos on MTV/VH1, and a world-wide tour.

Their venture into music at a young age came as no surprise.  Aside from inheriting good looks by "hitting the gene pool lottery" as Matthew describes it, the brothers have acquired the family's musical talent as well.  Their father was famous 1950's teen idol Ricky Nelson, and their grandfather was band leader Ozzie Nelson of the famed radio and television show Ozzie and Harriet (TV).  Their "Uncle Mark" is actor Mark Harmon of Navy NCIS, and maternal grandfather Tom Harmon was the legendary Heisman trophy winner and running back for the Michigan Wolverines.

Hailing from an entertainment dynasty, Matthew and Gunnar have skillfully managed to carve out  a name for themselves, marking their own branch on the Nelson family tree.

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Matthew Nelson about his musical legacy, the secret to longevity, and the value of authenticity.  From his home high up in the Hollywood Hills, the 42 year old singer/songwriter spoke candidly about Nelson's beginning, the new CD, a concert tour honoring his father's memory, and a wealth of gratitude for it all.

 Let's begin with a spin in the time machine, back to the late 80's and early 90's when Nelson first came onto the scene.  You achieved great success with your first CD, and embarked on a world-wide tour.  Can you describe for us what that was like through the eyes of two twenty-year olds, having come from such a well-known family?

We always laugh about it being the world's longest overnight success.  We spent so long going for this.  We had an attitude which was much like professional athletes have.   It wasn't a matter of if it was going to happen.  It was a matter of when it was going to happen, and how.  We learned through trial and error.  We started playing to crowds when we were very young, we were about twelve years old, and we met the right people at the right time that influenced us to really concentrate on songwriting.  And that's our motto even today, is that you can find somebody who looks better than you, sings better than you, or plays better than you in any town in America.  But it's your songs, its what you do uniquely that's going to make you rise to the top.  On the debut album, we hit pay dirt I think, working with Mark Tanner, who was a former artist/songwriter at Elektra.  We just really hit it off with him, and we collaborated with him on most of the songs from that record.

Our dad also told us as well, that if we were going to do this, that we should really concentrate on the songs.  It's interesting though, you can't really prepare yourself for that level of success.  I'm just going to say it straight up.  Even though we grew up in the family we grew up with, it was always about our dad.  So there's no way you can really prepare for that shift of reality in your life.  The best example is that one week before we released our video and album, I went with my brother to the Sherman Oaks Galleria to buy underwear and socks.  Two weeks later, they set us up with an in-store signing in the Sherman Oaks Galleria, and the police closed the mall down because all three tiers were filled with screaming girls.

It was kind of like having the tiger by the tail for a solid two and a half years.  It was great.  We worked really hard and did some work that I'm really proud of.  Even today, I have people saying it's an album that got them through tough times, they still play it or download it, and they've seen the show and say it was one of the best shows they've ever seen.  So I'm proud of the work.

I don't really say this a whole lot, so you're getting the skinny, but we made a conscience decision to buck the system and not do what everybody was doing.  Obviously we took a lot of heat for our presentation.  It was very colorful.  Where everybody else was doing black and white warehouse videos, we were technicolor, and that came from spending a lot of time in England, writing with a lot of different songwriters.  Our motto was "Love us or hate us, but you're going to know who we are."

Describe the musical origin of Nelson, and the sounds that influenced you.

I think there are two main camps in rock and roll, and that is that either you come from a blues background, or you come from a pop/folk background.  We were more folkies, just growing up in California.  Our dad was with the Stone Canyon Band, and we played the clubs with bands like The Motels.  We were kind of the heavy metal Hollys or The Birds.  That's what we were going for.  Everybody else was trying to do Zeppelin.  We were our own thing, kind of like the heavy metal pop band.  No one really knew what to make of it.  When we first broke, rock radio really loved us.  Then when pop radio jumped on it, they really abandoned ship.  Then we became easy to take shots at.  And I was okay with that, because I really believe that's what it's all about is doing your own thing.

Gunnar and I have been doing this a long time now, and we've worked with everyone from The Scorpions to Air Supply.  We went out and toured with Styx and Peter Frampton, which was not only not our crowd, but these were guys that we grew up with.  We went out there with two acoustic guitars and killed it.  I love being able to do that, and the only way you can do that is if you have your own thing.

You know it's funny, but all these years later, I think we have a similarity to Heart.  They did the same thing.  It's two sisters that do their thing, and sing their songs and have their own trip.  Hopefully, we can continue to grow that way.

And a key element here is that the music is good, and holds up over time. 

Yes.  First and foremost it comes down to the song.  It begins and ends with the song.  It was really easy for the press, because there was a lot to poke at, but when it really came down to it, I have to tell you, I've never read a negative review or an interview, or received even a comment about anything musical.  I think that's awesome.  I've never had anybody say anything about the music that wasn't great, so that means I'm really doing my job, because that's going to be here after I'm gone.

What have you discovered to be the most essential element to maintaining longevity in this business.

Well, there's the obvious -- stay away from the pitfalls that have taken out so many compadres.  I'm glad to say that at 42, I still feel young, and I still feel vital and able to do this.  It can be tough and it's taxing to do this, but Gunnar and I both feel that this is the greatest job in the world.  I'm still having so much fun doing what I do, and every day is an adventure.  It's like my grandfather Ozzie used to say, "If you do what you love for a living, it's a license to steal."

What can you tell us about the new Nelson CD that you're working on? 

It started out being called "Lightening Strikes Twice," but Gunnar and I were laughing over a beer and he thought that it would be better being called "The Blond Leading the Blond." (laughs)   We're really in trying to make a great record, and I really have to give Gunnar credit for this.  He really spent most of the time on the music for this in his studio in Nashville.  The owner of the label really wanted this to be a kind of hand-off from "After the Rain," and it actually developed into something more than that.  A lot of artists say "This is the best thing we've ever done,"  but I have to say that for Nelson, and for that hard rock kind of melodic, folky thing that we do, it really is the best thing we've ever done.  So it's exciting.  The record's already finished.  I think we have two more songs that we're mixing just because, like "After the Rain," we wanted to put out an album that you could play from start to finish.  There's not a drop-out or a filler anywhere in it.   That's important to us, that it's great and it makes you want to listen to it again.

You and Gunnar are currently on tour with Nelson.  Lets talk about that, along with the fans that are coming out to see you.

The venue has a lot do with who can go, but we're getting a lot of fans of ours from twenty years ago that are bringing their kids.  Gunnar and I did different things for a long time, because we never really wanted to get caught in the trap of all those "80's bands" that would go out and attend the opening of an envelope because it was just kind of fading away.  So we actually made an effort to not cheapen what we had already accomplished, and to grow in different ways.  Gunnar did some stuff in Nashville, and we did a lot of different things.  We just now kind of came back to that harder rock sound, but as I said, we don't want to be a regurgitation of something we did before.  So when somebody who obviously doesn't remember life before cell phones or the Internet comes to our show, they feel like they're getting Nelson and what we do, with an obvious nod to the fact that life indeed, has moved on.  I think he's even a little more retro than we are, but I think Jon Bon Jovi has done a great job of maintaining his brand, while keeping it fairly current.  He's maintained a great longevity by just being himself.  So we're trying to keep current, but maintain our brand integrity.

You and Gunnar have put together The Ricky Nelson Remembered show,  a tribute to your father that celebrates his life and music.   It's being done in conjunction with the 25th Anniversary of his passing.  Tell us how it all came together.

Very organically.  The first and foremost thing was that our dad was our best friend, and I miss him a lot.  We had so many people that were asking us to play his tunes in our shows.  So we threw a few tunes in, and we were having so much fun with it.  I'll never forget this one time when we were in Japan at a naval base.  They were having this 50's thing, and the CO was a big Ricky fan, so they asked if we would do it.  It was for kids that couldn't make it home for Thanksgiving.  So we put  together a little show, and not only did we have so much fun with the songs that we grew up with, but when 18 or 19 year-old kids who had no idea who our dad was were just freaking out and having a great time, it was great.  Over the years, we've really been able to add a lot of other elements, and so the show is pretty clean.  Then we added the visuals, with him being the most televised bopper in history, and what you have is an all-star line up with a fantastic audio/visual presentation.  We've got screens that go through his life with his music, and interviews with everybody from him to Kris Kristofferson, Paul McCartney, John Fogerty, along with clips from Ozzie and Harriet.  I mean, lets face it, our dad was kind of like everybody's little brother, and then he turned into a heartthrob.

We have fans of our grandparent's, fans of our dad's, fans of ours, and their kids coming out to our shows now.  It's really cool.  We've all done something important respective to our generation, and I think we're in touch with the fact that it's a really communal relationship within our family, more so than the television show or TV appearances.  It's the music.  Grandpa Ozzie was a band leader.  His father was in vaudeville.  It's just a family business that way.  And for us that's kind of ground zero, and that's the most important thing we can do.  It all starts and ends with the song, and I think that's the same thing that's true for the whole family.

What's up next for you?

We have a fairly full schedule, and it's really challenging because I have a couple of runs where one night I'm doing a Nelson rock show, and the next night I'm doing a Ricky Nelson Remembered show.  So it's very different. The two shows are a totally different mind set, but I love that kind of stuff.  I'm a musician.  Music is fun.  It's not rocket science, but it definitely hits people in their souls and in their brain.  It's a very primal thing, and it's something that we need.  I think it's as close to magic as we have, and I do take it seriously that way.

One thing I'll share, and you'll be the first one to know about it, is that I was talking to my friends Carnie and Wendy Wilson (daughters of Brian Wilson from The Beach Boys) about getting together and actually making a record finally.  We were talking and laughing, and Gunnar and I just said, "My God, we just naturally came up with the new Mamas and Papas."   I love how that can just happen over a conversation.  And I think that's how it was in the 50's and 60's with, "hey man, let's get together and play."

We all have great jobs, and we're still loving what we do.  It doesn't get better than that, even in this economy.

What would you like to say to the fans?

Thanks.  I know it's a trite thing to say, but thanks.  Because I've played to three people in an audience, to one person in an audience, and I've played to sixty-thousand.  I always play the same show, like it's gonna be my last.  All I know is that every time I felt down, every time I had a rough time, whatever, I would inevitably get a message from somewhere.  The universe sends me somebody, a "fan"  that will write me in an email or catch me in an airport, and change my life.  So it keeps me real, and it keeps me grounded, and really thankful.  To me, the definition of wealth is gratitude.  It has nothing to do with stuff, or money, or anything.  It has to do with being thankful for what you have.  Every time something like that happens, or anytime I play a show and somebody applauds, there it is.

So, I just want to say thanks.