February 9, 2026 • 10 mins
Gunnar Nelson talks about new Book, Tour and Album and that Hair!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Jeff Stevens. Thanks for checking out my eighty show podcast.
Very happy to talk to one half of the amazing
duo Nelson Gunner Nelson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yeah, how warre you man.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Thanks for having me Gunner Nelson. Very nice to talk
to you for the first time. What's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Oh not much, hey, man, thank you for having me,
Like I said, and congrats on all your success.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Well, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I remember I was just getting started at one of
my actually my first radio station, and we had this
great new actually it had moved kind of from vinyl
at that point obviously to CDs, so we were playing
CDs and we got this hot new single from Nelson,
Can't Live Without Your Love and Affection, and I just
was like, the harmonies, Man, this has got this is
(00:40):
an earworm. It's going to be stuck in my brain forever.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
And now we're thirty six years later and it's it's
still an awesome song.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Oh brother, hey, thank you so much. Man. It was
a it was a dream come true. You know the
problem with releasing your first single and having it go
number one is that you know, you think that everything
that you're going to release is going to go number one.
After that, but what dream And it was kind of
one of those things that is a lifetime putting into
that overnight success. Matt and I started playing when we
(01:08):
were six years old and playing the La Clubs from
the time we were twelve, got signed to Guessen and
that single went number one on our twenty second birthday.
And it was at a time in rock and roll
where you couldn't be tracked, no one had a camera
in their pocket. You had coupled with the deniability at
all time. We were out on a rock and roll
tour as twenty two year old. Oh my god, it
(01:31):
was fun.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Now, I didn't realize you were only twenty two at
the time and so much crazy talent. Obviously it's in
your family for sure, but I didn't realize that because
you know, then again it was like my first radio station.
So then it was after the Rain and only time
will tell and more than ever, and I mean it
just I felt like we were playing Nelson songs for
you know, for several years after that, and and the
(01:56):
thing that's really cool about that, Gunner is the fact
that it's still sounds great on the radio.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
It stood the test of time.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Oh thanks man, Well here at the time, we weren't
really paying any attention at all to what was going
on on the radio. We were we were not competing
with anyone. We wanted to make a classic record. We
wanted to make a record that you could play twenty
thirty years down the road and still dig on. So
all the Sonics were approached and recorded at the same
(02:23):
kind of studios that Matthew and I grew up listening
to records from. Like Cherokee Recording Studio is a legendary
rock room in LA and that's where we made the
After the Rain record. But all of the Rod Stewart
records came out of there, all the Cars records came
out of there. It was just a great rock room,
So thank you for saying that. And we just we
wanted to make some I mean, everybody wants to make
(02:44):
something that's timeless, but in our case, you know, here
we are all these years later and we still get
people going, hey man, I just I really love that
After the Rain album. Boy, it's just a pleasure to
get out there on tour still get to play those songs. Unfortunately,
Matthew and I still like the songs. Yeah, so we
don't feel like or we don't feel like we're trapped,
Like like, I guess our friends in Cheap Trick playing
(03:04):
the Flame every night, we actually like all of our songs.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
That is so wild to me that you brought that up,
because I've seen them several times and I'm like, wait
what they didn't play what? It was like wait a second,
and but yeah, you hear that. It's like bands have
songs that you know as somebody wrote it and yeah
it was number one, but we don't like it, so
we're never going to play it again. And that's a
big I'm so glad to hear you say that because
I've literally seen it from Cheap Trick where I was like, guys,
(03:28):
come on, you got to play that.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, no, I understand, big hit written by Diane Warren yep.
And I arguably those guys needed that hit at that
time in their career, but they never liked the song.
And that's kind of one of those blessings in the curses. Hey,
it's great when you get a number one, that's awesome,
But if you don't, if you never, if you feel
like the record company kind of forced you to do
it and all that, it's unfortunately in their case, those
(03:50):
guys are so freakishly talented. Oh yeah, I have so
many other songs they could play that you don't really
miss it. But you know, in our case, it's kind
of like one of those things. Be very careful what
you do, because the only thing worse than being anonymous
and not having a hit, I suppose, is having a
hit with a song that you really don't dig. And
you know, for the two of us, I always have
(04:12):
talked to all the record companies we've worked with throughout
the years. I want to love everything that we do,
and you know, unfortunately I wasn't able to say that
because we all have one record that we're not all
that proud of. That was kind of a cash grab.
But I learned from that experience too, and so you know,
we might not release a lot of records, but when
we do, I want them to be good and I
want them to be special, and I want them to
(04:33):
hold the hold up to time. So I've got a
new and Nelson record coming out this year too on
the Frontiers label, and it's half the half recorded and
it's great. It's going to be a good one, and
you know, you never know, I mean, we caught a
lick with a record that we had called The Lightning
Strikes twice with a single called to Get Back to
You with James Gunn and the Peacemaker in October, fifteen
years after we recorded it. It's the finale episode of
(04:55):
John Cena's project, and the boy was just an absolute last,
a reminder that, hey man, you got to always, no
matter who you are, got to always do your best
work because you never know when it's going to see
the light of day.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Absolutely, that is very well said, and I will definitely
and I'm sure many people listening will love to hear
some more new Nelson. Do you think it's in twenty
twenty six?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Oh yeah, no, it's gonna it's contractually it's got to
be up by May. So. Oh we're breathing down the
neck of it, you whirlwind. We did the Peacemaker thing
in October. We've got this best seller What Happened to
Your Hair, that popped in December and we're still riding
that right now. And then we're going to have a
new Nelson record in the first quarter. So we're busy, guys.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Oh man, I love it. It's going to be a
busy year. I love that we're talking to Gunner Nelson.
So let's talk about the book. What happened to your hair?
It is possible that people loved your music and possibly
talked about your hair.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
It is possible. I mean, we actually wanted to set
the tone with the title also on the back cover.
This is going to give you a glimpse on how
we wrote this book in the tone the back cover.
Most people put all these like perlatives of social proof
on the back of their book cover, right, like, oh,
Matthew Nelson is the greatest person since people. You know
that kind of thing. And you know, our first quote
(06:10):
is I was married to their mother or I'm sorry,
I was married to their father. I'm not impressed mom.
That's the first quote. We've put all the best bad
quotes we've ever heard on the back of our book,
Beavis and butt Head, Hey those chicks are hot, and
that kind of thing. But you know, this whole book,
(06:30):
it's a really wild ride. That is really the tone
of it is. Uh. I always say the Matthew and
I've always aspired to be a cross between the Everly
Brothers and the Smothers brothers. And you really get that
because there are no ghost writers involved in What Happened
to Your Hair? It's all me and Matthew writing all
of this, and it comes across like that. It feels
(06:51):
like a conversation that you're having with the two of us.
There are a lot of pages, but it doesn't feel
like it. You know, it's a you know, I'm not
to use an expression. That really is kind of a
page turner. And and nowadays, you know, gosh, we're all
kind of socked in with the weather. It's a good
thing to have and get to pass your time with.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Absolutely, so yes, Simon and Schuster dot com wherever books
are sold. What Happened to Your Hair is the name
of the book. Matthew and Gunner Nelson, and I love
it because, let's just face it, Gunner, you guys still
have great hair.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Oh hey, look, I'm just happy to have it at
my age, right. You know, Look, I appreciate what the
book addresses, which is, you know, I mean, it kind
of tells our a real story. But I have to admit,
Matthew and I were a lot. I mean, the spandex
was was worn when it was still a privilege and
not a rite. But you know, hey, look man, our
first video, Matthew was wearing assless chaps. What do you want?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Right? How did you get that past the video? Guys?
Did they or did they say no, this is perfect?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Oh my gosh, Yeah, they thought, hey, this is great. Look.
Our whole model, man was love us or hate us,
You're gonna know who we are. No, we're trying to
make a splash, right. It was our debut. There was
a lot of traffic out there. We wanted to be
eye catching and MTV was the eight hundred pounds rilla
at the time. But I figured you had a nanosecond
to capture people's attention as they're flipping through the channels.
(08:10):
So that's why the image was what it was when
we first debuted. But this book does the same thing.
It addresses the same issue, love us or hate us,
you're going to know who we are? And the story really,
honestly has been fascinating. A lot of peaks, a lot
of alleys, and a book that's going to make you
laugh and cry in the same sentence.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Nice well, and I love it too, Gunner, because you
can tell you guys, don't take yourselves too seriously, because
there's nothing worse than hearing somebody who takes themselves way
too seriously. You guys are obviously having fun with it,
and you still sound like you're having fun making music,
doing the book and the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well we are, man. Look, this is something that we
get to do. We feel really truly blessed and privileged.
And we never take fans for granted. Never have we
meet people for hours after shows, and we always have.
You know now that it's not the after the raintime.
We get a chance to be able to actually do that.
And you know, Emma Harriet always said, boys, keep us
(09:06):
in mind, Nelson's have never been in the entertainment business.
We've been in the connection business. That's what we do.
So in this world of anti social media and disconnection,
are we relics? I don't know, but I'll tell you what.
There's nothing that makes me feel better then looking out
into an audience to this day and seeing people mouth
(09:27):
the words to our songs back to us, knowing that
they connected with what it is we do and we're
still doing it after all these years and having a
great time not taking ourselves very seriously.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Well, that's awesome, man, It is so great to talk
to you. I have even more respect for you now
and will there be a tour after the release of
the new album.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, we're doing more dates with Night Rangers this year,
so be on the lookout for that. The new Nelson
record is going to be coming out I think in May.
The working title is but wait, there's more like that.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So, but the record's turning out great. But right now, man,
we're just we're getting high on the fact that, like
on Amazon, what Happened to Your Hair is the number
one book in its category and it has been since
it's the physical book debuted on October or sorry, on.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
December eighteenth, So amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
We're just feeling really blessed man, honest to have come
from not only the family that we come from, but
to still have something to say to people that they're
responding to.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
That is awesome. Well, congratulations man, We can't wait too.
I'm going to dive into the book and look for
the album and the tour and hopefully get to see
you out there. Gunnar Nelson, So great to talk to
Speaker 2 (10:37):
You, brother, you too, man, Thank you for the support
and all the up to all the listeners out there.
I'm Jeff Stevens. Thanks for checking out my eighty show podcast.
Very happy to talk to one half of the amazing
duo Nelson Gunner Nelson.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Yeah, how warre you man.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Thanks for having me Gunner Nelson. Very nice to talk
to you for the first time. What's going on?
Speaker 2 (00:14):
Oh not much, hey, man, thank you for having me,
Like I said, and congrats on all your success.
Speaker 3 (00:18):
Well, thank you very much.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
I remember I was just getting started at one of
my actually my first radio station, and we had this
great new actually it had moved kind of from vinyl
at that point obviously to CDs, so we were playing
CDs and we got this hot new single from Nelson,
Can't Live Without Your Love and Affection, and I just
was like, the harmonies, Man, this has got this is
(00:40):
an earworm. It's going to be stuck in my brain forever.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
And now we're thirty six years later and it's it's
still an awesome song.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Oh brother, hey, thank you so much. Man. It was
a it was a dream come true. You know the
problem with releasing your first single and having it go
number one is that you know, you think that everything
that you're going to release is going to go number one.
After that, but what dream And it was kind of
one of those things that is a lifetime putting into
that overnight success. Matt and I started playing when we
(01:08):
were six years old and playing the La Clubs from
the time we were twelve, got signed to Guessen and
that single went number one on our twenty second birthday.
And it was at a time in rock and roll
where you couldn't be tracked, no one had a camera
in their pocket. You had coupled with the deniability at
all time. We were out on a rock and roll
tour as twenty two year old. Oh my god, it
(01:31):
was fun.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Wow.
Speaker 1 (01:32):
Now, I didn't realize you were only twenty two at
the time and so much crazy talent. Obviously it's in
your family for sure, but I didn't realize that because
you know, then again it was like my first radio station.
So then it was after the Rain and only time
will tell and more than ever, and I mean it
just I felt like we were playing Nelson songs for
you know, for several years after that, and and the
(01:56):
thing that's really cool about that, Gunner is the fact
that it's still sounds great on the radio.
Speaker 3 (02:01):
It stood the test of time.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
Oh thanks man, Well here at the time, we weren't
really paying any attention at all to what was going
on on the radio. We were we were not competing
with anyone. We wanted to make a classic record. We
wanted to make a record that you could play twenty
thirty years down the road and still dig on. So
all the Sonics were approached and recorded at the same
(02:23):
kind of studios that Matthew and I grew up listening
to records from. Like Cherokee Recording Studio is a legendary
rock room in LA and that's where we made the
After the Rain record. But all of the Rod Stewart
records came out of there, all the Cars records came
out of there. It was just a great rock room,
So thank you for saying that. And we just we
wanted to make some I mean, everybody wants to make
(02:44):
something that's timeless, but in our case, you know, here
we are all these years later and we still get
people going, hey man, I just I really love that
After the Rain album. Boy, it's just a pleasure to
get out there on tour still get to play those songs. Unfortunately,
Matthew and I still like the songs. Yeah, so we
don't feel like or we don't feel like we're trapped,
Like like, I guess our friends in Cheap Trick playing
(03:04):
the Flame every night, we actually like all of our songs.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
That is so wild to me that you brought that up,
because I've seen them several times and I'm like, wait
what they didn't play what? It was like wait a second,
and but yeah, you hear that. It's like bands have
songs that you know as somebody wrote it and yeah
it was number one, but we don't like it, so
we're never going to play it again. And that's a
big I'm so glad to hear you say that because
I've literally seen it from Cheap Trick where I was like, guys,
(03:28):
come on, you got to play that.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
Yeah, no, I understand, big hit written by Diane Warren yep.
And I arguably those guys needed that hit at that
time in their career, but they never liked the song.
And that's kind of one of those blessings in the curses. Hey,
it's great when you get a number one, that's awesome,
But if you don't, if you never, if you feel
like the record company kind of forced you to do
it and all that, it's unfortunately in their case, those
(03:50):
guys are so freakishly talented. Oh yeah, I have so
many other songs they could play that you don't really
miss it. But you know, in our case, it's kind
of like one of those things. Be very careful what
you do, because the only thing worse than being anonymous
and not having a hit, I suppose, is having a
hit with a song that you really don't dig. And
you know, for the two of us, I always have
(04:12):
talked to all the record companies we've worked with throughout
the years. I want to love everything that we do,
and you know, unfortunately I wasn't able to say that
because we all have one record that we're not all
that proud of. That was kind of a cash grab.
But I learned from that experience too, and so you know,
we might not release a lot of records, but when
we do, I want them to be good and I
want them to be special, and I want them to
(04:33):
hold the hold up to time. So I've got a
new and Nelson record coming out this year too on
the Frontiers label, and it's half the half recorded and
it's great. It's going to be a good one, and
you know, you never know, I mean, we caught a
lick with a record that we had called The Lightning
Strikes twice with a single called to Get Back to
You with James Gunn and the Peacemaker in October, fifteen
years after we recorded it. It's the finale episode of
(04:55):
John Cena's project, and the boy was just an absolute last,
a reminder that, hey man, you got to always, no
matter who you are, got to always do your best
work because you never know when it's going to see
the light of day.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
Absolutely, that is very well said, and I will definitely
and I'm sure many people listening will love to hear
some more new Nelson. Do you think it's in twenty
twenty six?
Speaker 2 (05:17):
Oh yeah, no, it's gonna it's contractually it's got to
be up by May. So. Oh we're breathing down the
neck of it, you whirlwind. We did the Peacemaker thing
in October. We've got this best seller What Happened to
Your Hair, that popped in December and we're still riding
that right now. And then we're going to have a
new Nelson record in the first quarter. So we're busy, guys.
Speaker 1 (05:36):
Oh man, I love it. It's going to be a
busy year. I love that we're talking to Gunner Nelson.
So let's talk about the book. What happened to your hair?
It is possible that people loved your music and possibly
talked about your hair.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
It is possible. I mean, we actually wanted to set
the tone with the title also on the back cover.
This is going to give you a glimpse on how
we wrote this book in the tone the back cover.
Most people put all these like perlatives of social proof
on the back of their book cover, right, like, oh,
Matthew Nelson is the greatest person since people. You know
that kind of thing. And you know, our first quote
(06:10):
is I was married to their mother or I'm sorry,
I was married to their father. I'm not impressed mom.
That's the first quote. We've put all the best bad
quotes we've ever heard on the back of our book,
Beavis and butt Head, Hey those chicks are hot, and
that kind of thing. But you know, this whole book,
(06:30):
it's a really wild ride. That is really the tone
of it is. Uh. I always say the Matthew and
I've always aspired to be a cross between the Everly
Brothers and the Smothers brothers. And you really get that
because there are no ghost writers involved in What Happened
to Your Hair? It's all me and Matthew writing all
of this, and it comes across like that. It feels
(06:51):
like a conversation that you're having with the two of us.
There are a lot of pages, but it doesn't feel
like it. You know, it's a you know, I'm not
to use an expression. That really is kind of a
page turner. And and nowadays, you know, gosh, we're all
kind of socked in with the weather. It's a good
thing to have and get to pass your time with.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Absolutely, so yes, Simon and Schuster dot com wherever books
are sold. What Happened to Your Hair is the name
of the book. Matthew and Gunner Nelson, and I love
it because, let's just face it, Gunner, you guys still
have great hair.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
Oh hey, look, I'm just happy to have it at
my age, right. You know, Look, I appreciate what the
book addresses, which is, you know, I mean, it kind
of tells our a real story. But I have to admit,
Matthew and I were a lot. I mean, the spandex
was was worn when it was still a privilege and
not a rite. But you know, hey, look man, our
first video, Matthew was wearing assless chaps. What do you want?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
Right? How did you get that past the video? Guys?
Did they or did they say no, this is perfect?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Oh my gosh, Yeah, they thought, hey, this is great. Look.
Our whole model, man was love us or hate us,
You're gonna know who we are. No, we're trying to
make a splash, right. It was our debut. There was
a lot of traffic out there. We wanted to be
eye catching and MTV was the eight hundred pounds rilla
at the time. But I figured you had a nanosecond
to capture people's attention as they're flipping through the channels.
(08:10):
So that's why the image was what it was when
we first debuted. But this book does the same thing.
It addresses the same issue, love us or hate us,
you're going to know who we are? And the story really,
honestly has been fascinating. A lot of peaks, a lot
of alleys, and a book that's going to make you
laugh and cry in the same sentence.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
Nice well, and I love it too, Gunner, because you
can tell you guys, don't take yourselves too seriously, because
there's nothing worse than hearing somebody who takes themselves way
too seriously. You guys are obviously having fun with it,
and you still sound like you're having fun making music,
doing the book and the whole thing.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Well we are, man. Look, this is something that we
get to do. We feel really truly blessed and privileged.
And we never take fans for granted. Never have we
meet people for hours after shows, and we always have.
You know now that it's not the after the raintime.
We get a chance to be able to actually do that.
And you know, Emma Harriet always said, boys, keep us
(09:06):
in mind, Nelson's have never been in the entertainment business.
We've been in the connection business. That's what we do.
So in this world of anti social media and disconnection,
are we relics? I don't know, but I'll tell you what.
There's nothing that makes me feel better then looking out
into an audience to this day and seeing people mouth
(09:27):
the words to our songs back to us, knowing that
they connected with what it is we do and we're
still doing it after all these years and having a
great time not taking ourselves very seriously.
Speaker 1 (09:38):
Well, that's awesome, man, It is so great to talk
to you. I have even more respect for you now
and will there be a tour after the release of
the new album.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
Yeah, we're doing more dates with Night Rangers this year,
so be on the lookout for that. The new Nelson
record is going to be coming out I think in May.
The working title is but wait, there's more like that.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:01):
So, but the record's turning out great. But right now, man,
we're just we're getting high on the fact that, like
on Amazon, what Happened to Your Hair is the number
one book in its category and it has been since
it's the physical book debuted on October or sorry, on.
Speaker 3 (10:17):
December eighteenth, So amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
We're just feeling really blessed man, honest to have come
from not only the family that we come from, but
to still have something to say to people that they're
responding to.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
That is awesome. Well, congratulations man, We can't wait too.
I'm going to dive into the book and look for
the album and the tour and hopefully get to see
you out there. Gunnar Nelson, So great to talk to
Speaker 2 (10:37):
You, brother, you too, man, Thank you for the support
and all the up to all the listeners out there.
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