80's music fans have long been looking for a new super group to bring back the magic to rock music again. Lately, their has been some buzz with the new super group -Scrap Metal, which features Gunnar and Matthew Nelson of Nelson, Kelly Keagy, Mark Slaughter, and special guests Eric Martin of Mr. Big.
 
Part of the appeal of Scrap Metal is that it features top musicians from the 80's that were very successful in their musical careers. The talent of the band is outstanding and recently in a sold out performance at The Mohegan Sun, the All-Star Band proved the time is just right for the debut of Scrap Metal.
 
The mastermind behind the project Scrap metal is Gunnar Nelson. The talented singer-songwriter along with his brother Matthew Nelson gave a stellar performance, as the band performed many Nelson hits including,” Love and Affection", and "After The Rain”. It is no secret that Gunnar and Matthew Nelson come from a very musical family. Their father was the late Rick Nelson, who inspired the big hit,” Garden Party." Gunnar and Matthew are carrying on the family musical name with their own band Nelson and their new project Scrap Metal.
 
I recently had the opportunity to discuss the making of Scrap Metal with Gunnar Nelson in this exclusive interview with GlamMetal.com.

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Gunnar, thank you for taking time out to talk with GlamMetal.com. First of all I want to congratulate you on the outstanding performance at Mohegan Sun. What are your thoughts on the first Scrap Metal performance?
 I think it was the start of some big things. To be honest with you, we were all pretty nervous, because we were all coming from so many directions. Matthew and I were out of the country for a while. Kelly and Mark were in Nashville. Eric was coming all the way from San Francisco. So getting every body in the same place to rehearse at the same time was really a challenge. It was just one of those things where all the planets aligned, and everybody just really stepped up. The audience was really there. It was exactly what we always wanted a Scrap Metal show to be, which were fun. I know fun is such a lame word. But that was realty the atmosphere that we tried to create. Our music is all about having a great time and stepping into a world where you forgot about all of your problems. You forget about the real world, as it stands right now. It takes you to a time when, when you are feeling confident, and your fist is in the air, and you are screaming at the top of your lungs.
 

The show went off flawlessly. The buzz from the audience was amazing.
 Well, it is only going to get better from there. It is really nice to step onstage with a bunch of pros. I have got nothing but respect for the guys that I play with. They are really the best at what they do. Deep down inside, I always knew that this is going to be really special. It really was. I had no idea that Mark as going to leap out on the tables and do his thing. I am such a huge Eric Martin fan, when he started to sing; I am just standing there on stage going, "Man I got to practice."
 
Gunnar, that is so cool. When I interviewed Eric, he had nothing but respect and praise for you too. He was so looking forward to the show.
The feeling is totally mutual. What is really nice about Scrap Metal, is that we get to play music that we all love with guys that we really do think are great. These are really the best guys, I know you probably have talked to Mark and you have talked with Eric. These cats are so cool.
 
How did you come up with the idea of Scrap Metal? Was it a year ago, when you saw Eric at the Marine County Fair?
Yes, it was. Eric was the last most important piece that fit in to this whole thing. Mark and I actually started this idea about four years ago. We were doing some acoustic shows around Nashville. Some of them were in Kentucky, which was a three-hour drive. So we are sitting there at night in the car driving up there to one of these shows, and we we just got to talking. It was like, "Man wouldn't be cool, if we could do this kind of thing?" That is where the dream of the idea started. We just kept on calling each other between our individual tours. The first opportunity came about a year ago, when we were invited to take part in something called Tin Pan South, which is an event here in Nashville, TN. it is basically for a week, all kinds of different songwriters converge on Nashville and basically every club in town is rocking from 5 o'clock in the afternoon until midnight with different groups of songwriters. Our friend from the songwriter’s guild that puts on Tin Pan South, and asks if Mark would like to perform, so I contacted Mark. They heard that Mark and I had done some shows together. So they asked us, if we wanted to perform for Tin Pan South. Mark called me up and we talked about it. We came up with the idea, and said we will do this on the one condition that we don't do it like everyone in town; we want to plug in. we want to do, but we want to do it with a full band and we can rock. So we are playing here again at the Mercy Lounge with the full band at Tin Pan South. That is where it all started. 
 
Will it be the same revolving cast of characters?
It is going to be the same cast of characters with the addition of C.J.Snare from Firehouse. He is going to be playing keyboards. Not a whole lot of people know that C.J. is a keyboard player. They just know him for fronting Firehouse. You are going to be playing in your hometown of Nashville again, so it is going to be exciting.
 
It is going to be really great. I know that we are going to be filming that night as well. To finish up with he filming that we started at the Mohegan. I have got calls in to as well for Stephen Pearcy from Ratt, and Nuno Bettencourt's manager as well. It might include those guys as well.
 

I know Stephen, he is a great performer. He did the Metal Mania Stripped acoustic tour.
Yes we were on the Second Cd Metal Mania Stripped Volume 2. When you talk about those kind of records, like the Monster Ballads, that thing sold like 2 million copies. I mean that is a big deal. If you think about it, for an entire decade people made the kind of music that we are talking about here. It was a huge part of their lives and culture, and t what hey were all about. Then we all went thru an era, which I kind of call the dark ages of rock and roll. Everybody kind of turned on that style of music. It was a huge shift. So performers started staring a their sneakers onstage and didn't interact with the audience anymore. The whole attitude is different. The whole attitude was like Life Sucks And You Owe Me. I personally couldn’t identify with that. I am not saying some good music didn't come out of that generation. It did but, for me a lot of it, I couldn't really identify because my attitude has always been pretty positive. I know it sounds kind of lame but it really true. Now with the stuff that you see on CNN and that bums you up big time, people really want an escape. People really want songs that they can sink their teeth into. Lyrics they can sing back, and great melodies, and powerful guitars. It is exciting too, because on the radio for the first time, I am starting to hear guitar solos again. It seems like the whole door is opening again, that is a testament for people like yourself, who promote 80's metal, and for the fans out there and also to the members like Scrap Metal. Because, I have said this before, and I will say it again. We are all survivors. We are all people who refuse to give up, refuse to quit, and I think that is why you are seeing a resurgence. It is not necessarily in quote;" The Old stuff" but is in more in the old attitude that we all had at the time. I mean think about it, at one point we went from we are half way there and we are living on a prayer, to smells like teen spirit. There is a huge shift. Once is not necessarily better than the other. But I do think with what is going on in the world right now, we need a little hope. We need a little escape. We need a little power, and we need a little positively. We need something to look forward too. Just as a lot of people were looking forward to that Scrap Metal show, it is just the beginning.
 
What was going through your mind, when you were performing your Nelson songs, such as "Love and Affection" with the musicians in Scrap Metal?
What we have all done as individual, every member of Scrap Metal maintains their own individual bands, tour and we still go out and do our thing, that is really important. It is not that I haven't played,” Love and Affection" and "After The Rain" since "After The Rain" tour. But I will say that what was different about it this time around is that it was being played for the first time in ten years by fans of the songs. It wasn’t just a gig to the people that we shared our stage with. The guys in Scrap Metal play our songs with passion and with a reverence that I haven’t heard since we were on the "After The Rain" tour. That in it was exciting. 
 
Actually right after the "After The Rain" Tour was when the grunge scene moved in. Metal kind of died for a while. During that genre, Nelson was signed to Geffen. Would you attribute your rise popularity more to MTV or radio promotion?
TV meant everything to Matthew and me. We were definitely a visual band. I have to thank John Kalodner and the vehicle of Geffen for at least giving us the opportunity to get out there on a massive scale. A lot of things happened that not a lot of people know about. Our record company Geffen was sold halfway through our record’s release. So when you shift distribution from one company to another. The new company doesn't want to inherit the old company stuff. It really hurt our momentum. Also it was really the fans that made Nelson huge. It wasn't the industry. It wasn't our own label. I mean no one really believed in us like we believed in ourselves, and like our fans believed in us. Once we got the word out there through the television, through posting on MTV and having our videos in MTV. It was really a fan-generated success. It was fans calling the radio stations, and demanding that the stations play our stuff, and that got our stuff played. All the passion and fun factor is back with Scrap Metal.
 
What is it like owning our own record label Stone Canyon Records? What are some of the pros and cons?
 Stone Canyon Records, up until now has only been a label that has really dealt with Nelson material. We haven't gone out there and signed other bands. That is something that we can do down the road. Basically the move was really to take our own destiny into our own hands. When you are actually on a major label, the whole industry is very different now than it was when we first released. You have to understand; we didn't have the Internet back then. We didn't have downloads, or Ipods. We also did not have the technology to actually record at home like we do now. There was a certain way that people did things back then. They basically made demos, got a record deal, got a big recording budget. You went into the studio; you spent a quarter of a million dollars making a record because that is what it costs. Then you had to pay all of that stuff back, and basically you were a slave to that label forever. Now a days things are totally different. You have technology now for 1100 bucks you can have a full 24-track studio on your Macintosh. You can make records at home, and it levels the playing field. All the guys in Scrap Metal are old enough to remember a time when we did not have the luxury of auto tunes. You didn't have instant rewind with a computer. Basically you had to do things the hard way. Which forced people to get to a certain level as far as their chops were concerned.
 
The great thing too, most of the fans are finding out about Scrap Metal through the Internet.
 Absolutely. It has changed everything, the stranglehold the record label had on the artist was you can't afford to record without our money. There is no distribution other than our distribution. We got the relationship with he record stores. If people buy your record, they are going to be buying it in the record stores and that is the way it is. You do it our way or the highway. Now that has really changed with invent of the Internet and with I-tunes. Fans have taken the power of the music industry back. If a band is great, the word will spread on the Internet. You will be able to download the band's tunes directly. A band can actually have their own label that is in charge of their own marketing, their publicity, their promotion, everything is in house. That is why the major labels are freaking out. Major labels fund videos, for the most part videos are expensive, and so that is what they do. But just because you make a video for a major label does not mean the video is actually going to be seen by anybody. It is not like it was where MTV played videos all the time MTV is more like an entertainment network now, very rarely do they play videos. They have game shows and reality shows. So everything has completely changed. I like to see that. But of that was starting Stone Canyon Records.
 
Any plans to go into the studio to record with Scrap Metal?
Yes, we have been working on songs for the last year. We have got sight of them written right now. We are in a demo phrase right now.
 

Let's take a moment and remember your Dad, Rick Nelson, who was a talented musician. In 2000, you released a tribute album. How did your Dad influence your musician?
Well he let me now it was possible to follow my dream in music. To us music was always in the house. For a lot of other people I suppose, if they wanted to be a rock star when they grew up they might get talked out of because it was completely unattainable. For me my first memories were watching my Father perform in the house. Music was always around, until I was six years old, I thought everybody's Dad was a Rock Star. It was very normal to me. He never forced me into playing music or playing songs. He was definitely supportive when I want to and said I want a drum set I want to play.
 
As a musician, what d you learn from your Dad Rick Nelson that you will forever treasure?
Well, there were a couple of things that he said to us. He never really had specific advice. One thing he said was,” Believe in what you are doing, and keep doing it. Belief and confidence in what you are doing is absolutely paramount because you are going to go through some really tough times in this business." Second,” If you are going to make music write your own songs." He said playing live is great and all, but the enjoyment he always got from writing his own songs, and life experiences like he put into like a song like,” Garden Party" was basically the biggest thrill. That really did me a service, from the time we were twelve years old, Matthew and I were writing our own songs. That is what really I think set us apart from a lot of bands from the era, we really thought song first and image second.
 
I know Nelson is returning to the area performing at the Mohegan Sun on April 7th. Do you have a new album in the works?
We actually have two. We got one in the can that is currently unreleased and was originally made for Europe. We are trying to figure out how we are going to release that. The record that we are currently working on Matthew and I have been writing like fools for the last three years. We have been distilling that down to the best eleven songs that we have written over the last three years.  I have to say it is the best work that we ever done. It is very, very focused. What we are going for with Nelson, we really want to be the modern Everly Brothers. That is what we are going for with that. Our heavy rock theme is going to be exorcised with Scrap Metal. The stuff that we are doing is more like a very modern singer songwriter thing centered on the two brothers singing. When Matthew and I went out opening for Styx and Frampton, it was just we with acoustic guitars. It was a great tour. It was up to us and our songs to win over the crowd every single night.
 
What happened to Jani Lane? There was talk that he was going to be part of Scrap metal. Is that still in the cards?
No, Jani Lane had his opportunity and he blew it. The reason why I decide to give him a shot was because of the fact that I thought that he wrote some catchy tunes. All I can say is he is not the person he used to be. 
 

Right, well we will leave it at that. I was so impressed with the talent and professionalism of Scrap Metal. Everything went off so flawlessly at the Mohegan.
Well if you are impressed with that imagine C.J. playing keys and Nuno playing guitar.
 
Nuno is a Boston boy too.
I haven't even talked to him; I have only talked with his manager. I am such a huge Nuno Bettencourt fan. I know he has got other stuff going on. I don't know if it something that he would like to do, but we sure would like to have him. New dates are starting to come in for Scrap Metal. We needed to start with that first date at Mohegan Sun to start building our story. 
 

Why did you choose Mohegan Sun for the Scrap Metal review?
We have a history there, and since we were filming that particular day, we had so many variables that could have gone distrastrously, if we did not do it at a place that had a staff that was unbelievable professional. It could have been a nightmare. The sound crew, the lighting crew, the hospitality crew, and the casino staff in general are the top in the industry. I knew the only place for us to do this debut was going to be at the Wolf Den. 
 
Did you come up with the name Scrap Metal?
 I think that was mine. There were some other ideas that were thrown around. I actually heard Scrap metal as a punch line for a joke, back in the day. It stuck in my head. That is what we all are. Fans and the band alike, we are all Scrap Metal. We are all pieces of patchwork. We are all the part of another time, and we are kind of defiant about that. We love it. We take what we love seriously, which are the music. In that way, we have everything in common with the fans. 
 
Some people will say, oh it is 2007, but in my opinion there has never been a genre since the 80's that has produced so many great artists and hits. The staff at GlamMetal.Com is proud to support bands from that era. It is so exhilarating to see the demand coming back, once again for 80's bands, and for new bands that are 80's oriented like Scrap Metal. To emerge onto the scene.
Everyone onstage in Scrap metal is a lead singer, in their own right with big hits. Everybody really plays their instruments very well. I did not know what a fine lead guitar player Mark Slaughter was until I started playing with him. I didn't know that he use to be a guitar instructor. When he was playing with Slaughter, he was just the front guy with the microphone.
 
I think he is doing the Fantasy Camp thing this weekend.
He is doing that right now with Kelly. 
 

Is their anything else that you want to say about Scrap Metal? 
Well, we are getting ready for this show coming up on March 28th. We are finishing the filming of that. We have been putting together a pitch for a reality TV show. I did talk to one agent who thinks we can get 15 more dates immediately. If that is the case, we will be all over country. We will start to built the Scrap Metal story. I think the most important thing right now is for people to come onto My space and the Scrap Metal website and our web page and check it out and spread the word. We want to have the biggest friend network out there.
 
Awesome. I really like the idea of the reality Scrap Metal show.
Well would you watch it?
 
Totally.
It would be centered on the building of the band. We are all so different. Mark has been staying at my house for the last couple of weeks. We are like the odd couple of rock and roll. It is great. He comes in with his McDonald's Super Size meal, and I am sitting my oatmeal and tofu. It is perfect. 
 
Thanks Gunnar, it has been a pleasure talking Scrap Metal with you. 
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