Only time will tell

While the landscape of music continues to evolve, American rock band Nelson — comprised of twin brother rockers Matthew and Gunnar Nelson — embrace every way music is consumed, including streaming.

“You can become a part of the fabric of people’s lives unconsciously,” Gunnar said in a phone interview with the Newton Daily News. “Because when your stuff is streaming and it’s put on in the background, it’s background noise for people, it does get absorbed. It becomes a part of their environment and it will make them feel a certain way.”

All they know, he continues, is that they like the music or whatever particular song they’re listening to at that instance, which is “cool” with him. However, there’s another way in which music is consumed that is just as important for bands and musicians, and it’s a method prevalent in every generation: performing live.

The difference between the two is evident.

“It’s like the difference between listening to a streaming station in the background and putting on a vinyl LP,” Gunnar said. “When you put on a vinyl LP, it forces you to stop your day-to-day and focus on the task at hand.”

A live performance should garner the same effect. Being present in the moment and truly listening offers a different kind of music experience, Gunnar argues. But sometimes that new technology can get in the way. Gunnar said it breaks his heart when he sees audience members more focused on recording a band’s performance on their cellphones during a concert.

Sometimes he points that out to people, but not in a rude way, he said. Live music concerts are moments where people can “put the tech away” and spend an hour-and-a-half immersing themselves “in the here and now.”

Performances mean much more to artists today now that the passive income earning of streaming has taken over physical music purchases, the interest of which has dwindled. Because of that technological shift toward streaming, Gunnar said a live show “is what it’s all about” when it comes to earning a living.

That’s a comfortable place to be in for both Matthew and Gunnar, who learned from a young age to pick up their acoustic guitars and start writing and performing their own songs. Mastering a live show or an intimate live performance is something the two brothers have been doing before they even released their debut album, “After the Rain.”

“My brother and I had a really strong image — we looked like Farrah Fawcett and Cheryl Tiegs — and people didn’t know what to do with that. It was a lot, visually, to absorb,” Gunnar said. “We wanted to make people pay attention. It was our debut record.

“We were forced to go out through that whole first year before we went out to do proper tours with two acoustic guitars and our voices on radio shows all over the country, starting with really small rural stations and working our way up.”

Growing up in a music family with two generations full of successful musicians before them — grandparents Ozzie and Harriet Nelson of “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” and pioneering rock ’n’ roller father Ricky Nelson — likely helped the brothers, too. But they made sure to put in their fair amount of work rather than rely on the family’s past accomplishments to find success.

And it seemed to work. Nelson’s debut album, “After the Rain,” reached double platinum while the single “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection” hit No. 1 on the U.S. charts. Today, the brothers continue to tour and expand their sound with new projects.

“As my Grandma Harriet always said, ‘Your name might get your foot in the door, but it’s your talent that’s going to keep you in the room,” Gunnar said

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com