The 1992 self-titled debut album went platinum and featured notable rock radio hits like “Down On Me,” “When Will It Rain,” “I Stand Alone” and, most notably, “The Lumberjack,” during which vocalist Jesse James Dupree performed a chain-saw solo. Dupree’s chain-saw escapades on album and in concert became one of many Jackyl trademarks. With the release of ‘Jackyl’ hit the road and barely left it since. Just long enough to record new albums.

Touring mates in those early days included Aerosmith, Kiss, ZZ Top, Ted Nugent and Damn Yankees. 1993 saw “Mental *@%.!” featured on ‘The Beavis & Butt-head Experience,’ a compilation album of songs tied in with MTV’s hit cartoon series; it was eventually certified triple platinum. 1994 was one of the most important years in the band’s career. The second album, ‘Push Comes To Shove,’ hit the streets and went gold. That August, Jackyl turned in one of the most acclaimed performances at Woodstock ’94 in Saugerties, NY, and the resulting double album ‘Woodstock 94′ went platinum and included “Headed For Destruction” (a track from ‘Push Comes To Shove’). The live recording ‘Night Of The Living Dead’ was released exclusively in Europe on Mayhem Records in 1996.

It wasn’t long before Jackyl followed A&R legend John Kalodner (who had signed them to Geffen) to Sony Music’s imprint Epic Records. ‘Cut the Crap’ was released in 1997 and benefited from two industry heavyweights overseeing its recording: producer Mike Fraser (AC/DC, Metallica) and mixer Kevin Shirley (silverchair, Aerosmith). This album spawned the rock radio hit “Locked and Loaded,” which included guest vocals by AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. It was the first time Johnson had ever recorded with any artist but AC/DC since he joined the band 17 years earlier. A collection of B-sides titled ‘Stayin’ Alive’ appeared on Shimmering Tone Records in 1998 but the biggest highlight of the year was Geffen’s release of the best-of collection ‘Choice Cuts’ and the related promotional events Jackyl did to help promote it.

The band earned two Guinness Book of World Records citations and the designation “The Hardest Working Band in Rock ‘N’ Roll” for performing 100 shows in 50 days as well as 21 shows in 24 hours. Dupree says the most grueling of the two was 21 shows in 24 hours; Jackyl completed that task in Texas, and the shows were all done with full lights and sound. The daytime sets were 45 minutes long whereas the ones done at nighttime were between 90 and 120 minutes long. Jackyl released ‘Relentless’ on Humidity Records in 2002. It contained the second collaboration with Brian Johnson, “Kill the Sunshine.” Universal Music/Geffen Records also issued a Jackyl volume as part of its acclaimed ’20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection’ best-of series in 2003. For a band that built its reputation as road warriors, it’s surprising that a full-length live album meant for worldwide release did not appear until 2004 with the separate release of the ‘Live at the Full Throttle Saloon’ CD and DVD on Sanctuary Records. ‘Live at the Full Throttle Saloon’ was recorded and filmed in summer 2003 in Sturgis, South Dakota, as part of the legendary annual biker rally festivities held there.

Staying true to their working band roots, 2008 and 2009 saw Jackyl on the road playing the summer festival circuit. The band is currently in the studio completing a 2010 release titled “My Moonshine Kicks Your Cocaine’s Ass.”

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“After the Rain” was the debut multi-platinum album by NELSON, the band led by twins Matthew and Gunnar in the early 1990s. They zoomed to number one with their hit song, “(Can’t Live Without Your) Love and Affection,” which made history landing America’s iconic Nelson family (bandleader Ozzie Nelson, rock legend Rick Nelson, and twins Matthew & Gunnar) into the Guinness Book of World Records as the ONLY family in Entertainment with 3 successive generations of #1 hitmakers. NELSON’s “After the Rain” record and tour became a phenomenon just prior to the rise of grunge. The last major success of the good time rock’n’roll era, NELSON has had (1) Number One, (4) Top Ten, and (5) Top 40 Billboard Hot 100 hit singles, plus (5) #1 MTV videos and has sold over 6.5 million albums worldwide!

Every magazine from Rolling Stone to People did cover stories, and NELSON performed on television shows like “Late Night With David Letterman” and “Saturday Night Live.”

Nelson has always been synonymous with entertainment in America. Matthew and Gunnar follow Ozzie Nelson’s vision of embracing connecting with people and audiences through all forms of media. They have been doing television-hosting work for VH1 and E! Plus, Gunnar co-hosted LIFETIME Radio’s nationally syndicated morning show.

Matthew and Gunnar have rare insights into what it takes to earn longevity in the entertainment world. They continue the inspiring story of a most remarkable show business family. Their grandparents, Ozzie and Harriet, achieved immortality with “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet,” the longest-running live action sitcom in television history. Earlier, the couple had enjoyed big band success and had scored a number one hit in 1934. Long before MTV made twins Matthew & Gunnar pop-rock icons, Ozzie Nelson is credited with creating the first conceptual music video for Ricky Nelson’s “Travelin’ Man”.

Perhaps the most televised rock star in history, the twins legendary father Ricky Nelson emerged from the TV series’ popularity to establish himself as one of the most important rock artists of the ‘50s and ‘60s with over 200 million career record sales. Rick Nelson is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame credited with founding the country rock music genre.
The world maintains its fascination with America’s First Family of Entertainment, the Nelsons.

A&E channel’s Nelson Family “Biography” episode is still one of the top-rated ‘Biography’ installments. Matthew & Gunnar embraced this fascination by creating a touring show to celebrate the TV Nelsons and the amazing career of their legendary father, Ricky, for whom LIFE magazine coined the phrase “Teen idol”. They share video clips & tell stories about their Hollywood family and perform their Pop’s music live to audiences in RICKY NELSON REMEMBERED while separately touring as “NELSON”. NELSON has been headlining at major rock festivals around the globe celebrating the 20th anniversary of “After the Rain”. Touring in China, the U.K. and of course the U.S. where they have also toured extensively with Peter Frampton and Styx.

“’Lightning Strikes Twice’ has allowed us creatively, artistically and musically to resolve some unfinished business,” Gunnar says. “We’ve had a blast going into the studio writing and performing some of our best songs. Plus, being back on the road with NELSON is living the dream all over again. New fans are discovering our music and original fans have shown incredible support all over the world. It ROCKS!”

Matthew adds, “Who could believe we would be doing a NELSON sequel to ‘After the Rain” twenty years later? Gunnar and I feel it’s our best work to date and should live up to its name ‘Lightning Strikes Twice’. We believe NELSON fans will agree with that forecast and hope they feel it’s been worth the long wait.”

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Seattle trailblazers Soundgarden were a law to themselves, edgy, dark and deeply individual. Their savage soundscapes, coupled with Cornell’s incisive lyrics and predatory roar, seduced audiences hungry for musical depth and complexity while leading trends in street fashion and iconic design. In 1989, they became the first Seattle band to sign to a major label Their sound continued to change and evolve over the course of five pioneering albums.

Celebrated side project Temple of the Dog had already shown Cornell’s more soulful side and introduced future Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder to the world. Later, Cornell shocked the business once again with richly melodic, critically acclaimed solo album “Euphoria Morning,” swiftly recognized for its alienation and despair. As the millennium turned, he joined with three other musical pioneers from Rage Against the Machine to create Audioslave, a multi-platinum, multi-Grammy nominated supergroup. On May 6, 2005, Audioslave played a free show in Havana, Cuba for over 50,000 people, becoming thefirst American rock group to perform an open-air concert in the socialist republic of Castro’s Cuba. Rather than making a political statement, the trip was conceived as a musical cultural exchange with the joint authorization of the United States Department of Treasury and the Cuban Institute of Music. Cornell commented: “Hopefully, this concert will help to open the musical borders between our two countries.”

Over three solo studio albums, Cornell has continuously redefined his sound and vision to encompass new music, new collaborations and new activities. Having contributed solo songs to movie soundtracks for “Singles” and “Great Expectations” to “Mission Impossible II,” he became the first and to date, only American male artist to be commissioned to write, record and perform the theme song for the James Bond franchise with “Casino Royale.” At the royal reception and premiere in London, Cornell was presented to Queen Elizabeth II. He has also had the honor to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors Gala in Washington DC, as well as in front of three United States Presidents.

Soundgarden made a historic return to the live stage in 2010. The band has since released retrospective album “Telephantasm” and “Live on I5″, taken from archive recordings of their 1996 US tour and a new studio album, ‘King Animal’ was released on November 13 this year.

In January 2011, Cornell announced his solo acoustic Songbook tour, following on from a series of acclaimed solo acoustic shows in Los Angeles. The sold out tour of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South America received universally positive reviews. As Jim Farber of The New York Daily News observed, “sometimes you don’t recognize the full power of a voice until you strip everything away from it.” Performances from the tour feature on Cornell’s 2011 live album, Songbook.

As an innovator, Cornell forged the first-ever multimedia partnership between an artist and a commercial airline, Virgin America. As he has continued to evolve as an artist, Cornell has also evolved as a humanitarian through his passion for philanthropy and community, saying: “I’m in a fortunate position to use music to support important causes that help foster change.” Cornell has been an active supporter of the Make A Wish Foundation, Stuart House and MusiCares.

In 2010 Cornell became closely involved with the Fulfillment Fund, a college-access and mentoring organization, and he and his wife have helped draw a whole new generation of mentors and donors to this cause. Chris’s Dream benefit concert was successful in raising much-needed funds and the new Chris and Vicky Cornell Scholarship Fund will enable a qualified student to be selected annually for a special educational award.

In August 2011 Cornell helped raise awareness for Sam Childer’s, Angels of East Africa children’s charity with his song “The Keeper,” written for the Marc Forster directed film Machine Gun Preacher. For the first 24 hours of release, the song was exclusively available as part of the “Donate to Download” campaign and a portion of the proceeds continue to go to the charity. The song is also the lead track on the film’s soundtrack album and was nominated for a Golden Globe in January 2012.

Only the most confident would claim to predict exactly what comes next for Chris Cornell. Only one thing’s for sure – he’ll continue to break rules, make history and challenge expectations.

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