At 20 years old, Alex Nelson doesn’t yet know where his music is going or where it’s going to take him. It continually changes, like most gifted young musicians, Nelson is constantly practicing, learning, recording and experimenting with his music. As long as his music is changing, Nelson will be doing the same.

Nelson and his famous brother, Jackie Greene, look a lot alike, but their music floats in different directions. With a blend of Japanese and Caucasian, they have an unassuming look about them that makes you want to learn more. Nelson has the ability to take his music as far as he wants.

"Jackie and Alex are brothers who share much of the same inspiration but march to very different drummers. Greene has gone on to become a world-class performer and critically acclaimed songwriter. He is driven by the roots of all that is Americana...the blues, folk and R&B," said Marty DeAnda, owner of local indie record label Dig Music.

"Alex revels in much of the same but channels a strong pop sensibility along with a fondness for classical rock,” DeAnda said.

Greene, who’s blues and folk roots began right here in Sacramento at places like Marylyn’s, the Torch Club and Blue Lamp, has since moved on to San Francisco and has been building a national audience while touring with Phil Lelsh and Friends for the last two years.

He released his fifth album “Giving Up the Ghost” in April of 2008. Greene and Nelson’s connection lies deeper than just music, though – they are family.

Nelson talked about his family, saying, “We all are ambitious people and trusting.” They are a close-knit family woven through the common thread of music. Nelson also has an older brother, Brian and a younger sister, Kelly.

“We were a middle-class poor family,” Nelson added. “My mom did a great job of hiding the fact we were poor.” To Nelson, Greene is his brother, not his comparison. He explained, “He has helped me tremendously for just being an older brother to me. I remember we use to go on hikes and he would tell me what plants were poisonous and which weren’t, just simple things like that.”

Their common ground is found through mutual musical influences like Tom Waits, The Allman Brothers and Muddy Waters. One way to put it is they started on the same path and are taking different ways to get to where they want to be.

Nelson’s band, Walking Spanish, released its album “Not Yet Now,” in 2007. Nelson plays five instruments including electric and acoustic guitars, piano, Hammond B-3, sampler and slide guitar.

Along with being lead singer, Nelson also wrote all of the songs. Intelligent songwriting can be found throughout the album, but in "Washed Away," there is a spark of lyrical greatness. With lines like, “All the world go round, we whispered to the edge of blaspheme and heavens never what you get to see,” Nelson has an infinite amount of talent and creativity to make the world go round.

Greene’s music is a major part in Nelson’s collection that includes The Clash and Tom Waits, Wilco and The Shins, Flaming Lips, The Beatles, The Band, Pink Floyd, The Allman Brothers, Iron and Wine, Elvis Costello, Boz Scaggs and the Decemberists.

The unique blend of music can also be seen in his personal life. A hizaem, which is an authentic Egyptian silk scarf, hangs on the wall in his room where a Gandhi photograph is also displayed.

Nelson is currently learning Arabic as well. Some of the local acts Nelson enjoys are Kate Gaffney, who is signed to Dig Music and An Angle, who opened up for Jackie Greene at the Radison Hotel.

In the future, Nelson hopes to be a successful recording artist, better musician and a better-rounded person. He sees everything that Greene sees, and maybe a little more.