Trent Reznor
|
Trent Reznor live in 2006, photo by Rob Sheridan |
Michael Trent Reznor (born
May 17,
1965) is an
American musician and
producer. Reznor is the founder and primary creative force behind the band
Nine Inch Nails.
Michael Trent Reznor was born in
Mercer,
Pennsylvania to Michael J. Reznor and Nancy Clark. Reznor was called by his middle name to avoid confusion with his father. After his parents divorced, he and his sister, Tera (born in 1970), lived with their maternal grandparents in Mercer.[
1].
Reznor began playing the
piano at the age of five and showed an early aptitude for music. In a 1995 interview, his grandfather Bill Clark remarked, "Music was his life, from the time he was a wee boy. He was so gifted." [
2] His former piano teacher Rita Beglin said Reznor "always reminded me of
Harry Connick, Jr." when he played. [
3]
Reznor has repeatedly acknowledged that his sheltered life in Pennsylvania left him feeling somewhat isolated from the outside world. In a 1994 interview with
Rolling Stone, he makes reference to his choices in the music industry, "I don't know why I want to do these things," Reznor says, "other than my desire to escape from Small Town, U.S.A., to dismiss the boundaries, to explore. It isn't a bad place where I grew up, but there was nothing going on but the cornfields. My life experience came from watching movies, watching TV and reading books and looking at magazines. And when your fucking culture comes from watching TV every day, you're bombarded with images of things that seem cool, places that seem interesting, people who have jobs and careers and opportunities. None of that happened where I was. You're almost taught to realize it's not for you." [
4] However, Reznor later confesses, "I don't want to give the impression it was a miserable childhood." [
5]
At the Mercer Area Junior and Senior
High Schools, Reznor learned to also play the
saxophone, and
tuba. He was a member of both the
jazz and
marching bands. Former Mercer High School band director Dr. Hendley Hoge remembered Reznor as "very upbeat and friendly." [
6] Reznor also became involved in theatre while in high school. He was voted Best in Drama by classmates for his roles as Judas in
Jesus Christ Superstar and Professor Harold Hill in
the Music Man.
|
Option 30 album cover with Reznor on the far right |
Reznor graduated from high school in 1983 and enrolled at
Allegheny College where he studied
computer engineering and music, and he joined a local band named
Option 30 which played three shows per week. After a year in college, Reznor decided to drop out to pursue a full-time career in music.
Reznor moved to
Cleveland,
Ohio. In 1985, he joined a band named
The Innocent as a
keyboardist. They released one album,
Livin' in the Street, but Reznor quit after just three months.
In 1986, Reznor appeared as a member of the fictional band The Problems in the film
Light of Day. He also joined a local Cleveland band the
Exotic Birds.
He got a job at
Right Track Studio (now known as Midtown Recording) as a handyman. Studio owner Bart Koster commented how Reznor "is so focused in everything he does. When that guy waxed the floor, it looked great." [
7] Koster allowed Reznor to use the studio during off hours, which he used to record demos for songs that ended up on Nine Inch Nails' first album,
Pretty Hate Machine. These demos were later released as a bootleg under the name
Purest Feeling.
|
Trent Reznor (right) and Marilyn Manson at a 2000 concert |
Reznor was the credited producer for
Marilyn Manson's albums
Portrait of an American Family (1994),
Smells Like Children (1995), and
Antichrist Superstar (1996), as well as the soundtrack for the films
Natural Born Killers and
Lost Highway. Reznor is credited for "Driver Down" and "Videodrones; Questions" on the soundtrack for
Lost Highway. One other track, "
The Perfect Drug" is credited to Nine Inch Nails instead.
Reznor likes
video games, most notably
Doom by
id Software, which he has said he played on the Nine Inch Nails tour bus after doing shows. He also created the soundtrack for
ID Software's hit
Quake. The NIN logo also appears on the
nail gun ammo boxes in
Quake and prior to this, embedded in both the floor and ceiling of a
secret room in
Ultimate Doom.
Trent returned to work with id Software in 2003 as the sound engineer for
video game Doom 3. However, due to "time, money and bad management" [
8], he had to abandon this project, and his audio work did not make it into the game's release. The original audio files can be found on the Internet, although they are not officially endorsed by Reznor nor id Software. Chris Vrenna, former drummer for Nine Inch Nails, produced the music for
Doom 3 with his partner Clint Walsh.
During the five years between his albums
The Downward Spiral (1994) and
The Fragile (1999), Trent Reznor struggled with
depression,
social anxiety disorder,
writer's block, and the death of his grandmother. It has also been revealed by Reznor that he had been suffering from alcohol and drug addiction during the
Fragile era.In a 2005 interview with
Kerrang!, Reznor makes a note of his self-destructive past, "There was a persona that had run its course. I needed to get my priorities straight, my head screwed on. Instead of always working, I took a couple of years off, just to figure out who I was and working out if I wanted to keep doing this or not. I had become a terrible addict; I needed to get my shit together, figure out what had happened." [
9] In contrast with his former suicidal tendencies [
10], the song artist admitted in a 2005 interview with
Revolver that, "I'm pretty happy right now." But added, "Wait! Don't print that! You'll ruin my reputation. At least lie and say that I've got a dead body in my closet or something." [
11]
Tapeworm, a collaboration with
Danny Lohner,
Maynard James Keenan of
Tool, and Atticus Ross of
12 Rounds, was in production for almost ten years, but an update on the official Nine Inch Nails website declared that the project had been terminated. The only known performance of any Tapeworm material was when Keenan's other band
A Perfect Circle performed the song "Vacant" on tour in 2001. "Vacant" appears on A Perfect Circle's third album
eMOTIVe, reworked and retitled "Passive".
Reznor will make a guest appearance on rapper
El-P's next album,
I'll Sleep When You're Dead [
12], on the track "Flyentology" [
13]. El-P remixed the NIN track "
Only", released with the single "
Every Day Is Exactly the Same". Reznor has also been confirmed as the co-producer of the next album by
Saul Williams, who toured with NIN in 2005 and 2006 [
14].
Reznor is reportedly in the studio working on the follow up album to 2005's
With Teeth, which he has said will appear "shortly".
This is a list of musical work credited to Trent Reznor. For work credited to Nine Inch Nails, see Nine Inch Nails discography.Writing and performance
*Sound effects and music for
Quake (1996). Credited to Trent Reznor and
Nine Inch Nails*"Videodrones; Questions" appears on
Lost Highway soundtrack (1997)
*"Driver Down" appears on
Lost Highway soundtrack (1997)
Featuring
*"My Monkey" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on
Portrait of an American Family (1994)
*"Victory (Nine Inch Nails Remix)" for
Puff Daddy & The Family, appears on "
Victory: Remixes" (1998)
*"Lunchbox" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on
Portrait of an American Family (1994)
*"Deformography" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on
Antichrist Superstar (1996)
*"Mister Superstar" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on
Antichrist Superstar (1996)
*"Cryptorchid" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on
Antichrist Superstar (1996)
Portrait of an American Family (
Marilyn Manson, 1994)
*"Man That You Fear" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on
Antichrist Superstar (1996)
*"
Get Your Gunn", tracks 1-2 (
Marilyn Manson, 1994)
Portrait of an American Family (
Marilyn Manson, 1994)
Natural Born Killers (Soundtrack, 1994)
*"Down in the Park" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on
Lunchbox (1995)
Prick, tracks 1, 3–5 (
Prick, 1995)
Smells Like Children (
Marilyn Manson, 1995)
Antichrist Superstar, tracks 1-2, 4-10, 12-16, 99 (
Marilyn Manson, 1996)
Lost Highway (Soundtrack, 1997)
*"
Sweet Dreams", tracks 1-3 (
Marilyn Manson, 1997)
*"
The Beautiful People" (
Marilyn Manson, 1997)
*"Tourniquet" (
Marilyn Manson, 1997)
*"Victory (Nine Inch Nails Remix)" for
Puff Daddy & The Family, appears on "
Victory: Remixes" (1998)
Voyeurs (
Two, 1998)
It Dreams (Guest producer,
Jakalope, 2004)
Antichrist Superstar (Marilyn Manson, 1996)
For remixes credited to Nine Inch Nails, see Nine Inch Nails discography: Remixes.*"Burnt Offering" for
Machines of Loving Grace, appears on "
Burn Like Brilliant Trash (At Jackie's Funeral)" (1992)
*"Burn Like Brilliant Trash (Dub 120 BPM)" for
Machines of Loving Grace, appears on "
Burn Like Brilliant Trash (At Jackie's Funeral)" (1992)
*"Symphony of Destruction (The Gristle Mix)" for
Megadeth, appears on "
Foreclosure of a Dream" (1992)
*"Stone Cold Crazy (Re-produced by Trent Reznor)" for
Queen, appears on "
Stone Cold Crazy" (promo) (1992)
*"Missing Link (Screaming Bird Mix)" for
Curve, appears on
Blackerthreetrackertwo (1993)
*"Who Was In My Room Last Night (Trent Reznor Remix)" for
Butthole Surfers, appears on "
The Wooden Song" (1993)
*"Mother Inferior Got Her Gunn (Trent Reznor Remix)" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on "
Get Your Gunn" (1994)
*"The Heart's Filthy Lesson (Alt Mix)" for
David Bowie, appears on "
The Heart's Filthy Lesson" (1995)
*"I'm Afraid of Americans (V1, V2, V3, V4 & V6 Mixes)" for
David Bowie, appear on "
I'm Afraid of Americans" (1997)
*"Pleasant Smell (Rethought by Trent Reznor, Keith Hillebrandt and Clint Mansell)" for
12 Rounds, appears on "
Pleasant Smell" (1998)
*"Lapdance (Trent Reznor Remix)" for
N*E*R*D, appears on "
Spin This" (compilation) (2001)
*"Growing Up (Trent Reznor Remix)" for
Peter Gabriel, appears on "
Growing Up" (2003)
*"Vertigo (Trent Reznor Remix)" for
U2, appears on "
Vertigo (remix) (promo)" and "
Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" (2005)
*"Communique" for
Lucky Pierre, appears on "
Communique" (1988)
*"I Need to Get to Know" for
Lucky Pierre, appears on "
Communique" (1988)
*"My Monkey" for
Marilyn Manson, appears on "
Portrait Of An American Family" (1994)
*"Communique" for
Lucky Pierre, appears on "
Communique" (1988)
*"I Need to Get to Know" for
Lucky Pierre, appears on "
Communique" (1988)
*"Supernaut" for
1000 Homo DJs, appears on "
Supernaut" (1990) (vocals allegedly distorted due to a dispute with
TVT Records, though the topic remains to be debated due to Jourgensen's contradicting statements [
15])
*"Suck" for
Pigface, appears on
Gub (1991), later re-recorded for the
Nine Inch Nails EP
Broken (1992) as a hidden track
*"The Bushmaster" for
Pigface, appears on
Gub (1991)
*"Supernaut (Trent Reznor Vocal Version)" for
1000 Homo DJs, appears on
Black Box - Wax Trax! Records: The First 13 Years (1994) (vocals restored)
*"Past the Mission" for
Tori Amos, appears on
Under the Pink (1994)
*"Black Bomb (Jerry in the Bag)" for
Josh Wink, appears on
Herehear (1998)
*Reznor enjoyed
science fiction as a child, particularly the television show
The Six Million Dollar Man. Later in life, he used the Six Million Dollar Man's name, "
Steve Austin," as an assumed name when travelling [
16].
*Reznor is in possession of
John Lennon's
Mellotron, which he has used on
Broken,
The Fragile, and
Marilyn Manson's 2nd full-length studio album,
Antichrist Superstar.
*Trent's favorite candy is
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup.
*Trent is 5'6" (~168 centimeters) tall.
*Reznor has brown hair but has almost always been seen with it dyed black
*While writing
The Downward Spiral, Reznor lived in the Tate mansion where the
Manson family murders took place. After he moved out, and it was demolished, he went back and took the door as a
souvenir. It became the front door to Nothing Studios in
New Orleans.
*Reznor is a big fan of David Bowie, and one of his favourite David Bowie albums is
Low from 1977. He has stated in interviews that he played it constantly during the recording of
The Downward Spiral, for inspiration. However, he occasionally cites Bowie's
Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) as his favorite, and has performed the title track live with Bowie during Bowie's
Outside Tour in 1995.
*Reznor is also a massive Pink Floyd fan and has cited his favourite Pink Floyd album to be The Wall, which he listened to many times when he was younger.
*During the process of making Marilyn Manson's
Antichrist Superstar, Manson described Reznor as "the brother I never had", according to his autobiography,
The Long Hard Road Out Of Hell.
*Reznor moved to
New Orleans in 1995 and built a studio out of a former funeral home. He left in 2004 for
Los Angeles because he claimed he needed friends that don't drink.
*Reznor was involved in a feud with the band
Limp Bizkit (specifically their frontman
Fred Durst) in the late 1990s, around the height of their popularity, calling Durst a 'moron' and saying in a 1999 interview in
Rolling Stone magazine, "Let Fred Durst surf a piece of plywood up my ass." [
17]
*Reznor was to produce a song on
Aaliyah's final album,
Aaliyah, but scheduling conflicts did not permit this to happen. [
18]
*Trent Reznor makes a very small cameo in the show
Mission Hill. While Kevin French is at the red carpet for the Grammy Awards, a man in risque, S&M-like clothing strolls in the background with a leashed monkey.
*In January of 2006, Reznor filmed a
public service announcement for
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals [
19].
*In April of 2006 on
The Spiral Fanclub message board, Trent Reznor posted that he officially ended his struggle with drugs and alcohol on June 11th, 2001.
*Reznor interviewed
Roger Waters for Revolver magazine in 2000.[
20]
*
Nine Inch Nails*
Pigface*
Nothing Records*
Tapeworm*
Nine Inch Nails' official site*
The Spiral - Nine Inch Nails' official fan club
