Chris Vrenna
Encyclopedia
Chris VrennaChris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967 in Erie, Pennsylvania
} is an American
musician
, Grammy-winning producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna also played drums for the industrial/rock band Nine Inch Nails
from 1989 until 1997. Vrenna is the current drummer of American rock band Marilyn Manson
.
in Erie
, Pennsylvania in 1985, Vrenna moved to Chicago
, quickly becoming a part of the Chicago industrial music
scene and was briefly a member of Die Warzau
and Stabbing Westward
.
He later reconnected with Trent Reznor
, whom he met during high school in Pennsylvania, when they both were in local Cleveland, Ohio
band the Exotic Birds
. He also toured as a live drummer for KMFDM
during the Money
era tours, in 1992. He is currently recording under the name Tweaker, and has released two albums under that name, The Attraction to All Things Uncertain
(2001) and 2 a.m. Wakeup Call
(2004). Tweaker toured select North American dates with Skinny Puppy
in 2004.
As producer, remixer, or engineer Vrenna has worked with Lords of Acid
, God Lives Underwater
, Megadeth
, Rammstein
, Metallica
, The Rasmus
, U2
, Weezer
, P.O.D.
, David Bowie
, The Perfects, Slipknot
, Cold
, underwater
, Scarling.
, The Smashing Pumpkins
, Hole
, Marilyn Manson
, Rob Zombie
, Green Day
, Live
, Adema
, the Wallflowers, TheStart
, and Dir En Grey
. He has also worked with the underground industrial group Pigface
and produced songs and albums for underground girl groups TCR, Jack Off Jill
, and Rasputina.
Vrenna has also worked on music for several video games, including Doom 3
(as producer with Clint Walsh), Quake 4
, American McGee's Alice
, Enter The Matrix
, Sonic The Hedgehog, Area 51, and Need for Speed Most Wanted. In 2004, he started soundtrack work on Tabula Rasa, a massive multiplayer online game. He also helped compose the theme song to the animated series Xiaolin Showdown
.
He can be seen performing in the music videos for the songs Gave Up, Wish
, and March of the Pigs
on the Nine Inch Nails video compilation Closure, and also makes a brief appearance in The Perfect Drug
.
Vrenna won a Grammy award as a member of Nine Inch Nails for "Best Metal Performance" for Happiness in Slavery
in 1995 for the live performance of the song on Woodstock '94
.
Vrenna was Billy Corgan
's programmer for four months in 1997. While he was on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins, Vrenna got a call from Axl Rose
, who invited Vrenna to spend time with Guns N' Roses
. "I did for a couple weeks, but then decided I didn't want to join the band", said Vrenna.
Vrenna was chosen to take over the drumming responsibilities for Marilyn Manson
after Ginger Fish
was injured in 2004 during the Lest We Forget tour. Then he replaced Madonna Wayne Gacy
as the permanent keyboardist for Marilyn Manson, and co-produced their latest work, The High End of Low
. In April 2011, following the departure of Marilyn Manson's drummer Ginger Fish, Chris Vrenna was announced to be his official replacement. However, in November 2011, it was announced that Vrenna had parted ways with the band in order to focus on scoring movies and video games.
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
} is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, Grammy-winning producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna also played drums for the industrial/rock band Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
from 1989 until 1997. Vrenna is the current drummer of American rock band Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
.
Career
Soon after graduating from McDowell High SchoolMcDowell High School
McDowell High School is a public high school located in Millcreek Township, Pennsylvania a suburb of Erie. It is the only high school in the Millcreek Township School District. The current principal is Timothy Rankin. The school's mascot is the Trojan...
in Erie
Erie
Erie is a city in Pennsylvania, United States.Erie may also refer to:*Erie , a tribe of Native Americans-Places:*Lake Erie, one of the five Great Lakes of North America*Erie Canal, a canal running from the Hudson River to Lake Erie...
, Pennsylvania in 1985, Vrenna moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, quickly becoming a part of the Chicago industrial music
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
scene and was briefly a member of Die Warzau
Die Warzau
Die Warzau was an industrial music band formed in 1987 by performance artists Jim Marcus and Van Christie.-History:...
and Stabbing Westward
Stabbing Westward
Stabbing Westward was an American industrial rock and alternative rock band. They formed in 1985 in Chicago, Illinois and began recording in the 1990s. The band announced a dissolution in 2002.- Early years :...
.
He later reconnected with Trent Reznor
Trent Reznor
Michael Trent Reznor is an American multi-instrumentalist, composer, record producer, and leader of industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. Reznor is also a member of How to Destroy Angels alongside his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross. He was previously associated with bands Option 30,...
, whom he met during high school in Pennsylvania, when they both were in local Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
band the Exotic Birds
Exotic Birds
The Exotic Birds was a synthpop music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1983 by three Cleveland Institute of Music percussion students, Andy Kubiszewski, Tom Freer and Tim Adams. They wrote their own music, and were described as synth pop and dance...
. He also toured as a live drummer for KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
during the Money
Money (album)
KMFDM's sixth album, Money, was released in February 1992, and recorded in Hamburg, Germany. It was originally intended to be named Apart, with each of the two core members, Sascha Konietzko and En Esch, recording half an album and combining their work, but ended up using only Konietzko's half...
era tours, in 1992. He is currently recording under the name Tweaker, and has released two albums under that name, The Attraction to All Things Uncertain
The Attraction to All Things Uncertain
-Personnel:All songs written by Chris Vrenna except "Linoleum" written by Chris Vrenna & David Sylvian, "Swamp" written by Chris Vrenna & Buzz Osborne, "Happy Child" written by Chris Vrenna & Will Oldham, "Take Me Alive" written by Chris Vrenna & Craig Wedren and "After All" written by Chris Vrenna...
(2001) and 2 a.m. Wakeup Call
2 a.m. Wakeup Call
-Personnel:*Chris Vrenna: producer and performer*Clint Walsh: producer and performer*Jeff Antebi: executive producer*Johnny Marr: guitar on track 11*Paul Ill: bass on track 3; fretless bass on track 12*Rick Mouser: additional live drums on tracks 1 and 10...
(2004). Tweaker toured select North American dates with Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy
Skinny Puppy is a Canadian industrial musical group, formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1982. The group is widely considered to be the founders of the electro-industrial genre....
in 2004.
As producer, remixer, or engineer Vrenna has worked with Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid
Lords of Acid is a Belgian-American post-industrial/techno band, led by musician Praga Khan. They debuted with the controversial new beat single "I Sit on Acid" in 1988...
, God Lives Underwater
God Lives Underwater
God Lives Underwater was an industrial rock band from rural Perkiomenville, Pennsylvania , formed in 1993 by band members David Reilly and Jeff Turzo. God Lives Underwater was originally signed to American Recordings after being discovered by Rick Rubin, who subsequently produced the band's first...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, Rammstein
Rammstein
Rammstein is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band from Berlin, formed in 1994. The band consists of members Till Lindemann , Richard Z. Kruspe , Paul H. Landers , Oliver "Ollie" Riedel , Christoph "Doom" Schneider and Christian "Flake" Lorenz...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, The Rasmus
The Rasmus
The Rasmus are a Finnish rock band that formed in 1995 in Helsinki while the band members were still in upper comprehensive school. The original band members were Lauri Ylönen , Eero Heinonen , Pauli Rantasalmi and Janne Heiskanen...
, U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
, Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
, P.O.D.
P.O.D.
Payable on Death is an American Christian metal band formed in 1992. The band's line-up consists of vocalist Sonny Sandoval, drummer Wuv Bernardo, guitarist Marcos Curiel, and bassist Traa Daniels. Their Christian faith is an important part of their music.They have released seven studio albums and...
, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, The Perfects, Slipknot
Slipknot (band)
Slipknot is an American heavy metal band from Des Moines, Iowa. Formed in 1995, the group was founded by percussionist Shawn Crahan and bassist Paul Gray...
, Cold
Cold (band)
Cold is an American post-grunge band, formed in 1996 in Jacksonville, Florida. With two gold-albums Cold has sold over 1.2 million records in the US alone. On November 17, 2006, Ward announced on MySpace that, after a period of uncertainty since that February, the group had decided to disband. In...
, underwater
Underwater (band)
Underwater is a band formed in the late 1990s with Jeremy Wilkins on keyboard and guitar and Melissa Mileski on vocals. The band eventually added Alec Irvin on drums and a programmer, Matthew Jeanes....
, Scarling.
Scarling.
Scarling. is an American alternative rock band from Los Angeles, whose core members are Jessicka and Christian Hejnal-Addams. The band formed in 2002. They have released two albums, Sweet Heart Dealer and So Long, Scarecrow.-Name:...
, The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
, Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
, Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie
Rob Zombie is an American musician, film director, screenwriter and film producer. He founded the heavy metal band White Zombie and has been nominated three times as a solo artist for the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.Zombie has also established a career as a film director, creating the...
, Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
, Live
Live (band)
Live is an American rock band from York, Pennsylvania, composed of Chad Taylor , Patrick Dahlheimer , and Chad Gracey . Lead singer and principal songwriter Ed Kowalczyk left the band in November 2009....
, Adema
Adema
-2003–2004: Unstable, Mark Chavez's and Mike Ransom's departure:Adema's second album, Unstable, was released by Arista in August 2003. It was produced by Howard Benson, whose credits also include producing albums with P.O.D., Hoobastank and Cold....
, the Wallflowers, TheStart
TheSTART
TheStart is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. Their current lineup includes Aimee Echo, Jamie Miller, Lance Webber and Chelsea Davis.- Early history and Shakedown! :...
, and Dir En Grey
Dir en grey
Dir En Grey is a Japanese metal band formed in 1997 and currently signed to Firewall Div., a sub-division of Free-Will. As of 2011, they have recorded eight full-length records...
. He has also worked with the underground industrial group Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
and produced songs and albums for underground girl groups TCR, Jack Off Jill
Jack Off Jill
Jack Off Jill was an American alternative rock band from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 1992 by Jessica Fodera, Tenni Arslanyan, Robin Moulder, and Michelle Oliver. Though these four young women were the initial founders, twelve members rotated through the group in its lifespan, including...
, and Rasputina.
Vrenna has also worked on music for several video games, including Doom 3
Doom 3
Doom 3 is a science fiction horror video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. An example of the first-person shooter genre, Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004. The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac...
(as producer with Clint Walsh), Quake 4
Quake 4
Quake 4 is the fourth title in the series of Quake first-person shooter computer games. The game was developed by Raven Software and published by Activision. Raven Software has collaborated with id Software, the creators and historical developers of preceding Quake games...
, American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice
American McGee's Alice is a third-person action game released for PC on October 6, 2000. The game, developed by Rogue Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts, is set in an alternative universe of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland...
, Enter The Matrix
Enter the Matrix
Enter the Matrix is the first video game based on The Matrix series of films. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari and WB Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube game systems, and for the PC. It was published in Japan by Bandai...
, Sonic The Hedgehog, Area 51, and Need for Speed Most Wanted. In 2004, he started soundtrack work on Tabula Rasa, a massive multiplayer online game. He also helped compose the theme song to the animated series Xiaolin Showdown
Xiaolin Showdown
Xiaolin Showdown is an American animated television series that aired on Kids WB and was created by Christy Hui. Set in a world where martial arts battles and Eastern magic are commonplace, the series follows four young warriors in training that battle the forces of evil...
.
He can be seen performing in the music videos for the songs Gave Up, Wish
Wish (song)
"Wish" is the second promotional single from Nine Inch Nails' Broken. The most successful song from the EP, "Wish" cemented Trent Reznor's image as a rage-fueled star to the public. "Wish" won the Best Metal Performance in the 1993 Grammy Awards. Reznor later joked that his epitaph should read:...
, and March of the Pigs
March of the Pigs
"March of the Pigs" is a song written by Trent Reznor of American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails. It was released in 1994 as the first single from The Downward Spiral , the second album by Nine Inch Nails.-The song:...
on the Nine Inch Nails video compilation Closure, and also makes a brief appearance in The Perfect Drug
The Perfect Drug
"The Perfect Drug" or ' is a song by Nine Inch Nails. It was written for the David Lynch film Lost Highway and originally appeared on the Lost Highway soundtrack and as a single from the score in 1997...
.
Vrenna won a Grammy award as a member of Nine Inch Nails for "Best Metal Performance" for Happiness in Slavery
Happiness in Slavery
"Happiness in Slavery" is a song by the American act Nine Inch Nails. The song takes its title and refrain from Jean Paulhan's preface to Story of O. It is available on the Broken EP and was also released as a 12" promotional single in November 1992. The song peaked at number 13 on the U.S...
in 1995 for the live performance of the song on Woodstock '94
Woodstock '94
Woodstock '94, often called the "commercial Woodstock" or "Mudstock", was a music festival organized to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the original Woodstock Festival of 1969...
.
Vrenna was Billy Corgan
Billy Corgan
William Patrick "Billy" Corgan, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional poet best known as the frontman and sole permanent member of The Smashing Pumpkins. Formed by Corgan and guitarist James Iha in Chicago, Illinois in 1987, the band quickly gained steam with the...
's programmer for four months in 1997. While he was on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins, Vrenna got a call from Axl Rose
Axl Rose
W. Axl Rose is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is the lead vocalist and only remaining original member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he enjoyed great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s, before disappearing from the public eye for several years...
, who invited Vrenna to spend time with Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
. "I did for a couple weeks, but then decided I didn't want to join the band", said Vrenna.
Vrenna was chosen to take over the drumming responsibilities for Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson (band)
Marilyn Manson is an American metal band from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Formed in 1989 by Brian Warner and Scott Putesky, the group was originally named Marilyn Manson & the Spooky Kids with their uniquely theatrical performances gathering a local cult following in the early '90s. This attention...
after Ginger Fish
Ginger Fish
Kenneth Robert Wilson , better known by his stage name Ginger Fish, is an American drummer primarily known for playing drums for Marilyn Manson 1995-2011...
was injured in 2004 during the Lest We Forget tour. Then he replaced Madonna Wayne Gacy
Madonna Wayne Gacy
Stephen Gregory Bier Jr., formerly known by his stage name Madonna Wayne Gacy is the former keyboard player for Marilyn Manson, 1989-2007. His stage name came from the names of the singer Madonna and the serial killer John Wayne Gacy...
as the permanent keyboardist for Marilyn Manson, and co-produced their latest work, The High End of Low
The High End of Low
The High End of Low is the seventh full-length studio album by American rock band Marilyn Manson. Sean Beavan, who mixed Antichrist Superstar, Mechanical Animals, and Eat Me, Drink Me, is co-producer of the album along with Chris Vrenna...
. In April 2011, following the departure of Marilyn Manson's drummer Ginger Fish, Chris Vrenna was announced to be his official replacement. However, in November 2011, it was announced that Vrenna had parted ways with the band in order to focus on scoring movies and video games.