List of Nine Inch Nails live-band members

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...

is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

industrial rock

Industrial rock

Industrial rock is a musical genre that fuses industrial music and specific rock subgenres. Industrial rock spawned industrial metal, with which it is often confused...

act, founded in 1988 by 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,...

in Cleveland

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...

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. Nine Inch Nails live performances

Nine Inch Nails live performances

Nine Inch Nails, an industrial rock band fronted by Trent Reznor, did various live performances throughout the world, including tours in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, and China. While Reznor controls the creative and musical direction of Nine Inch Nails in-studio, the...

contrast with its in-studio counterpart: although Reznor is in complete creative control of Nine Inch Nails in-studio, he typically assembles groups of backing musicians to interpret songs for tours and other live performances. In 2009 Reznor announced that Nine Inch Nails was done touring, but that he would continue to create music under the name.

The live band lineup changed consistently throughout the band's history, with Reznor remaining the only constant on vocals, guitar, and synthesizers. Notable musicians who have contributed to live performances include Richard Patrick

Richard Patrick

Richard Patrick is an American rock musician. He is the frontman for the band Filter, a founding member of the supergroup Army of Anyone, and has served as a touring guitarist for Nine Inch Nails....

, Chris Vrenna, Jeordie White

Jeordie White

Jeordie Osbourne White , better known by his pseudonym Twiggy Ramirez , is an American musician, who is best known for being the bassist and guitarist for Marilyn Manson. He was also the bassist for A Perfect Circle, and Nine Inch Nails...

, Robin Finck

Robin Finck

Robin Finck is an American guitarist of Nine Inch Nails and former lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses. He is one of only a few artists who has played in two different bands listed on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock"; Nine Inch Nails and Guns N' Roses .-Career:Finck grew up in Marietta,...

, Josh Freese

Josh Freese

Josh Freese is an American session drummer and songwriter. He is a permanent member of A Perfect Circle, The Vandals, and Devo, having formerly played drums for Nine Inch Nails from late 2005 until late 2008, and for Guns N' Roses from mid-1998 to 2001. Freese has appeared on close to 300 records....

, Aaron North

Aaron North

Aaron Wright North, born March 22, 1979 is the co-founder and former guitarist of punk band The Icarus Line, the former lead guitarist of the industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails and currently the vocalist and guitarist of the band Jubilee...

, Alessandro Cortini

Alessandro Cortini

Alessandro Cortini is an Italian musician best known for touring and recording with the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 2004 to 2008. Currently, Cortini is also the frontman for the Los Angeles based electronic-alternative band SONOIO. In addition, he was a touring member of The...

, Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Justin Meldal-Johnsen is an American musician and bassist, best known for his work with Grammy Award-winning artist Beck. He served as the touring bassist for Nine Inch Nails during their final tours.-Recording career:...

, Jerome Dillon

Jerome Dillon

Jerome Dillon is a professional musician, best known for his tenure as drummer with industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails from 1999-2005. After his departure, his own project, Nearly, released its debut album reminder in December 2005, along with a cd maxi-single for the song Straight to...

, Charlie Clouser

Charlie Clouser

Charles Alexander "Charlie" Clouser is an American musician whose activities include playing keyboard, synth, theremin, and drums. He is known for his abilities in music programming, engineering, mixing, and remixing. He was a member of the band Nine Inch Nails 1994–2000. Before he was in Nine...

, Danny Lohner

Danny Lohner

Daniel Patrick "Danny" Lohner , frequently known as Renholdër, is an American rock musician who plays bass guitar, electric guitar, and keyboards. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project...

, Jeff Ward

Jeff Ward (musician)

Jeff Ward was a drummer for various rock bands including Hammeron, Nine Inch Nails, Revolting Cocks, Ministry, Lard, and Low Pop Suicide....

, and James Woolley

James Woolley

James J. Woolley is a former keyboard and synthesizer player for industrial metal group Nine Inch Nails for the 1991 Lollapalooza Tour and the beginning part of the 1994 Self Destruct Tour...

.

The configuration of Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

as a live band evolved consistently from the first tours in 1988 until the final tour in 2009. Early incarnations of the band featured three people playing guitar

Guitar

The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

, drums

Drum kit

A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

, keyboard

Musical keyboard

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...

s, and samplers

Sampler (musical instrument)

A sampler is an electronic musical instrument similar in some respects to a synthesizer but, instead of generating sounds, it uses recordings of sounds that are loaded or recorded into it by the user and then played back by means of a keyboard, sequencer or other triggering device to perform or...

. Later incarnations replaced the keyboards and samplers with an additional guitarist, and further incarnations added a bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

ist. The live component of Nine Inch Nails later settled on a five-piece band between the Self Destruct tour in 1994 and Lights in the Sky tour in 2008. In September 2007, Reznor expressed his interest in moving away from the "rock band configuration" to explore "other ways [to] present the material in concert", and by 2009, the live band was once again pared down to four positions.

Between major tours, live band members have on occasion contributed instrumental performances to official Nine Inch Nails releases, though creative control and direction has always been the responsibility of Reznor. Nine Inch Nails has released one album and three videos featuring the live band: Closure (1997), a double-VHS

VHS

The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....

set featuring live performances from the Self-Destruct

Self Destruct Tour

Self-Destruct Tour was a concert tour in support of industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral album, which took place in early 1994, running until mid-1996, and was broken into 8 legs....

tour; And All That Could Have Been
And All that Could Have Been
And All That Could Have Been is a double album released by Nine Inch Nails in 2002. The live album contains music recorded during the Fragility v2.0 US tour in 2000; Disc 1 is a live album of their normal set list of the time, while disc B contains a studio album titled Still containing...

(2000), released in CD and double-DVD

DVD

A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....

formats featuring performances from the Fragility

Fragility Tour

Fragility Tour was a concert tour in support of industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails' The Fragile album, which took place in late 1999, running until mid-2000, and was broken into two major legs, Fragility v1.0 and Fragility v2.0 respectively...

tour; and Beside You in Time
Beside You in Time
Beside You in Time is a live home video release by Nine Inch Nails, issued in Europe on February 26, 2007, and the United States on February 27, 2007. Beside You in Time is also the title of a track on the NIN album With Teeth. The video documents NIN's 2006 Live: With Teeth tour, and is available...

(2007), a DVD featuring performances from the Live: With Teeth

Live: With Teeth Tour

Live: With Teeth Tour was a concert tour in support of industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails' With Teeth album, which took place in early 2005, running until mid-2006, and was broken into five legs....

tour.

Current members

Trent Reznor

Active: 1988–present

Instruments: lead vocals, guitar

Guitar

, bass guitar

Bass guitar

The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

, keyboards

Musical keyboard

, synthesizer

Synthesizer

A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...

Release contributions: all Nine Inch Nails releases

As the sole official member of Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails

in-studio, Reznor has performed with the live-band since its inception in 1988. Reznor was the only constant member of the live-band from 1988 until the band concluded touring in 2009.

Former live-band members

Alex Carapetis

Alex Carapetis is a professional drummer. After studying jazz at the Adelaide Conservatorium in 2000, he moved to Sydney to further his music career. In 2004 and 2005, Carapetis toured full-time with Jimmy Barnes in Australia and New Zealand. In July 2005, Carapetis toured with Delta Goodrem on...

Active: 2005

Instruments: drums

Release contributions: none

During the Live: With Teeth tour, Jerome Dillon was forced to stop midway through a show and was subsequently hospitalized. Josh Freese initially replaced Dillon on drums for two shows before Alex Carapetis joined the band for the remainder of the arena tour. Freese eventually replaced Carapetis and joined the band on a more permanent basis.

Charlie Clouser

Active: 1994–2000

Instruments: keyboards, synthesizers, theremin

Theremin

The theremin , originally known as the aetherphone/etherophone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox is an early electronic musical instrument controlled without discernible physical contact from the player. It is named after its Russian inventor, Professor Léon Theremin, who patented the device...

, occasional drums

Live-release contributions: Closure (1997), And All That Could Have Been (2002)

Studio-release contributions: The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral is the second studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released March 8, 1994, on Interscope Records. It is a concept album detailing the destruction of a man, from the beginning of his "downward spiral" to his climactic attempt at suicide...

(1994), Further Down the Spiral
Further Down the Spiral
Further Down the Spiral is a remix album by Nine Inch Nails, and was released on June 1, 1995. It is the tenth official Nine Inch Nails release and is the companion remix disc to The Downward Spiral...

(1995), "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...

", "The Day the World Went Away

The Day the World Went Away

"The Day the World Went Away" is a song by Nine Inch Nails, released in 1999 as the first single from the act's then-forthcoming album The Fragile...

" (1999), The Fragile
The Fragile
In terms of narrative, virtually no references are made to the aspects depicted in The Downward Spiral. Like The Downward Spiral, The Fragile is a concept album, but, as a double album, is nearly twice the length of its predecessor. Reznor's vocals, for the most part, are much more melodic and...

(1999), "Into the Void

Into the Void (Nine Inch Nails song)

"Into the Void" is a single by Nine Inch Nails, released in 2000. The song was the third single from the album The Fragile, released in 1999...

" (1999), "Starfuckers, Inc.

Starfuckers, Inc.

"Starfuckers, Inc." is a song by Nine Inch Nails.The song is released as the fourth single from the double album, The Fragile...

" (1999), Things Falling Apart
Things Falling Apart
-Vinyl version:-Chart positions:-External links:* * * * * *...

(2000)

Charlie Clouser joined the Nine Inch Nails live-band in late 1994, replacing James Woolley

James Woolley

James J. Woolley is a former keyboard and synthesizer player for industrial metal group Nine Inch Nails for the 1991 Lollapalooza Tour and the beginning part of the 1994 Self Destruct Tour...

on keyboards midway though the Self-Destruct tour. Clouser played with the live band through the remainder of the Self-Destruct tour, and the subsequent Fragility tour in 1999 and 2000. While a member of the live-band, Clouser contributed to numerous studio-releases, including The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999). Clouser was also a founding-member of the Nine Inch Nails side-project Tapeworm

Tapeworm (band)

Tapeworm is a defunct side project of Nine Inch Nails which existed in various forms from 1995 to roughly 2004. Tapeworm never released any recordings, but was frequently referenced in interviews. The band started as a side-project between Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and live-band...

Alessandro Cortini

Active: 2004–2008

Instruments: keyboards, synthesizers, guitar, bass guitar

Live-release contributions: Beside You in Time
Beside You in Time
Beside You in Time is a live home video release by Nine Inch Nails, issued in Europe on February 26, 2007, and the United States on February 27, 2007. Beside You in Time is also the title of a track on the NIN album With Teeth. The video documents NIN's 2006 Live: With Teeth tour, and is available...

(2007)

Release contributions: Year Zero Remixed
Year Zero Remixed
-Vinyl:-Critical reception:Year Zero Remixed received generally positive reviews. Virgin Media's review described the album as "a real cornucopia of treats" and "Highly recommended." Pitchfork Media's review, however, criticized the album, writing that it "lacks cohesion and is predictably...

(2007) (as Modwheelmood

Modwheelmood

Modwheelmood is an Electronic-Alternative band from Los Angeles, California formed by Alessandro Cortini and former Abandoned Pools guitarist Pelle Hillström in 1998.-History:Modwheelmood formed in 1998, initially as a project entitled...

), Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV is the sixth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on March 2, 2008. The team behind the project included Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor, studio-collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, and instrumental contributions from Alessandro Cortini,...

(2008), "Discipline

Discipline (Nine Inch Nails song)

"Discipline" is a single by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails. It is the band's first single since the severing its ties with Interscope Records and publishing music independently. Unlike previous NIN singles, no physical release of the song was issued...

" (2008), The Slip
The Slip (album)
The Slip is the seventh studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on July 22, 2008. It was the fourth consecutive Nine Inch Nails release to be produced by frontman Trent Reznor with collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder...

(2008)

Prior to the Live: With Teeth tour in 2005, Reznor held open auditions to replace live-band members who had left the group during the five years between tours. Alessandro Cortini reportedly "fit in immediately", and was part of the live-band for 4 years. Between tours, Cortini contributed to some of the Nine Inch Nails studio-material, gaining co-writing credits on Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV
Ghosts I–IV is the sixth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on March 2, 2008. The team behind the project included Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor, studio-collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder, and instrumental contributions from Alessandro Cortini,...

(2008) and a performance credit on The Slip
The Slip (album)
The Slip is the seventh studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on July 22, 2008. It was the fourth consecutive Nine Inch Nails release to be produced by frontman Trent Reznor with collaborators Atticus Ross and Alan Moulder...

(2008). At the conclusion of the Lights In The Sky Over North/South America tour in late 2008 Cortini announced his departure from the band to pursue other music projects. No replacement was hired for him, and the 2009 incarnation of the live band is a 4-piece group, with the role of keyboard player shared between the 4 band members.

Jerome Dillon

Active: 1999–2005

Instruments: drums

Live-release contributions: And All That Could Have Been (2002), Beside You in Time (2007)

Studio-release contributions: The Fragile (1999), Things Falling Apart (2000), With Teeth
With Teeth
With Teeth is the fourth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on May 3, 2005, by Interscope Records. The album was produced by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and long-time collaborator Alan Moulder. It was Reznor's first original studio album since The...

(2005)

To replace long-time member Chris Vrenna for the Fragility Tour in 1999, Reznor held open auditions to find a new drummer, eventually picking then-unknown Jerome Dillon

Jerome Dillon

. Dillon performed with the live band through the entirety of the Fragility tour, and was again featured in the band in 2005 at the start of the Live: With Teeth tour. However, during the band's first arena date, Dillon was forced to stop midway through a show and was subsequently hospitalized. His condition was later diagnosed as a non-life threatening cardiac disorder, a consequence of his thyroid

Thyroid

The thyroid gland or simply, the thyroid , in vertebrate anatomy, is one of the largest endocrine glands. The thyroid gland is found in the neck, below the thyroid cartilage...

medication. Dillon was initially replaced by Josh Freese, then Alex Carapetis, followed by Freese again on a more permanent basis. Once Dillon had recovered and was ready to return to the band, he encountered what he called "complete apathy and no sympathy" from Reznor and the Nine Inch Nails management, though this position was challenged directly by Reznor. During Dillon's tenure, he contributed to several Nine Inch Nails releases, including studio albums The Fragile (1999) and With Teeth (2005), and live-releases And All That Could Have Been (2002) and Beside You In Time (2007); the latter of which was released after his split with the band.

Robin Finck

Active: 1994–2000, 2008–2009

Instruments: guitar, synthesizers, vocals

Live-release contributions: Closure (1997), And All That Could Have Been
And All that Could Have Been
And All That Could Have Been is a double album released by Nine Inch Nails in 2002. The live album contains music recorded during the Fragility v2.0 US tour in 2000; Disc 1 is a live album of their normal set list of the time, while disc B contains a studio album titled Still containing...

(2002)

Release contributions: "Discipline" (2008), The Slip (2008)

Robin Finck replaced Richard Patrick

Richard Patrick

Richard Patrick is an American rock musician. He is the frontman for the band Filter, a founding member of the supergroup Army of Anyone, and has served as a touring guitarist for Nine Inch Nails....

, the live band's original guitarist, for the Self-Destruct tour in 1994. Between tours, Finck performed briefly with Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...

and then 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...

. Following a four-year touring hiatus, the Nine Inch Nails live-band reformed in 1999 for the Fragility tour, again featuring Finck contributing on guitar. At the conclusion of the Fragility tour in 2000, Finck returned to Guns N' Roses, and was replaced by Aaron North

Aaron North

for Live: With Teeth in 2005. There are various reports that suggest there was anamosity between Finck and Reznor during the Fragility tours, which may have led to Finck declining the invite to the following tours. In 2008, Finck rejoined Nine Inch Nails, playing on The Slip and joining the live band for the Lights in the Sky tour and the following Wave Goodbye tour. Finck has contributed on the most tours of all the past live members, playing for the Self Destruct, Fragility, Lights In The Sky and Wave Goodbye tours.

Rich Fownes

Richard Alexander Fownes is a bass, guitar and synth player from Brighton, England. He currently plays and writes for Bad For Lazarus and With Scissors. He also plays live for UNKLE....

Active: 2008 (see below)

Instruments: bass guitar

Release contributions: none

The Nine Inch Nails official website originally announced in 2008 that Rich Fownes would be joining the live-band for the Lights in the Sky tour on bass guitar. Before any scheduled performances, however, it was revealed that Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Justin Meldal-Johnsen

would instead be contributing on bass guitar. The circumstances of the replacement were not made public.

Josh Freese

Active: 2005–2008

Instruments: drums

Drum kit

Live-release contributions: Beside You in Time (2007)

Release contributions: Year Zero
Year Zero (album)
Year Zero is the fifth studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released on April 17, 2007, by Interscope Records. Frontman Trent Reznor wrote the album's music and lyrics while touring in support of the group's previous release, With Teeth...

(2007), "Capital G

Capital G

"Capital G" is a single by Nine Inch Nails, the second from their 2007 album Year Zero. A promo CD of the track was released through Interscope Records on April 2, 2007, and a vinyl was later released through What Records on June 11...

" (2007), The Slip (2008)

During the Live: With Teeth tour, drummer Jerome Dillon was forced to stop midway through a show and was subsequently hospitalized. Josh Freese initially replaced Dillon for two shows before Alex Carapetis

Alex Carapetis

joined the band for the remainder of the arena tour. Freese eventually replaced Carapetis and joined the band on a more permanent basis. Freese played with the band through the remainder of the Live: With Teeth tour, the following Performance 2007 tour, and the subsequent Lights in the Sky tour. Between tours, Freese contributed instrumental performances to a number of Nine Inch Nails studio-releases, including Year Zero (2007) and The Slip (2008). Before joining Nine Inch Nails, Freese had been a part of A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle

A Perfect Circle is an American rock supergroup formed in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. The original incarnation of the band also included Paz Lenchantin on bass, Troy Van Leeuwen on guitar, and Tim Alexander on drums...

while they acted as the supporting act for Nine Inch Nails during the Fragility 2.0 tour in 2000. He announced his departure from the band in late 2008 and was replaced by Ilan Rubin.

David Haymes

Active: 1990

Instruments: keyboards

Release contributions: none

Following Nine Inch Nails' tour in support of Jesus and Mary Chain in 1990, the live-band again toured in support of Peter Murphy

Peter Murphy (musician)

Peter John Murphy is an English rock vocalist. He was the vocalist of the rock group Bauhaus, and later went on to release a number of solo albums, such as Deep and Love Hysteria...

on the Deep tour. Lee Mars was initially hire to play the live-band on keyboards, but was replaced by David Haymes before the conclusion of the Deep tour. Haymes performed with Nine Inch Nails for less than a year, but in that time played with the band during their first tours as headlining act.

Danny Lohner

Active: 1993–2003, 2009 (1 performance)

Instruments: bass guitar, guitar, and synthesizers

Live-release contributions: And All That Could Have Been (2002)

Release contributions: The Downward Spiral (1994), The Fragile (1999), Things Falling Apart (2000)

For the Self-Destruct tour in 1994, the Nine Inch Nails live-band was expanded into a five-piece band, adding Danny Lohner on bass guitar. Lohner played with the live-band through the Self-Destruct tour in 1994 and 1995 and the Fragility tour in 1999 and 2000. During his tenure with the band, Lohner contributed to a number of releases, including studio-albums The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999) Lohner was also a founding-member of the Nine Inch Nails side-project Tapeworm.

Lee Mars

Active: 1990–1991

Instruments: keyboards

Release contributions: none

Lee Mars contributed briefly to the live-band as their third keyboardist, replacing Nick Rushe for Peter Murphy's Deep tour. However, midway through the 30-date tour, Mars was replaced by David Haymes.

Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Active: 2008–2009

Instruments: bass guitar

Release contributions: The Slip (Live rehearsal footage on the DVD of the CD/DVD release) (2009)

Prior to the Lights in the Sky tour, it was originally announced that Rich Fownes

Rich Fownes

Richard Alexander Fownes is a bass, guitar and synth player from Brighton, England. He currently plays and writes for Bad For Lazarus and With Scissors. He also plays live for UNKLE....

would be joining the live-band on bass guitar. However, before any scheduled performances it was revealed that Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Justin Meldal-Johnsen

would instead be contributing on bass guitar.

Ron Musarra

Active: 1988

Instruments: drums, samplers

Release contributions: none

Alongside Trent Reznor and Chris Vrenna, Ron Musarra was a member of the original three-piece band formed in 1988 to support 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....

on tour. Nine Inch Nails were reportedly poorly received, however, and were asked to leave the tour after 10 dates. For subsequent live performances and tours, Chris Vrenna, originally contributing on keyboards, replaced Musarra on drums.

Aaron North

Active: 2005–2007

Instruments: guitar

Live-release contributions: Beside You In Time (2007)

Prior to the Live: With Teeth tour in 2005, Reznor held open auditions to replace live-band members who had left the group during the five years between tours. Reznor reportedly had trouble finding a guitarist to replace Robin Finck until auditioning Aaron North. North played with the group through the Live: With Teeth and the following Performance 2007 tour.

Richard Patrick

Richard Patrick is an American rock musician. He is the frontman for the band Filter, a founding member of the supergroup Army of Anyone, and has served as a touring guitarist for Nine Inch Nails....

Active: 1989–1993, 1996 (1 performance)

Instruments: guitar

Studio-release contributions: Pretty Hate Machine
Pretty Hate Machine
Pretty Hate Machine is the debut album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released October 20, 1989, on TVT Records. Pretty Hate Machine is compiled of reworked tracks from the Purest Feeling demo, as well as tracks recorded after its recording...

(1989)

Following the live-band's first performances in support of Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails was asked to provide support for Jesus and Mary Chain on their Automatic tour in early 1990. Expanding from a three-piece to a four-piece band, Richard Patrick was added on guitar. Patrick played with the band through the conclusion of the Pretty Hate Machine tour in 1991, including a performance at Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza

Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...

. After touring briefly in support of 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...

, Patrick left the live-band to form Filter

Filter (band)

Filter is a rock group formed in 1993 in Cleveland by singer Richard Patrick and guitarist/programmer Brian Liesegang. Filter has released five studio albums, the most recent being The Trouble with Angels, which was released on August 17, 2010....

. Patrick was briefly reunited with Nine Inch Nails in 1996 during the Nights of Nothing showcase tour, as he contributed guitar to a performance of "Head Like a Hole

Head Like a Hole

"Head Like a Hole" is a song by the American industrial rock project Nine Inch Nails. A song influenced by industrial metal group Ministry, it was released as the second single from the group's debut album Pretty Hate Machine...

" during Nine Inch Nails' set on the last of three dates.

Ilan Rubin

Ilan Rubin is an American musician, best known for being former drummer of Lostprophets & industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails during their last tour...

Active: 2009

Instruments: drums

Drum kit

Release contributions: none

Ilan Rubin was named as the drummer to succeed Freese. Rubin will be playing with the band for the 2009 Wave Goodbye tour.

Nick Rushe

Active: 1990

Instruments: keyboards

Release contributions: none

Following the live-band's first performances in support of Skinny Puppy, Nine Inch Nails was asked to provide support for Jesus and Mary Chain on their Automatic tour in early 1990. Nick Rushe was added to the live-band on keyboards, taking over from Chris Vrenna who had in turn replaced Ron Musarra on drums. Rushe was only part of the live-band for the Automatic tour, some 34 performances over three months, and was later replaced by David Haymes for subsequent tour in support of Peter Murphy.

Chris Vrenna

Active: 1988–1991, 1992–1997

Instruments: keyboards, samplers (1988), drums

Studio-release contributions: Pretty Hate Machine (1989), Broken (1992), Fixed (1992), The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral
The Downward Spiral is the second studio album by American industrial rock act Nine Inch Nails, released March 8, 1994, on Interscope Records. It is a concept album detailing the destruction of a man, from the beginning of his "downward spiral" to his climactic attempt at suicide...

(1994)

Alongside Trent Reznor and Ron Musarra, Chris Vrenna was a member of the original three-piece band formed in 1988 to support Skinny Puppy on tour. After Nine Inch Nails was dismissed from the tour, Vrenna replaced Musarra on drums, and subsequently played with the band until 1991, when he had a brief fall out with Reznor. Vrenna and Reznor later reconciled, and Vrenna rejoined the band in 1994 for the Self-Destruct tour.

Jeff Ward

Jeff Ward (musician)

Jeff Ward was a drummer for various rock bands including Hammeron, Nine Inch Nails, Revolting Cocks, Ministry, Lard, and Low Pop Suicide....

Active: 1991

Instruments: drums

Release contributions: none

Jeff Ward briefly replaced Chris Vrenna as drummer for Nine Inch Nails when Vrenna left the band mid-tour due to a fall out with Reznor. Ward's brief tenure with the band included their 1991 Lollapalooza performance and as a supporting act on tour with Guns N' Roses. Between tours, Ward committed suicide in 1993, and Vrenna returned to the band taking Ward's place.

Jeordie White

Active: 2005–2007

Instruments: bass guitar, guitar, and synthesizers

Live-release contributions: Beside You In Time (2007)

Prior to the Live: With Teeth tour in 2005, Reznor held open auditions to replace live-band members who had left the group during the five years between tours. Jeordie White was auditioned and chose to replace Danny Lohner on bass guitar. White played with the group through the Live: With Teeth tour and the following Performance 2007 tour. Before joining Nine Inch Nails, White had been a part of 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...

(then playing under the pseudonym of "Twiggy Ramirez") while they acted as supporting band for Nine Inch Nails during the Self-Destruct tour in 1994.

James Woolley

James J. Woolley is a former keyboard and synthesizer player for industrial metal group Nine Inch Nails for the 1991 Lollapalooza Tour and the beginning part of the 1994 Self Destruct Tour...

Active: 1991–1994

Instruments: synthesizers

Live-release contributions: Closure (1997)

James Woolley played briefly for Nine Inch Nails on keyboards, replacing David Haymes. Woolley's brief tenure with the band included their 1991 Lollapalooza performance through the beginning of the subsequent Self-Destruct tour in 1994.

External links

Official Nine Inch Nails website

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