Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band ...

is an American

industrial rock Industrial rock is a fusion genre that fuses industrial music and rock music. It initially originated in the 1970s, and drew influence from early experimental and industrial acts such as Cromagnon, Throbbing Gristle, Einstürzende Neubauten ...

band founded in 1988 by

Trent Reznor Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and composer. He serves as the lead vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and principal songwriter of the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, wh ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S ...

. The band's live performances 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 live performances. The list below outlines the individuals that has been a part of the Nine Inch Nails live band, in addition to any commercially released material that they contributed to or appeared on.

Background

The band's lineup has changed consistently throughout the band's history, with Reznor remaining the only constant. Notable musicians who have contributed to live performances include

Chris Vrenna Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967 in Erie, Pennsylvania) is an American musician, producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna played drums for the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails ...

Richard Patrick Richard Michael Patrick (born May 10, 1968) is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He is the frontman for the rock band Filter and a founding member of the supergroups Army of Anyone and The Damning Well, and has served as a touring g ...

, Jeff Ward,

James Woolley Woolley in the 90's. James Joseph Woolley (September 26, 1966 – August 14, 2016) was an American keyboard and synthesizer player, best known for performing with industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails during the 1991 Lollapalooza Tour and the be ...

Danny Lohner Daniel Patrick “Danny” Lohner, frequently known as Renholdër, is an American musician. He worked with Trent Reznor on numerous occasions, both with Nine Inch Nails and on the now defunct Tapeworm project. He has also played for Methods of M ...

Robin Finck Robert John "Robin" Finck (born November 7, 1971) is an American guitarist. Finck is the longest-serving touring musician for Nine Inch Nails, performing with the band from 1994 to 2000, and returning in 2008. With Nine Inch Nails, Finck contribu ...

Charlie Clouser Charles Alexander Clouser (born June 28, 1963) is an American keyboardist, composer, record producer, and remixer. He worked with Trent Reznor for Nine Inch Nails from 1994 to 2000, and is a composer for film and television; among his credits a ...

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, ...

Alessandro Cortini Alessandro Cortini (born 24 May 1976) is an Italian musician best known for being the keyboard, guitar, and bass player in the industrial band Nine Inch Nails. Cortini is also the frontman for the Los Angeles-based electronic-alternative band ...

Josh Freese Joshua Ryan Freese (born December 25, 1972) is an American session drummer. He is the son of tuba soloist Stan Freese and the older brother of musician Jason Freese. He is a member of the Vandals (since 1989) and Devo (since 1996), having f ...

, and

Ilan Rubin Ilan Rubin (born July 7, 1988) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He is known primarily for playing drums with bands such as Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, and Angels & Airwaves. In 2008 he formed The New Regime, in which he sings and ...

. In 2016, frequent Reznor collaborator and multi-instrumentalist

Atticus Ross Atticus Matthew Cowper Ross (born 16 January 1968) is an English musician, record producer, composer, and audio engineer. Along with Trent Reznor, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for '' The Social Network'' in 2010. In 2013, th ...

was announced as an official member of Nine Inch Nails, becoming the only person other than Reznor to have held an official position in the band. The configuration of Nine Inch Nails as a live band has evolved consistently. Early incarnations of the band featured three people playing guitar, drums, keyboards, and samplers. Later incarnations replaced the keyboards and samplers with an additional guitarist, and further incarnations added a bassist. The live component later settled on a five-piece band between the

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

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 opresent the material in concert", and by 2009 the live band was once again pared down to four positions. The live band reverted to five positions for the

Twenty Thirteen Tour The Twenty Thirteen Tour was a concert tour by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails to support the album ''Hesitation Marks''. It marked the return of the band for live performances after a four-year touring hiatus. It began on July 26, 2013 and ...

; however, on the second leg (Tension 2013), the live band consisted of the largest amount of members in the lineup with eight members total. Afterwards, the lineup again reverted to four positions for the third leg (NIN 2014). The live band then settled on five positions for 2017's I Can't Seem to Wake Up Tour, and has remained the same since. 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, one EP, and four videos featuring the live band: '' Closure'' (1997), a double-VHS set featuring live performances from the Self Destruct Tour; '' And All That Could Have Been'' (2002), released in CD and double-DVD formats featuring performances from the

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

; ''

Beside You in Time ''Beside You in Time'' is the third video album by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails, released in Europe on February 26, 2007 and in the United States on February 27, 2007. The video documents the band's 2006 Live: With Teeth Tour, a ...

'' (2007), released on Blu-Ray and DVD and featuring performances from the Live: With Teeth Tour; '' Another Version of the Truth'' (2009), an officially sanctioned

fan-made Fan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works (fiction, fan fiction and review literature), ...

release in HD and triple-DVD sets featuring performances from the Lights in the Sky Tour; and ''

Live 2013 EP ''Live 2013 EP'' is the third extended play (EP) by American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. It was released on September 10, 2013, exclusively on Spotify. The EP features live versions of four tracks, recorded during the Twenty Thirteen To ...

'' (2013), a four-track EP consisting of performances from the Twenty Thirteen Tour.

Background

Current members

Official members

Touring musicians

Former members

Abridged live musicians

Timeline

Line-ups

See also

Notes

References