NINE INCH NAILS (2009)
Interview Background
Apologies to those who were fooled by the promotional image: sadly, the following interview wasn’t with Mr Self Destruct himself, Trent Reznor. Ahead of Nine Inch Nails’ 2009 Soundwave headline slot, for what was rumoured to be their final Australian performances, I requested an interview for a potential cover story. I’d been a Nine Inch Nails fan since I was a teenager, wearing out my Sony Discman listening to The Downward Spiral on repeat, so Trent Reznor was one of those icons I’d always hoped to one day pin down for an interview. Twenty years into his benevolent dictatorship, Nine Inch Nails were still proving a potent force under Reznor’s guardianship; current ‘free’ release The Slip had signalled Reznor’s continued exploration of unconventional music distribution, the band’s Lights In The Sky Tour was setting a new benchmark in lighting design and recent instrumental album Ghosts I-IV prophesised Reznor’s second coming as David Fincher’s Oscar-winning musical accomplice. Alas, my conversation with Mr Reznor was not to be – Soundwave’s only available Nine Inch Nails interview times were with Justin Meldal-Johnsen, a fresh NIN recruit with only six months’ tenure as bassist. Even so, Meldal-Johnsen provided an interesting insight into where the band were at in the lead-up to their Soundwave dates, although sadly his enticing stories of new collaborations and covers have never made it into the public domain.
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in Rip It Up, February 2009.
Nine Inch Nails - Broken Haloes
by Scott McLennan
For all intents and purposes, Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. From 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine through to last year’s The Slip, the US musician has been the only constant in the Nine Inch Nails story. Spending two decades as a lone wolf genius and tormented perfectionist, suddenly Reznor’s production line of hired hands no longer seem so disposable.
Stripped to a live quartet for the first time after the recent departure of keyboardist Alessandro Cortini, Reznor appears to be loosening the reins on the Nine Inch Nails juggernaut and welcoming external assistance. With a headlining slot on the Soundwave bill looming, not only are guitarist Robin Finck, drummer Ilan Rubin and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen assisting their leader with new arrangement ideas, they’re also helping with media duties. Considering Pretty Hate Machine’s single Head Like A Hole repeated the phrase ‘I’d rather die than give you control’, it seems Reznor is now comfortable having other members speak on his behalf.
“It’s very cool with me,” Meldal-Johnsen states. “I’ve been doing this tour for seven months and the work was so intensive for a while that being a part of Nine Inch Nails and understanding the nuances of it and integrating into it was a very swift process. For that reason I guess it seems quite second nature to me in a strange way, like I’ve been here for years.
“We’ve earned Trent’s trust, share his vision and are excited about everything we have in the fire. There’s a nice ease about everything and he’s not particularly what I would call a control freak.”
While actor Christian Bale (who played a character named in honour of Trent Reznor in The Machinist) has been earning a great deal of attention this week for his explosive temper on the set of Terminator: Salvation, Meldal-Johnsen assures you won’t find such anger spewing forth from Reznor.
“Every cliché or story I’d ever heard about him is either completely antiquated or simply a fabrication, because I’m dealing with a guy who is intense but relaxed, sophisticated, smart, funny and very driven for excellence in his art. On the other hand I don’t fuck up very much, so he appreciates people who work hard at what they do and have excellence, passion and pride in their work. He’s arrived at a place where he’s got guys who he doesn’t have to babysit or worry about.
“Just today Trent and I were watching and laughing about the Christian Bale thing. Are people really that interested in that shit? That’s not Trent Reznor though – he’s an artist and he’s driven to excellence, but not at the expense of alienating his band and crew. He’s a very down-to-earth guy and cool.”
Prior to joining Nine Inch Nails in May 2008, Meldal-Johnsen worked with fellow Scientologist Beck on a number of albums. With Nine Inch Nails tracks such as Heresy attacking organised religion and Terrible Lie having been played by protesters at anti-Scientology marches, is Meldal-Johnsen’s faith at odds with the music he now plays?
“No. People can exert whatever opinion they want to exert and I have my own opinions and beliefs and philosophy I apply to my own life. I’m happy about that, but I’m also happy for people to express what they want to express too – that’s fine.”
Stripped to a quartet, on paper the current live Nine Inch Nails show looks like it could be the most rugged, take-no-prisoners version of the band since 1992’s Broken EP.
“Well ironically, in spite of me describing our domestic simplicity and bliss, when the music gets played it certainly is more rugged since our beloved Alessandro left. It’s now sounding very tough, but it has a sophistication to it too. It’s a little bit more stripped down but it has an elegant simplicity to it and a lot of power as a result. Now you have four guys in the band who each play everything, so that’s pretty cool and we’re going to utilise that to our advantage.”
Has this new line-up inspired new material? Are new demos and ideas being bounced around?
“I’m not going to say demos, but I am going to say there are songs we’re trying that people have never heard. There are re-arrangements of existing songs or older Nails material that are different. This Australian run is really the first time this band has the chance to demonstrate its skills, so we’re using it to try things and experiment, remix the material somewhat. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s dramatic, so I think it will be very cool and people will be into it.”
Despite working on up to 70 separate Nine Inch Nails songs as a quartet, Justin is at pains to divulge the live rarities being promised.
“Whether or not they surface quickly in the tour, there are songs that are B-sides, rarities and unreleased material that we are getting our hands around. It’s exciting when a song gets a rest for some time, but there’s equal excitement when you spring something new on an audience.”
The idea of performing cover songs has also been raised. With Reznor having flippantly discussed a Pin-Ups style covers project in the past, Justin is excited about such opportunities.
“It would be broader than what people would have expected in the past – it wouldn’t be slanted towards industrial or hard rock as I don’t think that’s the way Trent thinks. I’m just pulling this out of the air, but maybe there’d be some vintage Roxy Music or something. There’d be material with a wider emotional range than what you’d hear on a Nine Inch Nails covers album from back in the day. I think it would be great though and I wish he would do that.”
The Slip (Shock)
Unpublished Interview Material
What’s been happening, Justin? I hear you were waylaid.
“Hey Scott. We’re in the rare southern California rain deluge that washes everything towards the sea. It’s violent and sudden and it sends everyone into a panic and they forget how to drive. It’s all good now though and here I am.”
The 1994 Self-Destruction Tour was a debauched time for Nine Inch Nails. With Self-Destruction veteran Robin Finck back in the band, is he behaving himself these days?
(laughs) “Yeah man, once again we’re grown men. We’re married, I have a four-year-old daughter and sometimes her and my wife travel with us. Trent has family members travelling with him, Robin has two as well and we’re not here to derail something that has so much riding on it. Robin is an incredible, sensitive, smart and sophisticated man. What people do when they’re 22 is quite different from what they do at 38.”
Talk is that Australia won’t be getting the LED curtains of the Lights In The Sky tour - what are we being offered?
“That’s still in progress. We’re working with our lighting designer Roy Bennett, who has done everything - The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, With Teeth, Lights In The Sky. In some respects he’s been as important to Nine Inch Nails as anybody. He’s working on a design and I’ve seen some pictures of it and it’s cool. It has a look and an aesthetic where there’s perhaps less mystery – it’s more bold and primary. There’s not as much reliance on layering of effects, standing between LED curtains and whatnot. It’s more like the band’s right there and the lights will accentuate the show without wrapping it up in expensive production. I don’t think it will be that minimal, I just think it will be different than what people have seen on previous tours. Lights In The Sky was, bar none, the most highly produced Nine Inch Nails tour ever and I’m sorry we couldn’t take it to Australia. Frankly it’s financially unfeasible for a band like Nine Inch Nails, so maybe if we were The Rolling Stones.”
You replaced Rich Fownes within about five minutes of him replacing Jeordie White – what happened?
“You know, I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly privy to it and I never met Rich. I don’t know anything about his musical background or anything. He was in rehearsal for about two weeks and there was dissatisfaction within the band about how he was rendering the material. They were gentlemen about it and didn’t want it to be like ‘He’s gone, now you’re here. Here’s what happened’, I think they just let it be. I think he just wasn’t the right guy at fulfilling Trent’s ambitions for the Lights In The Sky material and the Ghosts material and the Year Zero material. I guess he just wasn’t up to that task and am assuming he’s now continued with his musical career.”
Apologies to those who were fooled by the promotional image: sadly, the following interview wasn’t with Mr Self Destruct himself, Trent Reznor. Ahead of Nine Inch Nails’ 2009 Soundwave headline slot, for what was rumoured to be their final Australian performances, I requested an interview for a potential cover story. I’d been a Nine Inch Nails fan since I was a teenager, wearing out my Sony Discman listening to The Downward Spiral on repeat, so Trent Reznor was one of those icons I’d always hoped to one day pin down for an interview. Twenty years into his benevolent dictatorship, Nine Inch Nails were still proving a potent force under Reznor’s guardianship; current ‘free’ release The Slip had signalled Reznor’s continued exploration of unconventional music distribution, the band’s Lights In The Sky Tour was setting a new benchmark in lighting design and recent instrumental album Ghosts I-IV prophesised Reznor’s second coming as David Fincher’s Oscar-winning musical accomplice. Alas, my conversation with Mr Reznor was not to be – Soundwave’s only available Nine Inch Nails interview times were with Justin Meldal-Johnsen, a fresh NIN recruit with only six months’ tenure as bassist. Even so, Meldal-Johnsen provided an interesting insight into where the band were at in the lead-up to their Soundwave dates, although sadly his enticing stories of new collaborations and covers have never made it into the public domain.
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in Rip It Up, February 2009.
Nine Inch Nails - Broken Haloes
by Scott McLennan
For all intents and purposes, Trent Reznor is Nine Inch Nails. From 1989’s Pretty Hate Machine through to last year’s The Slip, the US musician has been the only constant in the Nine Inch Nails story. Spending two decades as a lone wolf genius and tormented perfectionist, suddenly Reznor’s production line of hired hands no longer seem so disposable.
Stripped to a live quartet for the first time after the recent departure of keyboardist Alessandro Cortini, Reznor appears to be loosening the reins on the Nine Inch Nails juggernaut and welcoming external assistance. With a headlining slot on the Soundwave bill looming, not only are guitarist Robin Finck, drummer Ilan Rubin and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen assisting their leader with new arrangement ideas, they’re also helping with media duties. Considering Pretty Hate Machine’s single Head Like A Hole repeated the phrase ‘I’d rather die than give you control’, it seems Reznor is now comfortable having other members speak on his behalf.
“It’s very cool with me,” Meldal-Johnsen states. “I’ve been doing this tour for seven months and the work was so intensive for a while that being a part of Nine Inch Nails and understanding the nuances of it and integrating into it was a very swift process. For that reason I guess it seems quite second nature to me in a strange way, like I’ve been here for years.
“We’ve earned Trent’s trust, share his vision and are excited about everything we have in the fire. There’s a nice ease about everything and he’s not particularly what I would call a control freak.”
While actor Christian Bale (who played a character named in honour of Trent Reznor in The Machinist) has been earning a great deal of attention this week for his explosive temper on the set of Terminator: Salvation, Meldal-Johnsen assures you won’t find such anger spewing forth from Reznor.
“Every cliché or story I’d ever heard about him is either completely antiquated or simply a fabrication, because I’m dealing with a guy who is intense but relaxed, sophisticated, smart, funny and very driven for excellence in his art. On the other hand I don’t fuck up very much, so he appreciates people who work hard at what they do and have excellence, passion and pride in their work. He’s arrived at a place where he’s got guys who he doesn’t have to babysit or worry about.
“Just today Trent and I were watching and laughing about the Christian Bale thing. Are people really that interested in that shit? That’s not Trent Reznor though – he’s an artist and he’s driven to excellence, but not at the expense of alienating his band and crew. He’s a very down-to-earth guy and cool.”
Prior to joining Nine Inch Nails in May 2008, Meldal-Johnsen worked with fellow Scientologist Beck on a number of albums. With Nine Inch Nails tracks such as Heresy attacking organised religion and Terrible Lie having been played by protesters at anti-Scientology marches, is Meldal-Johnsen’s faith at odds with the music he now plays?
“No. People can exert whatever opinion they want to exert and I have my own opinions and beliefs and philosophy I apply to my own life. I’m happy about that, but I’m also happy for people to express what they want to express too – that’s fine.”
Stripped to a quartet, on paper the current live Nine Inch Nails show looks like it could be the most rugged, take-no-prisoners version of the band since 1992’s Broken EP.
“Well ironically, in spite of me describing our domestic simplicity and bliss, when the music gets played it certainly is more rugged since our beloved Alessandro left. It’s now sounding very tough, but it has a sophistication to it too. It’s a little bit more stripped down but it has an elegant simplicity to it and a lot of power as a result. Now you have four guys in the band who each play everything, so that’s pretty cool and we’re going to utilise that to our advantage.”
Has this new line-up inspired new material? Are new demos and ideas being bounced around?
“I’m not going to say demos, but I am going to say there are songs we’re trying that people have never heard. There are re-arrangements of existing songs or older Nails material that are different. This Australian run is really the first time this band has the chance to demonstrate its skills, so we’re using it to try things and experiment, remix the material somewhat. Sometimes it’s subtle and sometimes it’s dramatic, so I think it will be very cool and people will be into it.”
Despite working on up to 70 separate Nine Inch Nails songs as a quartet, Justin is at pains to divulge the live rarities being promised.
“Whether or not they surface quickly in the tour, there are songs that are B-sides, rarities and unreleased material that we are getting our hands around. It’s exciting when a song gets a rest for some time, but there’s equal excitement when you spring something new on an audience.”
The idea of performing cover songs has also been raised. With Reznor having flippantly discussed a Pin-Ups style covers project in the past, Justin is excited about such opportunities.
“It would be broader than what people would have expected in the past – it wouldn’t be slanted towards industrial or hard rock as I don’t think that’s the way Trent thinks. I’m just pulling this out of the air, but maybe there’d be some vintage Roxy Music or something. There’d be material with a wider emotional range than what you’d hear on a Nine Inch Nails covers album from back in the day. I think it would be great though and I wish he would do that.”
The Slip (Shock)
Unpublished Interview Material
What’s been happening, Justin? I hear you were waylaid.
“Hey Scott. We’re in the rare southern California rain deluge that washes everything towards the sea. It’s violent and sudden and it sends everyone into a panic and they forget how to drive. It’s all good now though and here I am.”
The 1994 Self-Destruction Tour was a debauched time for Nine Inch Nails. With Self-Destruction veteran Robin Finck back in the band, is he behaving himself these days?
(laughs) “Yeah man, once again we’re grown men. We’re married, I have a four-year-old daughter and sometimes her and my wife travel with us. Trent has family members travelling with him, Robin has two as well and we’re not here to derail something that has so much riding on it. Robin is an incredible, sensitive, smart and sophisticated man. What people do when they’re 22 is quite different from what they do at 38.”
Talk is that Australia won’t be getting the LED curtains of the Lights In The Sky tour - what are we being offered?
“That’s still in progress. We’re working with our lighting designer Roy Bennett, who has done everything - The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, With Teeth, Lights In The Sky. In some respects he’s been as important to Nine Inch Nails as anybody. He’s working on a design and I’ve seen some pictures of it and it’s cool. It has a look and an aesthetic where there’s perhaps less mystery – it’s more bold and primary. There’s not as much reliance on layering of effects, standing between LED curtains and whatnot. It’s more like the band’s right there and the lights will accentuate the show without wrapping it up in expensive production. I don’t think it will be that minimal, I just think it will be different than what people have seen on previous tours. Lights In The Sky was, bar none, the most highly produced Nine Inch Nails tour ever and I’m sorry we couldn’t take it to Australia. Frankly it’s financially unfeasible for a band like Nine Inch Nails, so maybe if we were The Rolling Stones.”
You replaced Rich Fownes within about five minutes of him replacing Jeordie White – what happened?
“You know, I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly privy to it and I never met Rich. I don’t know anything about his musical background or anything. He was in rehearsal for about two weeks and there was dissatisfaction within the band about how he was rendering the material. They were gentlemen about it and didn’t want it to be like ‘He’s gone, now you’re here. Here’s what happened’, I think they just let it be. I think he just wasn’t the right guy at fulfilling Trent’s ambitions for the Lights In The Sky material and the Ghosts material and the Year Zero material. I guess he just wasn’t up to that task and am assuming he’s now continued with his musical career.”
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