Trent Reznor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Trent Reznor
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Reznor in February 2008
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Michael Trent Reznor
May 17, 1965 New Castle, Pennsylvania, U.S.
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| Years active | 1982–present |
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Mariqueen Maandig
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| Children | 5 |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
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Michael Trent Reznor (born May 17, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and composer. He is famous for creating the industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails. For a long time, Reznor was the only official member of the band. In 2016, his creative partner Atticus Ross also became an official member.
Reznor started his career in the 1980s in different bands. The first Nine Inch Nails album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), became very popular with fans of underground music. The next two albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were praised by critics and made the band famous worldwide.
Besides Nine Inch Nails, Reznor has worked with many other artists, like Marilyn Manson and Halsey. In 2009, he formed a new group called How to Destroy Angels with his wife Mariqueen Maandig and Atticus Ross.
Since 2010, Reznor and Ross have become well-known for creating music for movies and TV shows. They have worked on many films with director David Fincher, including The Social Network and Gone Girl. They won Academy Awards for their music in the movies The Social Network (2010) and Soul (2020). They also won a Primetime Emmy Award for the TV series Watchmen (2019).
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Early Life
Michael Trent Reznor was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Mercer, Pennsylvania. After his parents divorced when he was six, he went to live with his grandparents on his mother's side.
Reznor started playing the piano when he was 12 and was very good at it. His grandfather once said, "Music was his life, from the time he was a wee boy. He was so gifted."
Reznor has said that growing up in a small town made him feel a bit cut off from the rest of the world. He learned about different places and ideas from movies, TV, and books. This made him want to explore the world beyond his hometown.
In high school, Reznor learned to play the saxophone and tuba. He was in the jazz band and the marching band. He also acted in school plays. He was praised for his roles as Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar and Professor Harold Hill in The Music Man. After graduating in 1983, he went to Allegheny College to study computer engineering.
Music and Film Career
Starting Out
While in high school, Reznor was in a band called Option 30. After one year of college, he moved to Cleveland, Ohio, to focus on music. He joined a few local bands, playing keyboards.
Reznor got a job at a recording studio called Right Track Studio. He worked as an assistant and a janitor. The studio owner let him record his own songs for free when the studio was not being used. This is where he began creating the music for Nine Inch Nails.
Nine Inch Nails
Reznor couldn't find a band that could play his songs the way he imagined them. So, inspired by the musician Prince, he decided to play almost all the instruments himself on his recordings.
He signed a deal with TVT Records, and the first Nine Inch Nails album, Pretty Hate Machine, came out in 1989. It was a success and became very popular. In 1991, Nine Inch Nails played at the famous Lollapalooza music festival. The band won a Grammy Award in 1993 for the song "Wish".
The second album, The Downward Spiral (1994), was a huge hit. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 chart. To record it, Reznor rented a house in Los Angeles with a well-known, dark history. He was interested in "American folklore" and built a studio there.
Nine Inch Nails toured a lot over the next few years, including a performance at Woodstock '94. After the tour, Reznor took a break. He faced some personal challenges during this time. This meant it took a few years to create the next album, the double album The Fragile, which was released in 1999.
The next album, With Teeth, came out in 2005 and went to number one on the Billboard 200. In 2007, he released Year Zero, a concept album about the future. It even had a special online game that went with it.
In 2016, Atticus Ross, who had worked with Reznor for many years, became the second official member of Nine Inch Nails. Together, they released more music, including a set of three EPs between 2016 and 2018.
Working with Other Artists
Reznor has worked with many other musicians. He helped produce albums for the artist Marilyn Manson. He also appeared in the music video for David Bowie's song "I'm Afraid of Americans" in 1997. Reznor and Bowie became good friends, and Reznor said that touring with Bowie inspired him.
In 2013, Reznor worked with the band Queens of the Stone Age on a song for their album ...Like Clockwork. He also appeared in a documentary called Sound City, directed by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters.
One of his most famous collaborations was on the song "Old Town Road" by Lil Nas X. The song used a sample from a Nine Inch Nails track called "34 Ghosts IV". "Old Town Road" became a massive hit, and Reznor received a songwriting credit for it.
In 2021, Reznor and Atticus Ross produced the album If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power for the singer Halsey. The album was praised by critics for its unique sound.
Movie and Video Game Music
Reznor has also created a lot of music for video games and movies.
Video Games
In 1996, Reznor created the music and sound effects for the video game Quake. The Nine Inch Nails logo even appears on the ammo boxes in the game. He later composed the theme music for the popular game Call of Duty: Black Ops II (2012).
Movie Scores
Reznor's first major film work was producing the soundtrack for the 1994 movie Natural Born Killers. He also produced the soundtrack for David Lynch's 1997 film Lost Highway.
In 2010, he and Atticus Ross began a famous partnership with director David Fincher. They wrote the score for The Social Network, a movie about the creation of Facebook. Their music for the film won them a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award.
They worked with Fincher again on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) and Gone Girl (2014). They also scored the Pixar animated movie Soul (2020), for which they won another Academy Award.
Some of their other film scores include:
- Patriots Day (2016)
- Bird Box (2018)
- Mank (2020)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)
- The Killer (2023)
- Challengers (2024)
Musical Style and Influences
Reznor's music often has a dark and intense sound, mixing rock guitars with electronic beats and synthesizers. He was inspired by many artists, especially Gary Numan, whose use of synthesizers made Reznor want to make electronic music.
He was also a big fan of David Bowie. Bowie's 1977 album Low was a major inspiration during the making of The Downward Spiral. Other bands that influenced him include Depeche Mode, The Cure, and Ministry.
Although his music can be very serious, people who knew him when he was young remember him as "very upbeat and friendly." He uses his music to explore deep feelings and complex ideas.
Personal Life
After the success of The Downward Spiral, Reznor went through a difficult time. He faced personal challenges and took a break from music to focus on his health. He has said that he needed to get his priorities straight.
In 2009, Reznor married Filipino-American singer Mariqueen Maandig. They live in Los Angeles and have five children. He has said that he now prefers working on film scores because it allows him to spend more time with his family.
Discography
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Nine Inch Nails
How to Destroy Angels
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with Atticus Ross
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See also
In Spanish: Trent Reznor para niños
