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→The Early Years
Reznor's first band in Cleveland was a cover band called [[The Urge]]. This band drew crowds and Reznor got some recognition. When he left the band months later they lost much of their audience. In March 1985, he joined [[The Innocent]] as a keyboardist, but left the band after about five months. Reznor briefly re-joined The Urge in October 1985, before parting ways again shortly thereafter. In early 1986, he joined [[Exotic Birds]] as a keyboardist and back-up vocalist with [[Andy Kubiszewski]] (who would later join Stabbing Westward). In December 1986, Reznor invited Vrenna to play drums for the newly reconfigured Exotic Birds. During this time Reznor also met [[John A. Malm, Jr.]], who was doing promotion for the band. Exotic Birds received some national attention after playing a few gigs with Culture Club, but the band split up by July 1987. [https://casetext.com/case/reznor-v-j-artist-management] This was followed by keyboardist positions in [[Slam Bamboo]] and [[Lucky Pierre]]. Reznor was also briefly part of [[Kollaps]] during these years, alongside [[Richard Patrick]]. But all the while, Reznor wanted to be able to do his own music and be his own musician.
The initial songwriting and planning for Nine Inch Nails was happening while Reznor was still in Slam Bamboo and Lucky Pierre.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCimjf7nYxE] During this period, Reznor was finally able to write his first "real" song. It was entitled "[[Down in It (song)|Down In It]]" and was recorded as part of a demo during Reznor's spare time at the studio. After trying to come up with a name for his solo project (an early contender was The Crown Of Thorns[http://www.theninhotline.net/archives/articles/manager/display_article.php?id=6183]), he settled on the name Nine Inch Nails (NIN for short) because "it sounded menacing, it was catchy, it stood the two-week test, and it could be easily abbreviated." Ministry frontman Al Jourgensen has also been quoted as saying that the name comes from a review of Ministry's ''Twitch'', wherein the reviewer stated that listening to the second half of the album was like having a nine-inch nail driven into your head.[https://www.laweekly.com/ministrys-al-jourgensen-is-a-national-treasure/] Malm had been informally managing and supporting Reznor during this period, and helped him shop around the demo to various record labels. Nettwerk, while courting Reznor, invited him to open for part of [[Skinny Puppy]]'s tour, and Reznor hastily assembled a three-piece band to play his demos on a [[VIVIsectVI Tour|handful of dates]]. Ultimately [[TVT Records]], known for its TV music compilations, signed Reznor and offered to help him release his music.
===NIN Begins===