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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 handful of dates. Ultimately [[TVT Records]], known for its TV music compilations, signed Reznor and offered to help him release his music.
===NIN Begins===
Reznor reworked many of the demos he recorded and even added some new material to his debut album, entitled ''[[Pretty Hate Machine]]''. After its recording , he assembled a small live band, inviting Vrenna to join him as one tour in support of his bandmatesthe album. This band played some small shows in Cleveland and was eventually invited After a couple supporting slot tours, NIN embarked on two headlining tours, relentlessly touring clubs across the road by [[Skinny Puppy]]country, where they built a reputation for a dynamic, dangerous live show. The band would eventually be invited to join the first [[Lollapalooza Tour|Lollapalooza]] tour, where they became one of the most popular bands on the tour.
By the time 1991 rolled around, Reznor was in a miserable state. The label was pressuring him to record more material but was trying to tell him which producers to use and how the material should sound. Reznor wanted out of his contract and secretly recorded an EP in various locations around the country. [[Interscope Records]] came to the rescue, entering into a joint venture with TVT, removing them from the creative process and setting up the vanity record label [[Nothing Records]] for Reznor. The EP, titled ''[[Broken]]'', was released by Interscope and Nothing in 1992 and explained the situation to its buyers.