Stu "Bassie" Brooks is a Canadian-born, Los Angeles-based bassist, composer, and producer. He is the current bassist for Nine Inch Nails, having joined for the 2026 leg of the Peel It Back Tour, replacing Alessandro Cortini.
Biography
In 2020, Josh Freese recommended his good friend, Brooks, to Danny Elfman to play in his band for a Coachella performance. Although Coachella was cancelled due to COVID, Brooks continued on with Elfman and produced and played bass on his 2021 Big Mess album, alongside Freese on drums, including on the "True" and "Native Intelligence" song versions that featured Trent Reznor. [1] He also created "True (Stu Brooks Remix)".
In 2022, he joined Danny Elfman's live band on bass, alongside Freese on drums. He continued playing in the band in 2023 and later, alongside Robin Finck and Ilan Rubin. These connections likely made Brooks an easy ask and natural choice to join the NIN live band in 2026.