A runway show, a dude with a broken arm, and industrial music.
One thing that I love doing is digging into bands in search of backstories. I was wondering what happened to the original guitarist of Nine Inch Nails (Richard Patrick) when they debuted in ’89.
Richard formed his own band just before NIN exploded into global success in ’94. But why?
Trent goes, “Hey Rich, I know you need some extra money. There’s a pizzeria down the street and they’re looking for drivers.” By that point, I had already written “Hey Man, Nice Shot” and decided to leave Nine Inch Nails.
Richard Patrick
Richard points out to Trent (Reznor, NIN) that while Trent was planning to move to New Orleans with the earnings from their debut album “Pretty Hate Machine” (which Reznor entirely created on his own during off-hours at the recording studio where he worked as an assistant and janitor!), Richard would have to go back to his parent’s house. And with his sharp honesty, Reznor told him, “Go write an album”. And he also goes “Hey Rich, if you need extra cash, there’s a pizzeria down the street looking for drivers.” At that point, Richard had already written some songs, and that’s how he created Filter, an industrial punk band.
In this surreal live performance at the MTV rock’n’roll fashion show called “Fashionably Loud” (yes, because there was a fashion show based on aggressive music curated by MTV – hands up if you remember that). They played two songs from their ’95 debut album “Short Bus,” but with a visceral ferocity that completely contradicted the well-groomed environment. It felt like a protest, much like the message on the bandage. And yes, he actually did break his arm. Despite that, he didn’t let it bother him and delivered an absolutely badass performance.
The ’90s must have been such a weird and fascinating time. these unassuming simple kids would open their mouths and out came the devil. I dream of a return to those years.
In the video below they perform “Under” and “Hey Man, Nice Shot”, the last starting at min 4:36. Enjoy the anger.
