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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. Reznor briefly re-joined before parting ways again shortly thereafter. In 1985, he joined [[The Innocent]] as a keyboardist, but left the band after three months. In 1986, he joined the [[Exotic Birds]] as a keyboardist and back-up vocalist with [[Andy Kubiszewski]] (who would later join [[Stabbing Westward]]) and, at one point, Vrenna. The Exotic Birds received some national attention after playing a few gigs with the Culture Club, but Reznor's tenure with them would not last. This was followed by keyboardist positions in [[Slam Bamboo]] and [[Lucky Pierre]]. But all the while, Reznor wanted to be able to do his own music and be his own musician.
In 1988, 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." He later befriended [[John A. Malm, Jr.]], who would become his manager for 15 years. The demo (known as ''[[Purest Feeling (halo)|Purest Feeling]]'') was shopped around to various record labels. Ultimately [[TVT Records]], known for its TV music compilations, signed Reznor and offered to help him release his music.
===NIN Begins===