Option 30

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Option 30 From left: Reznor, Nordstrom, Smith and Nero

Option 30 was a New Wave band from the early 1980s founded by T.K. (Tim) Smith on guitars and vocals, Jim Nordstrom on bass and saxophone, and Todd Nero on drums. The band also featured a young Trent Reznor (later of Nine Inch Nails) on keyboards and lead vocals.

Option 30's style was similar to that of Falco and early albums by The Police. The band managed to record one demo (see below) before Reznor left for the Exotic Birds and finally, forming his own band, Nine Inch Nails. The demo was shelved until after the success of Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral, when it was re-released.

The band performed at clubs in and around Northwestern and Central Pennsylvania, and Northern Ohio as often as three times a week. After Reznor departed, the band continued on as a trio with Smith on lead vocals. At this point, the band began performing a number of additional original songs penned by Smith and Nordstrom; however, no recordings were made. Option 30 broke up in 1986.

1 Option 30
2 Track listing
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Option 30

Option 30 chronology
Option 30

Studio album by Option 30
Released	1997
Recorded	1983-1984
Genre	New Wave
Length	47:04
Label	Shriek Records
Producer(s)	Option 30
	Option 30 (1997)

The band has only released one album to date, consisting of demos from 1983, except for a live recording of "Ice House". The album was re-released in 1997 by Shriek Records, with bonus interview clips with the band from 1984. Soon after a Nine Inch Nails fan website linked to the Shriek Records website, it vanished; only 1000 copies were pressed, and they are extremely hard to find.

Despite his later career, Reznor had little songwriting input; all songs were written by Smith and Nordstrom, with the exception of "Ice House" (a cover of an Icehouse song), "Lies" (a cover of a song by The Thompson Twins), and "Der Kommissar" (a cover, with English lyrics, of a song by Falco).