Chris Vrenna
| Chris Vrenna | |
|---|---|
 Chris Vrenna with his then-wife Carrie Borzillo in 2002. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Chris A. Vrenna |
| Born |
February 23, 1967 Erie, Pennsylvania |
| Genres | Industrial rock, industrial metal, alternative rock, electronica, |
| Instruments | Drums, keyboards, vocals, piano, synthesizer, guitar, bass |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels | Six Degrees, Waxploitation |
| Associated acts | Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Rasputina, Tweaker, Stabbing Westward, Adema, Jack Off Jill, Scarling., Skinny Puppy, KMFDM, Billy Corgan, Gnarls Barkley, The Rasmus, Die Warzau, Econoline Crush, Exotic Birds, Dethcentrik, P.O.D., Slipknot, TheATTITUDE, Scar the Martyr |
| Website | chrisvrenna.com |
Chris Vrenna (born February 23, 1967)[1] is an American musician, Grammy-winning producer, engineer, remixer, songwriter, programmer, and founder of the electronic band Tweaker. Vrenna also played drums for the industrial/rock band Nine Inch Nails from 1989 until 1997. Vrenna was also the keyboardist and drummer of the American rock band Marilyn Manson from 2007 until late 2011.
Career
Soon after graduating from McDowell High School in Erie, Pennsylvania in 1985, Vrenna moved to Chicago, quickly becoming a part of the Chicago industrial music scene and was briefly a member of Die Warzau and Stabbing Westward.
He later reconnected with Trent Reznor, whom he met during high school in Pennsylvania,[1] when they both were in local Cleveland, Ohio band the Exotic Birds. He also toured as a live drummer for KMFDM during the Money era tours, in 1992. He is currently recording under the name Tweaker, and has released three albums under that name, The Attraction to All Things Uncertain (2001), 2 a.m. Wakeup Call (2004) and Call The Time Eternity (2012). Tweaker toured select North American dates with Skinny Puppy in 2004.
As producer, remixer, or engineer Vrenna has worked with Lords of Acid, God Lives Underwater, Megadeth, Rammstein, Metallica, The Rasmus, U2, Weezer, P.O.D., David Bowie, The Perfects, Slipknot, Cold, underwater, Scarling., The Smashing Pumpkins, Hole, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Green Day, Live, Adema, the Wallflowers, TheStart, and Dir En Grey. He has also worked with the underground industrial group Pigface and produced songs and albums for underground girl groups TCR, Jack Off Jill, and Rasputina. Vrenna played keyboards on Scar the Martyr's debut album.
Vrenna has also worked on music for several video games, including Doom 3 (as producer with Clint Walsh), Quake 4, American McGee's Alice, Enter the Matrix, Sonic The Hedgehog, Area 51, and Need for Speed: Most Wanted. In 2004, he started soundtrack work on Tabula Rasa, a massive multiplayer online game. He also helped compose the theme song to the animated series Xiaolin Showdown.
He can be seen performing in the music videos for the songs "Gave Up", "Wish", and "March of the Pigs" on the Nine Inch Nails video compilation Closure, and also makes a brief appearance in "The Perfect Drug".
Vrenna won a Grammy award as a member of Nine Inch Nails for "Best Metal Performance" for Happiness in Slavery in 1995 for the live performance of the song on Woodstock '94.
Vrenna was Billy Corgan's programmer for four months in 1997. While he was on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins, Vrenna got a call from Axl Rose, who invited Vrenna to spend time with Guns N' Roses. "I did for a couple weeks, but then decided I didn't want to join the band", said Vrenna.[2]
Vrenna was chosen to take over the drumming responsibilities for Marilyn Manson after Ginger Fish was injured in 2004 during the Lest We Forget tour. Then he replaced Madonna Wayne Gacy as the permanent keyboardist for Marilyn Manson, and co-produced their latest work, The High End of Low. In April 2011, following the departure of Marilyn Manson's drummer Ginger Fish, Chris Vrenna was announced to be his official replacement. However, in November 2011, it was announced that Vrenna had parted ways with the band in order to focus on scoring movies and video games.
Vrenna's album with Tweaker titled "Call the Time Eternity" was released on October, 23, 2012 on Metropolis Records featuring guests vocals from Jessicka Addams on the track, "Nothing at All".[3]
Vrenna's latest Tweaker release is a remix album titled "And Then There's Nothing". It features remixes of the songs from "Call The Time Eternity", by artists such as Gary Numan, KMFDM, and Front Line Assembly. It will be released on November 26, 2013 on Metropolis Records.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Chris Vrenna of Nine Inch Nails (Rhythm Mag - March '97)". Theninhotline.net. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ↑ "July 2002 - Chris Vrenna". Audiohead.net. 2009-04-05. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ↑ Ramirez, Carlos. 'Tweaker's Chris Vrenna on Playing Drums for Marilyn Manson: 'I Just Couldn't Take the Lifestyle Anymore' Noisecreep.com Sep 18th 2012
External links
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