Option 30

Option 30 was a New wave band from the early 1980s founded by Timothy K. ("TK") Smith on guitars and vocals, Jim Nordstrom on bass and saxophone, and Todd Nero on drums. The band also featured a young Trent Reznor 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 Innocent then onto 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 power trio with Smith on lead vocals. At this point, the band began performing a number of additional original songs penned by Smith and Nordstrom. Option 30 broke up in 1986.

The Option 30 album

The band only released one self-titled album consisting of demos from 1983. The album was re-released in 1997 by Shriek Records, with bonus interview clips with the band from 1984. The re-release was short-lived, however, as only 1000 copies were pressed.

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).

Track listing

1. "Ice House" – 4:24
2. "Edinboro radio interview" – 1:17
3. "Time & Chance" – 3:23
4. "Interview" – 3:13
5. "Abomination" – 3:02
6. "Interview" – 1:50
7. "Der Kommissar" – 4:11
8. "Interview" – 4:30
9. "Lies" – 3:19
10. "Interview" – 2:54
11. "Just Out Enough to Be In" – 2:43
12. "Equal Rights" – 3:57
13. "Old Habits Die Hard" – 3:09
14. "Interview" – 1:10
15. "Pandora's Box" – 4:02

Attempted reunion and unreleased material

Jim Nordstrom made several attempts at reuniting the band to record more material, but none were successful due to scheduling conflicts.

Tim Smith died on October 31, 2009, at age 50. Nordstrom and Nero, joined by Smith's sons Roan (vocals) and Kelly (guitar), performed several Option 30 originals composed by Smith at his wake. In December 2009, a Timothy K. Smith Tribute Page on Myspace was created that includes unreleased live and studio recordings made by the band between 1984 and 1986.

External links

• Trent Reznor's pre-NIN discography at Burning Souls
• T.K. Smith Group on Myspace