Robin Finck

Last updated

Robin Finck
Robin Finck performing with Nine Inch Nails -- June 2009.jpg
Finck performing with Nine Inch Nails in 2009
Background information
Birth nameRobert John Finck
Born (1971-11-07) November 7, 1971 (age 51)
Park Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
Instrument(s) Guitar
Years active1993–present
Labels
Website robinfinck.com

Robert John "Robin" Finck (born November 7, 1971) is an American guitarist. Finck is the longest-serving touring musician for Nine Inch Nails, performing with the band from 1994 to 2000, and returning in 2008. With Nine Inch Nails, Finck contributed studio performances on The Slip (2008).

Contents

Finck also was an official member of Guns N' Roses from 1997 through 2008. With Guns N’ Roses, Finck wrote and recorded on the long-delayed Chinese Democracy (2008), notably co-writing the song "Better".

In 2020, Finck was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Nine Inch Nails. (Guns N' Roses were inducted in 2012, however Finck was not inducted.)

Career

Finck grew up in Marietta, Georgia and played with several unsigned bands based primarily in the Atlanta area, [1] including acts such as Prowess, Bat Your Lashes, Sik Dik (bandmates of which included Steve "Holiday" Childress and Michael Allen, currently of The Goodies and Greg Thum), and Impotent Sea Snakes.

He joined Nine Inch Nails as part of their touring band in 1994–95 for their Self-Destruct and Further Down the Spiral tours following the departure of previous guitarist Richard Patrick. Finck appeared with Nine Inch Nails at Woodstock '94, [1] and saw his first official release with them, the "Closer to God" single, released in 1994. [2] Once the tour was completed, he took a job playing for the circus troupe Cirque du Soleil in the original tour of Quidam. [1] In 1997 Finck signed a two-year contract with Guns N' Roses as the replacement for Slash (who had quit the band at the end of the previous year) and began work on what was ultimately to become the band's long delayed album Chinese Democracy . When the two years were up the album had not been completed, although the song "Oh My God" was released on the End of Days soundtrack. Whether or not Finck played on the song is in dispute; GNR vocalist Axl Rose says he did while Finck himself says he did not. [3]

Finck playing with Guns N' Roses in 2006 Download Feastival 2006 -1 (cropped).jpg
Finck playing with Guns N' Roses in 2006

Finck rejoined Nine Inch Nails as the band embarked on their Fragility v1.0 and Fragility v2.0 tours in support of the 1999 album The Fragile . [1] These tours were recorded and released as the live album/DVD, And All That Could Have Been . [2] He also played on a studio-recorded version of "The Day the World Went Away" on the companion album Still, which was included with the deluxe version of And All That Could Have Been and later made available as a standalone CD through nin.com. [4] Shortly after the tour ended in 2000 he returned to Guns N' Roses, playing four shows with them in late 2001 followed by a brief tour of Europe and Asia in mid-2002 and a live appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. [5] A planned US tour was meant to continue through the remainder of 2002 but was called off by the promoter after two cancelled shows led to rioting by fans. [6] Around this time Finck and then-bandmate Buckethead contributed to the soundtrack of the John Carpenter movie Ghosts of Mars , playing alongside members of thrash metal group Anthrax and guitar virtuoso Steve Vai. [7] After his touring obligations with GNR were fulfilled he joined the LedZAerial production (a performance by acrobats set to the music of the band Led Zeppelin). [8]

Finck was invited to rejoin NIN to tour in support of their 2005 album With Teeth but chose not to and the position was filled by Aaron North. In the summer of 2006, he toured Europe with Guns N' Roses playing in front of over 700,000 people. [9] They finished up by touring North America for the remainder of the year, and went to Mexico, Australia and Japan in 2007.

On April 4, 2008, it was announced via nin.com that Finck would be rejoining Nine Inch Nails as a member of the live band. He subsequently contributed to the Nine Inch Nails album The Slip , earning a performance credit alongside then-band members Josh Freese and Alessandro Cortini.

In November 2008 Guns N' Roses' long-awaited album Chinese Democracy was released. Finck has a co-writing credit on the song "Better", which was later released as a single, as well as 7 other songs on the album. He also played guitar on every track, performed 7 of the guitar solos and has additional credits for keyboards, arrangements and pre-production. He chose to remain with NIN after the album's release and, on March 21, 2009, was officially replaced as the lead guitarist of Guns N' Roses by Sixx:A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba. [10] The official Guns N' Roses website stated that "Robin continues to be part of GN'R, by virtue of Guns' history and his involvement in Chinese Democracy". [10]

Following the departure of NIN live band members Alessandro Cortini and Josh Freese at the end of 2008 Finck and bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen re-grouped with band leader Trent Reznor and new drummer Ilan Rubin and the 4-piece band completed an 8-date tour of Australia and New Zealand between February and March 2009. Finck continued to perform with the band throughout the 2009 Nine Inch Nails/Janes Addiction (NIN|JA) tour, with shows throughout North America, and the subsequent Wave Goodbye tour through Europe and Asia. The band then returned to the US to play a series of shows.

Finck with Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor Trent Reznor and Robin Finck, Santa Barbara, California.jpg
Finck with Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor

In October 2009 Finck and former Guns N' Roses bandmates Axl Rose, Tommy Stinson and Buckethead were named in a lawsuit by electronic musician Ulrich Schnauss's record labels Independiente and Domino alleging that they had committed copyright infringement by using portions of his compositions in the song "Riad 'n the Bedouins". [11] Finck appears on the 2010 album The Lady Killer by artist CeeLo Green, performing guitar on the track "The Lady Killer Theme (Outro)".

On March 12, 2012, Finck appeared on-stage with Guns N' Roses, performing "Better", a song he co-wrote with Axl Rose.

On May 17, 2013, it was announced by Trent Reznor via his Twitter account and the nin.com home page, that Finck would be rejoining Nine Inch Nails for the 2013–14 tours. [12] Finck has since performed with the group on each subsequent tour, although he only remains a touring member.

Personal life

Since 2001, Finck has been married to acrobat Bianca Sapetto, by whom he has two children. [13] They met while working in Cirque du Soleil. [14] Besides being a musician he also creates artwork and displays some of his own drawings and photos on his website. In 2007 he contributed artwork in the form of ink drawings to the album Frames by Oceansize at the request of their guitarist Gambler. [15] In 2003, Finck was credited as one of the writers of a production called "My Birthday Party", which incorporated acrobatics, storytelling, music, acting, and clowning. The show included actor Viggo Mortensen and was performed at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica, California. [16]

On February 23, 2009 session drummer Josh Freese, who has been a bandmate of Finck's in both Guns N' Roses and Nine Inch Nails, announced that as part of the pricing strategy for his new solo album Since 1972 a one-off package costing $75,000 would include "a flying trapeze lesson with Josh and Robin from NIN" followed by a visit to Robin's place afterwards where "his wife will make you raw lasagna". [17]

Finck is known for his theatrical appearance when performing, making use of makeup, costumes and clothing to enhance his stage presence. He has also been known to break out into eccentric dance moves during songs with various facial expressions. Between tours and appearances he frequently makes radical alterations to his image, and is particularly famous among fans for his many distinctive and often unusual hair styles. [13] Axl Rose has described him as leading "one of the most different lives I know of starting with the trapeze in his backyard to the tv in his closet" [18]

Equipment

Robin Finck with Nine Inch Nails in 2008 Robin Finck Victoria 2.jpg
Robin Finck with Nine Inch Nails in 2008

Finck is closely associated with Gibson Les Paul guitars and uses different versions of the guitar that are built from a variety of woods and equipped with numerous pickup combinations (in 2006 he was photographed at the New York City Gibson Guitar showroom collecting a Custom Les Paul Standard '58 Reissue for use on tour with Guns N' Roses). [19] Many of them have been customized and he often moves the pickup selector switch from the top of the guitar's body, as he has said the standard configuration is obstructive. After re-joining Nine Inch Nails in 2008 he began using several other guitars on stage, including Jerry Jones baritone guitars (similar in shape to Danelectro guitars), Fender Jazzmasters, Fender Telecasters and Gibson ES-355s. In 2020, Finck and Reverend Guitars unveiled a signature guitar for Finck based on Reverend's Sensei using Railhammer Chisel pickups. [20] [21] Finck removed the tone knob as he only uses the volume and bass contour knobs.

In 2009 Finck signed with Schecter Guitar Research as an official endorsee and started using a number of Schecter guitars while touring with NIN, including custom versions of the PT Fastback and Ultra III. [22] He also ordered a custom "Tempest Classic" guitar with gold top finish, an in-built compressor and a wah effect in place of the two tone controls. [23] In late 2009 Schecter issued a press release which announced a limited edition Robin Finck signature guitar based on the Ultra Cure and Ultra III models was entering production. [24] Finck is also listed as a user of Godin guitars on the company's official website [25] and can be seen playing Godin guitars on the Nine Inch Nails live DVD And All That Could Have Been .

He uses a broad range of guitar amps (various models by Marshall Amplification and Mesa Boogie) [26] and effects (including the BOSS DD-5 Digital Delay, Dunlop wah-wah, Devi Ever bit, the legend of fuzz, and RockTron Vodoo Valve) [27] and is known to work very hard to re-create studio tones and textures when playing on stage. [28] He frequently shoves the body of his guitar up against the speakers of his amplifiers during live performances to generate feedback and increased distortion. For some NIN songs he has been known to use an e-bow, as seen during the clip for "La Mer" on the And All That Could Have Been live DVD.

While his primary role in Guns N' Roses was that of lead guitarist, Finck is credited with playing some of the electronic keyboard parts on Chinese Democracy . Similarly, although he performs with Nine Inch Nails mainly as a guitarist he often plays other instruments on stage, including lap steel guitar (with effects pedals mounted to the body of the instrument), ukulele, mandolin and keyboards/synthesizers. He also contributes backing vocals.

Discography

Finck performing with Nine Inch Nails in 2008 Robin Finck 2008 09 05.jpg
Finck performing with Nine Inch Nails in 2008

With Nine Inch Nails

TitleRelease DateLabel
March of the Pigs [2] 1994 Nothing Records
Closer to God [2] 1994 Nothing Records
Further Down the Spiral [2] 1995 Nothing Records
And All That Could Have Been [2] 2002 Nothing Records
The Downward Spiral (Deluxe Edition) [2] 2004 Nothing Records
The Slip [2] 2008The Null Corporation

Contributions:

With Guns N' Roses

TitleRelease DateLabel
Chinese Democracy [2] 2008 Geffen Records

Contributions (on Chinese Democracy):

Other contributions:

Miscellaneous

TitleRelease dateLabel
Ghosts of Mars (Film Soundtrack) [2] [7] 2001Varese Sarabande

Contributions:

TitleRelease dateLabel
Frames by Oceansize 2007Superball Music

Contributions:

TitleRelease dateLabel
The Lady Killer by Cee-Lo Green 2010 Elektra Records / Roadrunner Records

Contributions:

TitleRelease dateLabel
Splinter by Gary Numan 2013Mortal Records / Cooking Vinyl

Contributions:

TitleRelease dateLabel
Noct 2015Laced Records

Contributions:

TitleRelease date
Observation 2019

Contributions:

TitleRelease date
Serious Sam 4 2020

Contributions:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Inch Nails</span> American industrial rock band

Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN and stylized as NIИ, is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland in 1988. Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Trent Reznor was the only permanent member of the band until his frequent collaborator, Atticus Ross, joined in 2016. The band's debut album, Pretty Hate Machine (1989), was released via TVT Records. After disagreeing with TVT about how to promote the album, the band signed with Interscope Records and released the EP Broken (1992). The following albums, The Downward Spiral (1994) and The Fragile (1999), were released to critical acclaim and commercial success.

Paul H. Tobias is an American guitarist best known for his involvement with hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has collaborated since 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Fortus</span> American musician

Richard Fortus is an American guitarist. He is a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he has recorded one studio album, since 2001. Fortus has also collaborated extensively with The Psychedelic Furs frontman Richard Butler and fellow Guns N' Roses bandmate Frank Ferrer. Aside from lead singer Axl Rose and keyboardist Dizzy Reed, Fortus is the longest-tenured member of Guns N' Roses, having been with the band continuously since 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Stinson</span> American musician

Thomas Eugene Stinson is an American rock musician. He came to prominence in the 1980s as the bass guitarist for The Replacements, one of the definitive American alternative rock groups. After their breakup in 1991, Stinson formed Bash & Pop, acting as lead vocalist, guitarist and frontman. In the mid-1990s he was the singer and guitarist for the rock band Perfect, and eventually joined the hard rock band Guns N' Roses in 1998.

<i>Chinese Democracy</i> 2008 studio album by Guns N Roses

Chinese Democracy is the sixth studio album by the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, released on November 23, 2008, by Black Frog and Geffen Records. It was the first Guns N' Roses studio album since the 1993 covers album "The Spaghetti Incident?", and their first album of original studio material since Use Your Illusion I and II (1991). It underwent a protracted recording process, delayed by personnel and legal problems, label interference, and vocalist/producer Axl Rose's perfectionism. It was the first Guns N' Roses album not featuring classic lineup members Izzy Stradlin, Slash, and Duff McKagan, as well as the first not produced by long-time producer Mike Clink; instead it was produced by Rose and Caram Costanzo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron North</span> American musician

Aaron Wright North is an American musician. He was the co-founder and guitarist of punk band The Icarus Line, a touring lead guitarist of industrial rock group Nine Inch Nails, and vocalist/guitarist for Jubilee. North is noted for his chaotic and unconventional guitar approach, his use and command of feedback, and the flailing of his guitar wildly while on stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guns N' Roses</span> American hard rock band

Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in March 1985 when local bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns merged. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic lineup" consisted of vocalist Axl Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The current lineup consists of Rose, Slash, McKagan, guitarist Richard Fortus, drummer Frank Ferrer and keyboardists Dizzy Reed and Melissa Reese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oh My God (Guns N' Roses song)</span> Guns N Roses song

"Oh My God" is a song by Guns N' Roses released in 1999 on the soundtrack to the film End of Days. The song was sent out to radio stations in November 1999 as a promo for the soundtrack and the band. Despite being the band's first recorded release in almost five years, it was never issued as a stand-alone single for public retail. The song was written as the band was recording music for Chinese Democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Democracy Tour</span> 2001–2011 concert tour by Guns N Roses

The Chinese Democracy Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Guns N' Roses to promote the group's album Chinese Democracy. It began in 2001, with three U.S. dates and a Brazilian one, while their 2002 tour included Asian, North American and a few European dates. The band did not tour again until May 2006, when it toured North America again and performed a major tour of Europe. The band's tour continued in 2007 with shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Inch Nails live performances</span> Live performances by the band Nine Inch Nails

Nine Inch Nails, an American industrial rock band fronted by Trent Reznor, has toured all over the world since its creation in 1988. While Reznor—the only official member until adding Atticus Ross in 2016—controls its creative and musical direction in the studio, the touring band performs different arrangements of the songs. In addition to regular concerts, the band has performed in both supporting and headlining roles at festivals such as Woodstock '94, Lollapalooza 1991 and 2008, and many other one-off performances including the MTV Video Music Awards. Prior to their 2013 tour, the band had played 938 gigs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chinese Democracy (song)</span> 2008 single by Guns N’ Roses

"Chinese Democracy" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, and the title track from their sixth studio album. It was released as a radio single on October 22, 2008 and was released on the iTunes Store on November 9, 2008. It was primarily written by Axl Rose and Josh Freese. It was the band's first single of original material since "Estranged" was released in 1994 as the final single off the 1991 album Use Your Illusion II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Ashba</span> Musical artist

Daren Jay Ashba is an American musician, guitarist, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He was the lead guitarist of Sixx:A.M. He is also known for his work with hard rock bands BulletBoys, Beautiful Creatures and Guns N' Roses. He has worked with various artists including Mötley Crüe, Drowning Pool, Marion Raven, Aimee Allen and Neil Diamond. He is the CEO of Ashba Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shackler's Revenge</span> 2008 song by Guns N Roses

"Shackler's Revenge" is a song by Guns N' Roses, and the second track on their sixth studio album, Chinese Democracy. The song was released on September 14, 2008 in the Rock Band 2 video game. The song was written by vocalist Axl Rose, guitarists Robin Finck and Buckethead, drummer Brain, producer Caram Costanzo and engineer Pete Scaturro. It was included as the b-side to the single "Chinese Democracy".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Better (Guns N' Roses song)</span> 2008 promotional single by Guns N Roses

"Better" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their 2008 sixth studio album Chinese Democracy. It was sent out as the second radio promo from the album, after "Chinese Democracy", but was not commercially released as a single eligible for international sales charts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street of Dreams (Guns N' Roses song)</span> 2009 promotional single by Guns N Roses

"Street of Dreams" is a song by the American rock band Guns N' Roses, featured on their 2008 album Chinese Democracy. The song is the third promotional song sent to radio stations, but was not released as a commercial single eligible for international Singles charts. From 2001 to 2008, the song was called "The Blues", but was changed to "Street of Dreams" for the album's release.

"Prostitute" is the fourteenth and final track from Chinese Democracy, Guns N' Roses' sixth studio album released in 2008. The song is written by Axl Rose and Paul Tobias with additional work by Robin Finck.

The Twenty Thirteen Tour was a concert tour by industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails to support the album Hesitation Marks. It marked the return of the band for live performances after a four-year touring hiatus. It began on July 26, 2013 and ended on August 30, 2014.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Harper, Jim. "Robin Finck > Biography". Allmusic . Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Robin Finck > Credits". Allmusic. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Here Today... Gone To Hell! Guns N' Roses "Chinese Democracy" (The New Album) info". Heretodaygonetohell.com. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Nin Still Cd - NIN Official Store". April 1, 2009. Archived from the original on April 1, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Guns N' Roses Live at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards – Welcome to the Jungle, Madagascar, Paradise City gnr axl buckethead VMA". YouTube. November 22, 2008. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ Waddell, Ray (December 21, 2002). "Guns N' Roses Tour Canceled After Philadelphia Debacle | North America" . Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  7. 1 2 "John Carpenter: Ghosts of Mars". Theofficialjohncarpenter.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  8. ↑ "LedZAerial One, LLC". Ledzaerial.com. Archived from the original on December 2, 2008. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Guns N' Roses announce "Chinese Democracy" North American tour and strategic relationship with Major League Baseball Advanced Media". Gunsnroses.com. September 28, 2006. Archived from the original on February 4, 2007.
  10. 1 2 "Guns N' Roses names DJ Ashba as band's newest Axeman". Gunsnroses.com. March 21, 2009. Archived from the original on March 25, 2009.
  11. ↑ Kearney, Christine (October 6, 2009). "Guns N' Roses Sued For Copying Songs". Billboard.com.
  12. ↑ "Twitter / trent_reznor: It just didn't feel like". Twitter.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  13. 1 2 Hedva, Johanna (March 2020). "They're Really Close to My Body". The White Review . No. 27. London, UK. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  14. ↑ Blake, Matthew (August 14, 2013). "Spinning Platters Interview: Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails". spinningplatters.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  15. ↑ Brown, Aaron (October 21, 2007). "Oceansize : Interview". Pennyblackmusic.co.uk. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Robin Finck - From Nine Inch Nails to Guns N' Roses". GuitarBites. September 1, 2008. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Josh Freese album package deals in full". The Guardian. London. February 23, 2009. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  18. ↑ Rose, Axl (December 12, 2008). "Axl answers our questions – the whole thing in one thread". Heretodaygonetohell.com. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  19. ↑ "Modern Guitar Magazine". Modern Guitar Magazine.
  20. ↑ "Reverend Guitars Unveils the Robin Finck Signature Model". Premier Guitar.
  21. ↑ "Robin Finck - Reverend Guitars". Reverend Guitars.
  22. ↑ "Schecter Guitar Research". Archived from the original on February 28, 2009. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  23. ↑ "NAMM '09-Schecter Guitars Hellraiser Singlecut, ATX Series." Premier Guitar. February 26, 2009. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2013– via YouTube.
  24. ↑ "Schecter Guitars and Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails Burn Together". Harmony Central. December 22, 2009. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Godin Dealers: Player List". Godinguitars.com. Archived from the original on October 28, 2017. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Robin Finck (Nine Inch Nails) guitar rig". Guitar FX Depot. March 10, 2010. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  27. ↑ "GN'R's Equipment". Here Today... Gone To Hell!. August 1, 1999. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Jerome Dillon". Then It Must Be True. Archived from the original on May 17, 2013. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  29. ↑ "Observation's Incredible Title Sequence". IGN. May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.