Trent Reznor, Tony Hawk Talk Depeche Mode Fandom
In February, Depeche Mode asked fans to run their Facebook page while the group prepped their recent album, Spirit, and tour. Every day for a year, the band’s Facebook page will feature a different fan taking over the social media reins. On Wednesday, skateboarding legend Tony Hawk manned DM’s Facebook and he tapped another one of his favorite artists, Nine Inch Nails‘ Trent Reznor, to contribute to his day’s posts.
“Pretty Hate Machine changed my life. I knew immediately that NIN would play a pivotal role in the soundtrack of my life, ” Hawk wrote. “I hoped that Trent would contribute anything to my effort.
“Without DM and NIN, I would have been lost in a sea of confusing electronica / industrial music during my formative years,” he continued. “They both continue to deliver some of the best tunes of our generations.”
Hawk reached out to Reznor, who then sent him an email, which detailed their shared affection for Depeche Mode‘s Black Celebration, which Hawk cited as his favorite album.
“It was summer of ’86. I’d dropped out of college and was living in Cleveland trying to find my way in the local music scene. I knew where I wanted to go with my life, but I didn’t know how to get there,” Reznor explained in the email Hawk posted on Facebook.
Reznor and some friends then caught Depeche Mode during their Black Celebration tour. “DM was one of our favorite bands and the Black Celebration record took my love for them to a new level.
“I’ve thought about that night a lot over the years. It was a perfect summer night and I was in exactly the right place I was supposed to be. The music, the energy, the audience, the connection… It was spiritual and truly magic,” he continued. “I left that show grateful, humbled, energized, focused and in awe of how powerful and transformative music can be… and I started writing what would eventually become Pretty Hate Machine.”
Depeche Mode’s fifth album, 1986’s Black Celebration, further informed the band’s brooding sound and was an influence on many albums of the era. Reznor’s debut album, Pretty Hate Machine, was released in 1989.
“Many times, particularly when we’re playing an amphitheater, I’ll think of that show while I’m onstage and hope someone in the audience is in the midst of a perfect summer night feeling how DM made me feel so many years ago,” Reznor concluded in his email. Read the full post.
Last month, Depeche Mode performed new song “Where’s the Revolution” from Spirit on The Late Late Show With James Corden. Their North American tour kicks off in August.