You Could Learn Music Technology at Michigan from a Former NIN Member

We've all dreamed of being a rock star at some point in our lives. There's something so cool about having thousands of adoring fans, watching you play music live, and making a career out of just being creative.

But to get there, it takes practice, training, and usually some really good teachers. More often than not, your typical music teacher is just your run-of-the-mill band or choir director, but at Michigan, you can actually learn from a real Rock star, who is known for his time in Nine Inch Nails!

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Chris Vrenna joined the staff at the University of Michigan this past semester, after an INCREDIBLE career in the rock world. Known primarily as a member of Nine Inch Nails, he's also performed and worked with artists like U2, Rob Zombie, Weezer, Evanescence, and Hole.

But Vrenna has more to offer the world than just his music, he also wants to offer up his knowledge on music technology to future generations of rock stars. And this fall, he was added to the staff as a Music Technology professor.

"It's both exciting and humbling to be joining the renowned faculty at the University of Michigan as an Assistant Professor of Music... My father is a Michigan Alumnus. He and I would spend Saturday Afternoons watching Michigan football, so I grew up a Wolverines fan. This opportunity to become a professor at Michigan and move to Ann Arbor feels like a homecoming for me."

Vrenna is actually a native of Pennsylvania, but very familiar with the Great Lakes area, having based his career out of Chicago.

What Does Vrenna Teach?

Specifically, Vrenna will be in the Performing Arts Technology Department, and will teach classes in that realm. With his specialty in remixing, and programming, he will teach students about his methods in using technology to create new music, and how to manipulate new tools in the technological world to make new music.

Vrenna was instrumental (pun intended) in this during the early days of Nine Inch Nails.

What Bands was Vrenna in?

Most notably, Vrenna spent his early recording career with Nine Inch Nails, as a founding member with Trent Reznor. He was a producer, remixer, engineer, and composer, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2020 with Nine Inch Nails.

But he's also associated with a number of other bands, too. He's played, recorded, and toured with Marilyn Manson, Stabbing Westward, and the Exotic Birds. He's also still a current member of the band Tweaker.

His engineering career, however, is where it's most impressive. He's had his hands on iconic albums for the Smashing Pumpkins, U2, Mudvayne, Megadeth, Rammstein, Metallica, P.O.D., David bowie, Slipknot, Cold, Hold, Rob Zombie, Green Day, Bush, and DOZENS of other incredible acts.

But that's not even the extent of his work. He also has composition credits for the video games Doom 3, Quake 4, Call of Duty: ExoZombies, and Quake: Champions.