Before he became the anguished and iconic frontman of Nine Inch Nails in the late ‘80s, Trent Reznor played in more pop, synth pop, and new wave-oriented bands in the Cleveland area. There were The Innocent, Slam Bamboo, Lucky Pierre. But one group, Exotic Birds, managed to gain enough notoriety to have two members cameo in a music film. So yes indeed, there is an ’80s Michael J. Fox movie with Trent Reznor in it.
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An Actor/Musician and a Musician/Actor
The movie was Light of Day, a Paul Schrader film from 1987 about a Cleveland band called The Barbusters led by the Rasnick siblings (guitarist Michael J. Fox and singer/guitarist Joan Jett) who were struggling to make it in the rough-and-tumble world of bar bands.
In one scene, Jett meets her bandmates at the Euclid Tavern to discuss an upcoming gig, and in the background a group is setting up. We can clearly see Trent Reznor behind Joan Jett as he plays with his keyboard rig. Michael McKean’s character says that band is one of the venue’s “cut rate specials. Concept rock.” The Problems. “Yeah, they used to be called Sins, now they’re just problems.” Reznor appears briefly at the beginning of a song, although the footage is dominated by singer Mark Addison. A drunken Fox and McKean sit on the front of their stage during their set, and the former jokingly refers to them as A Flock of Seagulls.
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Meant for the Film World
While Reznor has not acted in other movies, he has gone into a second musical career by scoring films like The Social Network, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and Bird Box with his collaborator Atticus Ross.
Light of Day itself is an underrated rock ‘n’ roll film because of its realistic depiction of the everyday realities of a struggling blue collar band—playing a mid-day gig to a half dozen people, cramming into one motel room to save cash, getting shafted out of money, even Jett’s rocker resorting to property theft in order to procure extra food and resources to keep the band going. The film delves into sibling tension, family problems, and Jett portraying an aspiring rock star also struggling as a single mother. It’s actually a pretty good movie that did not get as good a reception as it should have. Many rock movies often go the comedy or glossy Hollywood route. This one felt more grounded.
Boss Cred
Other interesting musical notes about the film: Bruce Springsteen wrote the title song performed by the Barbusters. The Fabulous Thunderbirds appeared as themselves. Michael J. Fox co-wrote and performed the song “You Got No Place to Go” for the soundtrack. The Ian Hunter anthem “Cleveland Rocks” was used a decade before The Drew Carey Show used it as its theme song starting with season three. It was covered there by the Presidents of the United States of America. Jett and Fox reunited in 2017 to perform “Light of Day” live.
Unlike the fictional Rasnicks, Trent Reznor would go on to success with Nine Inch Nails starting in 1989. The group would blow up in 1994 with The Downward Spiral. It’s fun to watch this early appearance by the pre-fame icon. You’re not going to learn anything about him or the band, but it is great to find that uncommon occurrence where an unknown rocker who actually performed in a movie would go on to greater success.
Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images For The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
