Option 30

“Option 30,” Wikipedia says, “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… before Reznor left for the 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 comparison to Falco is especially apt; one of Option 30′s most notable tracks was a cover of “Der Kommissar.” You can hear it here, courtesy of YouTube. Yes, that’s him on the right.

The band broke up in 1986, two years prior to the formation of Nine Inch Nails and eight years prior to the release of The Downward Spiral. Finding out at the time that the Option 30 demo had been re-released must have felt like finding out that someone had sent your high school yearbook photo to the press.

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