Photo: James Woolley Official Facebook Page
Former keyboard and synth player in iconic American industrial metal band Nine Inch Nails, James J Woolley (born in 1966) passed away last weekend from as yet undisclosed causes. His death was announced via Facebook in a touching statement written by his ex-wife Kate Van Buren (featured below).
The talented live musician was a member of NIN from 1991 to 1994, a period that encompassed the band's 1991 Lollapalooza tour and the first part of the band's epic eight-leg Self Destruct tour carried out in support of their multi-platinum album The Downward Spiral, a release that featured classic singles Hurt as well as the Grammy award-winning Wish, for which Woolley shared in the glory of the 1993 award for Best Metal Performance.
He was featured in the video for Wish along with the video for the first single release from that album March of The Pigs. And he was additionally included in Nine Inch Nails' 1997 live performance video release Closure.
Outside of his work with NIN, the performer was best known for his work with New York band Sister Machine Gun for their 1994 album Torture Technique, as well as his on-going collaboration with long-time NIN drummer Chris Vrenna as part of Chicago band Die Warzau, a partnership that started before his tenure with Nine Inch Nails and continued right up to the band's 2005's Convenience album.
His talents also extended to producing music for a wide array of groups, as well as sound design for The Simpsons.
His last mainstream project was the band V.O.I.D. formed in 2006, led by Woolley and featuring Jon Roberts, Mark Pearlman, and DJ Aaron Chase. Long-term health issues described as 'significant neck and spine injuries' seems to have interrupted what was a note-worthy and potentially legendary rock career for Woolley, a perhaps overlooked and somewhat under-appreciated figure in the metal world considering his undeniable talent and contributions.
This is yet another impactful loss to the music world in 2016 and an indisputable loss to Nine Inch Nails fans around the world, but more importantly a huge loss for his friends and family who will remember him best as a man who "loved being a father" and who "worked hard and played hard" while bringing "coolness to playing keyboards".
