Name: Robin Finck .
Nickname: Queenie.
Date of Birth: November the 7th, 1971.
Born: New Jersey.
Hometown: Marietta, Georgia.
Current Residence: The Nail Gun Isle.
Present Band(s): Guns 'N' Roses and Nine Inch Nails.
Hair Color: Jet Black.
Primary Instrument:Guitar.
Secondary Instrument: Keyboards.
Smoke: Cigerettes-No.
������������ Weed-Yes.
Previous Band: Impotent Sea Snakes.
Robin endorses Godling Guitar LGX Series. He is sponsored by Gibson Guitars and is currently using Custom and Goldtops. He uses CF Martin Backpackers and Acoustic. Paul Reed Smith Collect Hollow Body II and CE22 with Dragon II (pickups). For effects RockTron Vodoo Valve. Marshall amps JMP-1 MIDI-controllable preamp effects. TC Electronic effects G-Force.
Influences: Jimi Hendrix, for obvious reasons. Eddie Van Halen who basically invented harmonics, was of heavy influence during Robin's formative years. Jeff Beck a diversified veteran musician who "can switch from hammer axing to layed back in a chair strummin'" and has worked with everyone from the Yardbirds to Rod Stewart to Seal. Beck was quoted,"A good guitar player can make even a dumbass riff sound great." Eric Clapton "Why? because he's Eric Clapton."
The late Chet Atkins "He's an absolute legend...fastest fingers...got fingers that won't quit. He hums and strums, yet he can bend a note that'll break your heart." And if I was a bassist, Twiggy Ramirez would be one of my influencial admirations."
Band History: Robin?s stage career began in 1987 with him playing guitar for Prowess at the age of 15 in his hometown Georgia. That project became Bat Your Lashes with Robin on guitar and keys. The same group further developed into Sik Dik and eventually the The Hookers for which he handled guitar, keys, and miscellaneous noises. From 1990 - 1991, Robin?s guitar riffs and shreds could be found with the drag band, Impotent Sea Snakes. In 1991, Robin joined a touring band Nine Inch Nails, on guitar and keys. He toured with them until 1997. But being a member of the touring band wasn?t all he did.
He also played guitar, keys, and violin with Dee Snider's Sick Mother Fuckers (SMF), a Florida based Twisted Sister cover band, from 1992 - 1994. It is interesting to note that Twiggy Ramirez, the current bassist for Marilyn Manson, was also with SMF. They often performed at the popular Atlanta - Masquerade, which contains three levels called heaven, purgatory, and hell. Robin actually lived in an apartment just outside of hell. Robin says with a devious grin, "Masquerade is my old stompin' grounds and I always kept an open door policy. It was a 25-8 party."
1997 brought a hiatus for NIN and Robin was off to join the circus. He started playing guitar in the Cirque Du Soliel Orchestra and was quoted as saying, "I wanted to do something completely 180 degrees opposite of what I had been doing, and for me and my life at the time, it seemed like a far out thing to do."Later in 1997, he started working with Guns N Roses and some recording for their new CD, The Chinese Democracy which was due out by the end of 2001. He worked with them until 1999 when NIN started touring again with their release, the Fragile and completed the Fragility tour. NIN then returned to the studio to focus work on the Fragility tour DVD.
Robin has also been doing some more work with GnR but remains a free agent. Fans hailed him for his version of Sossego at the Rock in Rio show with GnR on January the 14, 2001. He had confirmed that he would support GnR's Summer 2001 Chinese Democracy tour. However, the summer tour was cancelled and then rescheduled for later in 2001.
Clint Mansell recently completed a score featuring Robin Finck and Danny Lohner for the film Rain, which is scheduled for release towards the end of 2001.
Robin continues to collaborate with Buckethead, his former GnR twin guitarist, on projects. Legendary filmmaker, John Carpenter, asked them to lay down some sounds for his horror movie, Ghosts of Mars, in theatres now.Never a dull moment in the career of this free spirited performer.
