Royal
Trux is an American alternative rock band active from 1987 to 2001, and which
reunited in 2015. It was founded by Neil Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals). While
still a teenager, Hagerty joined Washington DC garage punk band Pussy Galore, led by Jon Spencer, and subsequently relocated to New York. During his time in there, Hagerty convinced his
bandmates to release a cassette-only remake of the entire Rolling Stones album Exile on Main Street.
While he gained underground notoriety for his work with Pussy Galore, Hagerty
reportedly viewed it as a job and intended to pursue his own artistic vision
with his girlfriend, Jennifer Herrema, under the name Royal Trux. Hagerty
and Herrema released their first album, Royal Trux, in 1988.
After moving to San Francisco, Royal Trux released the experimental
double-album Twin Infinitives. After Twin
Infinitives, Royal Trux released an untitled album (sometimes
referred to as the Skulls record because of its sleeve
artwork). Forgoing the experimentalism of Twin Infinitives, the
band instead opted for a more lo-fi approach, recording on an 8-track. The arguably
atypical lyricism and sonic atonality of their first two albums was largely abandoned
in favor of a more stripped, direct sound. Following the release of their
untitled album, Hagerty and Herrema were joined by guitarist Michael Kaiser and
drummer Ian Willers [4] to complete their fourth full-length, Cats
and Dogs. The songwriting remained highly
experimental, but was more melodic, which was revealed on tracks such
as "The Flag," "The Spectre," and "Turn of the
Century." Around this time, the band signed with Matador and a Royal Trux record was assigned a catalog
number for an album which never appeared. During the corporate interest in underground music that followed Nirvana's breakthrough success in 1991, Royal Trux signed a
three-record contract totaling over $1 million with the major label Virgin. The label viewed it as a way to gain credibility with
other, more promising indie bands that they hoped to attract. Some of the money
went into buying a house in Virginia and converting it to a studio, where the band
recorded themselves and others (such as The Make-Up). According to interviews,
the band also kicked their drug habit at this time. (They spent a prior album
advance on drugs and are known for their heroin abuse.) The band added a considerably heavier
rhythm section with Dan Brown on bass guitar and Chris Pyle (son of Lynyrd Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle) on drums. Pyle left
after a brief period and was replaced by Ken Nasta, a prominent Jacksonville drummer,
formerly with Chain of Fools, The Fenwicks and
many others. They also added a percussionist named Rob Armstrong for a short
period. In 1995, they released Thank You, recorded almost
completely live in the studio with producer David Briggs.
Next came Sweet Sixteen. While the band received mainstream media exposure during their time on Virgin
(Herrema appeared in Calvin Klein print
and TV ads from 1995 to 2000), Virgin was reportedly unhappy with Sweet
Sixteen. The band was unwilling to record a third record for the label, but
was persuaded when Virgin offered to pay for all costs. Royal Trux returned to
their old label Drag City. On Drag City, the band released Accelerator,
based on the rejected recordings that would have comprised their third album
for Virgin. They followed this album with Veterans of Disorder in
1999, and Pound for Pound in 2000. Royal Trux also released
the triple-LP Singles, Live, Unreleased, as well as a pair of EPs
and substantial video and webwork. Hagerty and Herrema often credited
themselves as Adam and Eve for
their production work. They separated as a couple and dissolved the band
following the release of Pound for Pound. Since then, both have
recorded albums for Drag City; Hagerty under his own name and as The Howling Hex, and Herrema under the name RTX.Two reunion
shows were announced for August 16, 2015 at The Observatory in Santa Ana, California as
part of the Berserktown festival and December 19 at Webster Hall in New York City. They
played their fourth show since 2001 at Ace of Cups in Columbus, Ohio as part of the Helter Swelter Music
Festival on September 24, 2016. They played their first UK show since reuniting at the Victoria Warehouse for
TRANSFORMER on May 28, 2017. In 2017, the band released a live
album, Platinum Tips + Ice Cream, which received positive reviews.
In early 2018 the band officially left Drag City and signed a new record deal
with Mississippi-based indie label Fat Possum Records. The label also made the band's entire
discography available on streaming outlets for the first time. The new LP was
expected in early 2019. The band will release their first studio album 19
years, White Stuff on March 1, 2019 on Fat Possum Records.
During an interview with The Guardian in March 2019 Hagerty announced he was
leaving the band, stating "I'm not touring. She steamrollered right over
me, man. I'm not ... I'm just doing this as a favour to Fat Possum. The album –
I didn't approve of it. I have no idea what it is. I've heard like 10 seconds
of one song. I'm out, man." In response, Herrema stated "He's done
this on every tour. He always shows up, always does the tours." On
April 30, after having previously been rescheduled due to Herrema's unspecified
legal issues, the planned promotional tour for White Stuff was
cancelled entirely.