Royal Trux was an American
alternative rock
band from 1987 to 2001, founded by Neil
Hagerty (vocals, guitar) and Jennifer Herrema (vocals).
History
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 Pussy Galore, 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. Then,
after moving to San Francisco, Royal Trux released the experimental
double-album
Twin Infinitives. In fanzine interviews, the
band was open about their heroin usage.
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 album was largely abandoned in favor of a
more stripped, direct sound.
Following the release of their untitled album, Hagerty and Herrema
hired a guitarist and drummer in order 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 records
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 one million dollars 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. 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. 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 1995-2000), 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 back to their
old label Drag City.
On Drag City, the band released
Accelerator. 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 were often credited 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.
In January 2009,
Drag City
reissued Royal Trux's first two albums
Royal Trux and
Twin Infinitives on vinyl.
Discography
Notes
- Nylvi. " Royal Trux Vinyl Reissues" January 4, 2009
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