Royal Trux : Classic or Dud ?

Bill

RTX will never be classic, but it certainly isn't dud. It's one of these cult footnotes in rockunroll history. Certainly not compulsory listening, but definitely worth investigating if hard drugs, dirty hair and space boogie usually interest you. Although I have "TI", "C&D" and weird live stuff, I confess I seldom listen to them. I mostly play their recent stuff, with "Thank You" remaining their highlight. Along with the now much-scorned "Give out but don't give up" by the Scream Team 94, "Thank You" is one of my alltime fave pastiche records, a proper pop record by a duo of brilliant songwriters who rarely before had released songs as straightforward. I think it's a good thing when a band reknowned for its "difficult listening material" comes out with a set of proper tunes with hooks and a high level of "hummability". The opening cut, "A Night To Remember", is in my mind comparable to such songs as the Stones' "Rocks Off!", the aforementioned Scream's "Jailbird" and "Rocks", Suede's "Metal Mickey" or Bowie's "Watch that Man". You know, songs you play before going out (a category of songs I love, I'll post a thread about that). And that's how I like my RTX: fast rockunroll with a blond cat on a hot tin roof's raspy growl telling me I'm gonna lose.

And if your girlfriend finds your Scruffy Jenny obsession suspicious and/or maddening, then she is not a woman for you, mate.

My favorite moment of theirs is from that video of theirs where Jennifer acts sexy and semi-flashes the audience. It made no sense at all, it was the visual equivalent of "Pick 'em and Flick 'em" by the Melvins. *BOUM...BOUMMMMMMM...wheedlewheedlewheedle* Er, anyway.

I like it lots => pretty! Bunch of skeletal fragments put together to make into an incredibly coherent mess of a record.

If you arent feeling a certain album of theirs, there will be a point in your life when you will.

I think they are the only band who's catalog I've completly sold off...only to buy it back later.

CATS and DOGS OWNZ.

Did RTX create much of an impact in Britain? I really have no idea. It seems to me that most of their references and signifiers, not to mention their evocations, would be lost on a British audience. Or if RTX did in fact make an impression in the UK, I have a strong feeling that they were received and understood as far more exotic and inscrutable (or pretentious, if you like) than they actually were.

Anyway, at this stage I'm more convinced than ever that RTX were among the greatest bands in rock & roll history, and are gradually being recognized as such.

More art, less rock thx!

When 'accelerator' came out I remember a 'wow they are back!'-type reaction from the press at the time, people seemed to be glad.

Thank You is terrible, though.

(ok, wolf eyes or some shit, but then who cares?)

I attended Neil Hagerty's court hearing in Denver this morning. Not much info, but a few updates:

- Neil was not present, but his wife+lawyers were
- His attorneys say he is still not in a state to be advised/testify
- Neil is still in custody
- Preliminary trial is set for 5/8

— Aaron Dooley (@Aye_Doolz) April 27, 2023

Oh man, that's hard to hear

:(

welp, this sucks on the NMH front. pic.twitter.com/DSSqg5c3tB

— QueenCityJamz (@QueenCityJamz) May 4, 2023

Damn, that sucks. Hoping they get a new one up soon that focuses on the mental health help, guessing this is a result of the issue with not being able to raise funds for legal defense of a "violent" crime.

Shit yeah just saw that in my inbox as well

New donation link: https://www.givesendgo.com/NeilHagerty

Additionally, Jennifer Herrema; Neil’s Royal Trux partner and family friend, has donated a free download of an audio track that combines 4 years of singular audio tracks Neil has posted to his Patreon subscribers. The combined tracks highlight Neil’s creativity while illuminating his disconnected mental state.

(I haven’t seen my GoFundMe donation refunded yet…)

FYI, I reached out to GoFundMe to ask about it; somewhat strangely, the chat agent asked me to confirm I wanted to refund my donation ("Keep in mind that if we issue a refund, this can not be reversed"). I said yes (so I can donate to the new fund)... not sure why some are being automatically refunded and not others.

some went through before it got pulled, apparently

from jennifer herrema on fbook

We want to thank everyone who donated to the GoFundMe for Neil. Unfortunately, the campaign has been removed by GoFundMe due to their term of service that prohibits raising funds for legal defense of certain ALLEGED crimes. The funds that were not transferred prior to the campaign being canceled will be reimbursed to those individuals. I want to thank everyone who donated and if you received a refund I want to apologize for the inconvenience. We are starting a new campaign with GiveSendGo to continue to raise money for Neil’s care. This is an extremely complicated case and raises many questions that will be addressed by the lawyers once Neil is safely at the hospital. We will keep you posted as much as we can but please understand that we are not at liberty to speak openly about the case.
THANK YOU TO EVERYBODY FOR SUPPORTING & BELIEVING IN NEIL
Love & Kindness - T & JJ

(so i guess if you didn't get a refund, your money made it to Neil and his wife)

Oh nuts... well ok, I'll make up for it with the new fund.

Update & Message from Neil

Hello to all of you and I thank you for supporting us in this difficult time. I can't comment on the situation itself now, except to say: I have been kept strong by this uncommon outpouring of charity and concern. I don't know how long it will take to see this through but I do hope to be able to thank all of you individually & personally some day.

Thanks-- from my heart-- and please keep those kind and good thoughts headed our way.
In gratitude, Neil

FYI, a substantial update was posted today. Sounds like Neil is doing well, and is hopeful that his legal situation will be resolved positively next year.

Does seem like things are going in a (relatively) positive direction — hope it continues.

New label for an “extensive reissue series” (beginning w/Twin Infinitives)

Huh. Fingers crossed, but wasn't Fat Possum allegedly going to do the same reissue campaign back in 2018? Or was that deal just for digital/streaming of the back catalog?

Dud! But, also, get well soon!

xp Yeah, maybe that was just for streaming? In true Trux fashion, it all seems a little scattered (and not sure what they gained by "leaving" Drag City)...

I guess maybe DC wasn't streaming yet when they left

I have never heard of this label...

(to be fair, I'm pretty disconnected from the label scene)

They've been around a fair old time tbh. Lately they've been reissuing Lemonheads' stuff. https://www.discogs.com/label/2051-Fire-Records

yeah that's Spacemen 3's old label (post-Glass) from the 80s

I've mostly known them for putting out Bardo Pond stuff and, more recently, Vanishing Twin.

they also recently did those killer Bardo Pond "covers" EPs

lol xp

wasn't Fat Possum allegedly going to do the same reissue campaign back in 2018?

They did, putting out the albums on vinyl.

Did they end up doing all of them? I don't remember seeing them all come out, though I didn't look that hard since I have everything on CD anyway.

Discogs says all but the Virgin albums.

Meant to say wikipedia not discogs there... and that seems to be wrong.
Looks like they only reissued a few of the albums?

xps: Discogs tells me I own 6 releases on Fire lol

Thank You will always be one of my favorite albums of the nineties. So fricking good. They were a lot of fun.

Had forgotten David Briggs produced Thank You until I put on my old CD just now - still sounds gd to me.

Hoping this Fire reissues project will include a vinyl issue of Sweet Sixteen.

Interestingly, the release on Fire's website says "career spanning"

The duo who refused to comply with the rules on and off stage, leaving an incomparable legacy to admire in their wake, Royal Trux announce a career spanning catalogue deal with Fire Records.

https://www.firerecords.com/royal-trux-sign-to-fire-and-announce-extensive-reissue-series-beginning-with-twin-infinitives/

lol they aren't even doing the first album!

Well it does say “comprehensive reissue series”… maybe they plan to circle back?

I'll be impressed if they actually do get the Virgin albums tho. To Kim's point upthread, not even Fat Possum got to those.

Yeah Fire's been around for decades. Kinda chug along but they do good work, and that includes reissue series -- did a huge set of Giant Sand stuff years back.

Small print at the bottom of that link:

Reawakening their prolific output within a new monochrome vinyl series covering 1988-1993, they begin with their seminal deconstructed rock masterpiece Twin Infinitives.

Ah, yeah, there you go. Assuming then the "career spanning" part is that they own the streaming rights now, which would include Virgin (and presumably the Fat Possum albums).

I mean, a fitting mess for this band tbh.

Huh... at least "1988" seems to confirm that LP1 will eventually be included.

haha this wouldn't be proper RT news without confusing all of us

I saw what I think was a showcase show for them in LA when they got signed. Neil and Jennifer were touring as a duo at the time, but that show had the full band with Dan Brown, the two drummers, and maybe some rented amps? It was definitely different gear than what I'd seen in San Diego. That band was great!

Hey, it's the debut after all!

Fat Possum only managed to reissue Accelerator, Cats and Dogs and a cassette of Twin Infinitives.
At the time the deal was announced, it also included the new Royal Trux album, White Stuff, as well as the back catalogs and new releases from Black Bananas and The Howling Hex. My assumption is that after Neil left the band, tour cancelled, etc. the label soon lost interest. The Howling Hex Fastball Express album they had announced is still digital-only, and nothing else ever came out.
It's been five years, so the contract must have expired and this other label is going to hopefully do it right.
I like White Stuff, but mostly for the thrill of hearing them sing together again. Now I can tell that it's kind of a rush job/ incomplete record.
I wouldn't mind if they try to get back together again, assuming everyone is healthy.

Ahh, thanks for the clarification about what Fat Possum did reissue, I know it never seemed like all that much. That scenario feels pretty likely, let’s hope Fire does it right. Based on what I’ve gotten from them, it seems likely.

March 2024 Update

I was informed Thursday, March 14, 2024, that all the charges against me were dismissed. I want to thank you all for the part you played in this outcome. I'll try writing again once this news sinks in a little bit.

PeAcE & LoVe - Neil Hagerty

Quotes by Neil’s attorney: https://www.denverpost.com/2024/03/18/neil-hagerty-royal-trux-charges-dropped-police-denver/

just about as good an outcome as you could hope for, I think

Yeah, sounds like a pretty good outcome. Hopefully the treatment he received will be a boon in general, not just wrt this case.