Royal Trux : Classic or Dud ?

Why was it taken down?

the site itself is down

Ah. Rock n roll

I feel like I have already read three different versions of that interview.

I really want to know more about their specific issues with Drag City. That's the second time they've thrown a pretty wild (and weird) accusation at them, which not only doesn't seem to jibe with the label's rep but also seems weird considering how many artists cultivate (seemingly) really solid long term relationships with them.

we’re not allowed to have a manager or anything at Drag City—you’re not allowed to have anybody work for you at Drag City.

?!

LOL yeah so weird. When I read that I wondered if that was something like she had expected Drag City to pay for their manager or something.

I’ve done a real 180 on White Stuff... now I rate it above Pound for Pound (already my least favorite Trux LP), as well as — why not? — the 2nd half of VoD.

Love the bit where they're threatening Robert E Lee. Weird to see them kind of engaging with the world.

I was very skeptical of the album based on the videos/singles but the whole thing works very nicely. I even came around to the Kool Keith song which I couldn't stand initially.

I still skip that one after a minute or so 😬

Quantum Entanglement, the best-of comp that Fat Possum issued on vinyl for RSD, now seems to be generally available on other platforms.

Interesting tracklist? Points off for starting off a comp with a song that’s also track 1 on the LP it’s taken from (that’s kind of a party foul, IMO):

01. I’m Ready
02. Waterpark
03. Ray O Vac
04. The Spectre
05. Platinum Tips
06. Stevie (For Steven S.)
07. Sunshine and Grease
08. Stop
09. Liar
10. The Flag
11. Junkie Nurse
12. Call Out The Lions
13. White Stuff
14. Shockwave Rider

no Back To School, no credibility

It’s actually a pretty crummy tracklist IMO

It's ok but a bit lol

the whole idea of a RTX "greatest hits" is lol

When I personally consider that this is their best release, maybe it's not so lol?:

https://www.discogs.com/Royal-Trux-Singles-Live-Unreleased/release/1063963

Has there ever been a thread for weakest/least-representative “best of” comps? This would be a contender imo

Admittedly a band to sum up in14 tracks but still

*a hard band to sum up

at least it has "Ray O Vac", the closest they came to a would-be hit imo (had anyone cared)

My first exposure to Trux was via a mixtape that a friend loaned me (a friend of hers and made it for her). I remember it had “Ray-O-Vac,” “Strawberry Soda Pop,” etc. I was like — LOL, ok. Then I heard ”Morphic Resident“ on a CMJ mix; bought Sweet Sixteen as soon as it came out; and was obsessed with it.

When I personally consider that this is their best release, maybe it's not so lol?:

https://www.discogs.com/Royal-Trux-Singles-Live-Unreleased/release/1063963

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Monday, January 6, 2020 11:38 AM (one hour ago) bookmarkflaglink

"faca amolada" should be on that greatest 'hits'

Oh, I loved that. Think I had it on a 7" bootleg because it was actually a Peel Sessions recording.

If I had to pick one Trux release to accompany me on a desert island, it would be Singles/Live/Unreleased. It's the whole enchilada.

Anyone else take umbrage at that lame Quietus review of Quantum Entanglement a few weeks ago?

Neil Hagerty, patreon post:

"sad anniversary

This marks two years since I had to pull the plug on Royal Trux again, may-be it was the 9th time. That year, I got an extra 10K to finish a session then I left the studio with what was supposed to be an entire LP of finished LP tracks sitting there to melt. Once the deal got started, April to June this time of year, every person who was around the last time I pulled the plug re-appeared from Orange County, Chicago & Mississippi and I was me against 21 dudes. 

I said I’d do the record if we had a producer who had the final say on everything, band members only in the studio and the record was only the songs totally finished by a certain date. Nothing got worked out and it was a debacle the whole time.  I left on the date we had agreed on.

So all them took it over and spiked me, then now the UK groups in publishing and marketing also get involved and they steamrolled the release without me hearing any of the tracks. They tried to do the band without me but that didn’t work then offered me money to do a tour. I ended up paying someone 3000$ to not have to speak to anyone involved again. Meanwhile they’re putting out old re-releases and I get nothing for that.

1 year ago, after they torpedoed the trux thing fat possum came back and said they'd let me do a record to come out in the fall of ’19 and they would back the record up with tour support and so on. They buried the record this may I think and still owe me 17K in unpaid invoices for travel, show expenses, sessions, musicians, artwork. The publishing company offered me 0$ for it. That’s 0$ I came away with for all the songs I wrote for the trux record and the solo record.

This is the work that I do and I don’t get to choose the 2 bosses who i work for but if things go bad they blame the musicians & listeners have no sympathy.  Things get contorted. 

All I know is to stay on the path my father set me on, keep working to get very good at a few things, don't listen to white lies, you can't go wrong with a song-- no one else ever had better advice for me."

Came here to post this, lol

Clearly Neil was not happy with the way the Trux reunion was working out and was never really comfortable with it in the first place, so I'm not surprised that went to shit.

Interesting to hear him dog on Fat Possum now too. Wasn't part of the reason he was excited about Fat Possum was that he hated how Drag City treated him?

Considering how he did press for the recent Hex album, it was reviewed in Pitchfork, etc., I’m not sure how it was “buried” more than any random Drag City release.

Obviously there is a lot going on behind the scenes we don't know about and it's not like there is any reliable narrator in the Trux universe, but it reads a little bit like Neil has some unrealistic expectations of what a label might do for him given that he's starting to say the same things about Fat Possum that he said about Drag City (which still surprises me, because I can't remember hearing other artists with similar complaints).

It was convenient for Neil to blame the collapse of the industry on his label (who are basically saints imho).

(that could be directed at either FP or DC)

I don't know much about Fat Possum, but Drag City always struck me as really supportive of their artists. Considering the, we'll go with eccentric (or finicky) artists that have stuck with them for decades in some cases, it's hard to take Neil's complaints about them too seriously.

He should re-sign with Virgin!

tbf it's hard to top a label that pays you not to make an album

i don't know if it's their best album but "pound for pound" probably has the most tasty riffs out of the rtx catalog. just in the first three songs, you've got the sweet lead part on "call out the lions," the little woody woodpecker riff on "fire hill," and basically all of the guitar parts in "platinum tips"

https://audius.co/therealroyaltrux/otr-edit-mix-428042
"The Real Royal Trux" rehearsal jam sounds suspiciously like Black Bananas studio jams, but what do I know.
Also, I think NMH might be done with music forever. Patreon output lately is mostly early morning snapshots of Denver sidewalk garbage and occasional plugs for the board games.

These two never stop being hard to figure.

I just quit (“paused”) my Pateon payments. Where/when is this jam from(?)

I'm on-again off-again with Neil's patreon output. Confusing mess of unexplained scribble art, deep concept/no concept video essays, and 12 minute long noise floor recordings. All called 'Amusements' but I think he's fulfilled the literal form of "He could fart into a mic and I'd buy it". All said, I'm still obsessed with everything he does. I want good things for him. I hope the Virgin money is still paying his rent or something.

Side crud: I'm a lonely trux fan searching for buds. DM me with whatever service you're on and let's talk.

Food for convo: The Best Of record is a big source of inspiration for me. Multiple layers going on with it. The overall New Border Sound genre he concocted. The sense that he's simplified the songwriting down to (my words:) "Three Crayons" ie artistic restrictions: Every drum pattern is texmex Bom-chacha Bom-chacha, every guitar solo just fuzzy single note hammer-ons, etc. Don't have to ask himself what choice to make, it's predetermined.

I wish the White Stuff era didn't interrupt Hex and Bananas. Hex's Denver, along with the 7"s (Butterfly/Party Shoes are you kidding me) and Banana's expected next album after the SpyderBrain/Margaritas 7", -- Both bands were in their absolute best of times. I'm glad I got to see Trux live in 17, but the following White Stuff garbage just wrecked both parties.

I agree about Best Of (though not really about White Stuff; I feel like he had kind of played the Hex thing out by that point).

There's some related discussion here: new Howling Hex / Neil Hagerty brings the funk!

ASSASSINATION THREATS
WON'T GET ME DOWN

I don't think I can conceive of a better rock & roll recording than "Golden Rules." Also, the entirety of Sweet Sixteen!

if it rocks, put it on the table
If it rolls, put it in the hole

https://ibb.co/Pcp8Hkc

proof of life

haha good to see — he's been MIA on the Denver scene for the past few years (even pre-pandemic). I assume he's still here, I think that's a rocky mountain chocolate factory bear.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/3-denver-police-officers-injured-suspect-neil-hagerty-arrested/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

3 Denver police officers injured, suspect Neil Hagerty arrested https://t.co/bdCMqYr8cF pic.twitter.com/nmaZeVCYzS

— CBSColorado (@CBSNewsColorado) April 14, 2023

Holy shit

More detailed report here

"The suspect in this case has the same date of birth, full name and eye color as the famous musician."