Royal Trux : Classic or Dud ?

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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."

Mike Dixn, Friday, 12 June 2020 10:27 (three years ago) link

Came here to post this, lol

Charging for Brewskis™ (morrisp), Friday, 12 June 2020 17:34 (three years ago) link

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?

soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 12 June 2020 18:36 (three years ago) link

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.

Charging for Brewskis™ (morrisp), Friday, 12 June 2020 19:44 (three years ago) link

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).

soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 12 June 2020 19:59 (three years ago) link

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

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 12 June 2020 20:35 (three years ago) link

(that could be directed at either FP or DC)

Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, 12 June 2020 20:35 (three years ago) link

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.

soaring skrrrtpeggios (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Friday, 12 June 2020 20:38 (three years ago) link

He should re-sign with Virgin!

Charging for Brewskis™ (morrisp), Friday, 12 June 2020 20:59 (three years ago) link

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

Pinche Cumbion Bien Loco (stevie), Friday, 12 June 2020 22:04 (three years ago) link

four months pass...

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"

na (NA), Tuesday, 3 November 2020 17:08 (three years ago) link

seven months pass...

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.

Mike Dixn, Sunday, 6 June 2021 22:17 (two years ago) link

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

like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Sunday, 6 June 2021 22:43 (two years ago) link

one month passes...

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.

trux tracker (edges), Wednesday, 7 July 2021 19:50 (two years ago) link

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!

r u rolling pop 2021 (morrisp), Wednesday, 7 July 2021 20:02 (two years ago) link

one month passes...

ASSASSINATION THREATS
WON'T GET ME DOWN

Shallot Shortage 2021 (morrisp), Thursday, 12 August 2021 20:26 (two years ago) link

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

Shallot Shortage 2021 (morrisp), Thursday, 12 August 2021 20:27 (two years ago) link

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

Shallot Shortage 2021 (morrisp), Thursday, 12 August 2021 21:59 (two years ago) link

four months pass...

https://ibb.co/Pcp8Hkc

Mike Dixn, Tuesday, 21 December 2021 03:07 (two years ago) link

proof of life

nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Tuesday, 21 December 2021 13:46 (two years ago) link

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.

tylerw, Tuesday, 21 December 2021 16:25 (two years ago) link

one year passes...

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

— CBSColorado (@CBSNewsColorado) April 14, 2023

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Saturday, 15 April 2023 00:24 (one year ago) link

Holy shit

morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Saturday, 15 April 2023 00:26 (one year ago) link

More detailed report here

morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Saturday, 15 April 2023 00:30 (one year ago) link

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

morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Saturday, 15 April 2023 00:31 (one year ago) link

wtf

global tetrahedron, Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:10 (one year ago) link

feel bad for the dude but anyone who tries to slit a cop's throat with their own badge is a fucking hero in my book. they shoulda sent social workers.

Perverted By Linguiça (sleeve), Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:11 (one year ago) link

Goddamn I got the sense he wasn't in great shape but this is heartbreaking

Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:17 (one year ago) link

It really has me shook. He cut the one cop on the throat, and tried to grab the other one’s weapon… I’m grateful he is alive tonight

morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:24 (one year ago) link

Yes, it's kind of amazing (and very fortunate) he wasn't killed. Hope he's OK

Paul Ponzi, Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:28 (one year ago) link

yeah, it could be way worse. still, this is terribly sad news. i also began to worry after his socials disappeared, covid time, etc. ugh.

sknybrg, Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:29 (one year ago) link

xxp again, cops should never ever be the first responders to a "wellness check", they don't know how to do anything other than escalate

Perverted By Linguiça (sleeve), Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:50 (one year ago) link

and ofc the only reason dude is alive right now is because he's white, yeah

Perverted By Linguiça (sleeve), Saturday, 15 April 2023 02:50 (one year ago) link

I mean

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QnPFfqVwT0

Perverted By Linguiça (sleeve), Saturday, 15 April 2023 03:59 (one year ago) link

oh jeez.

dicbo=v2-ubswizzb&hrt (stevie), Saturday, 15 April 2023 08:10 (one year ago) link

was cranking Thank You in the car yesterday, the soloing on Shadow Of The Wasp is just majestic

dicbo=v2-ubswizzb&hrt (stevie), Saturday, 15 April 2023 08:11 (one year ago) link

So wild. And sad.

SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Saturday, 15 April 2023 11:45 (one year ago) link

Glad he's uninjured, hope he's OK, and in awe of how good that mug shot looks tbh

the banshees of ed sheeran (flamboyant goon tie included), Saturday, 15 April 2023 12:58 (one year ago) link

JH on FB

jaywbabcock, Saturday, 15 April 2023 14:49 (one year ago) link

idk if healing energy and posi vibes are gonna help as much as a good lawyer?

sarahell, Saturday, 15 April 2023 16:30 (one year ago) link

i am reminded now of the time I booked JH at my diy warehouse venue when we were basically one "complaint" away from being shut down by the City ... that was a tense night

sarahell, Saturday, 15 April 2023 16:33 (one year ago) link

just based on that fb post alone jh seems like an awful person

ꙮ (map), Saturday, 15 April 2023 16:42 (one year ago) link

Why?

morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Saturday, 15 April 2023 16:48 (one year ago) link

Yeah, why? I'm sure they're former business partners more than actual friends, but that post isn't shitty at all.

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Saturday, 15 April 2023 17:54 (one year ago) link

I mean they were married

Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 15 April 2023 18:08 (one year ago) link

given everything that went down over the years though I'd imagine it's more a deeply shared trauma which is better way to describe RT than a business

Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 15 April 2023 18:10 (one year ago) link

true

ⓓⓡ (Johnny Fever), Saturday, 15 April 2023 18:13 (one year ago) link

It's nice to read all the comments under her post (including a few names I recognize). I reached out to a few folks last nite, but I feel like the RT "fan community" is thinned out & atomized, so it's heartening to see ppl come together in one place like that (the few tweets I was seeing were snarky and unhelpful). I'm not on FB so don't usually see what happens there.

morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Saturday, 15 April 2023 18:31 (one year ago) link

I am hopeful that someone in a position to get money/help to him will set up a fund or other initiative to make that happen.

morrisp.fandom.com (morrisp), Saturday, 15 April 2023 18:34 (one year ago) link


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