I recently conductd my first ever interview last week. I had the privilege of chatting to Jennifer Herrema of RTX, and formerly of Royal Trux. A chopped up version of this will go in FACT Magazine, while a larger version will be on the website. Here, though, is pretty much the whole thing. It gets very strange in places, and I am a total mark for RTX, but it’s all good. Here it is!

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So, you mentioned a tour. Is this the one I heard about with Primal Scream, perhaps?

Yeah, we’re going over right now. I just approved the tour, and then the booking agent wrote me. She’s like ‘on big tours over here, oftentimes you have to rent your own monitors and your own P.A.’ and stuff and I was like ‘fuck no, dude!’ that’s a deal breaker, you gotta be kidding me! We just approved the tour, we got al the funds together and then she laid that on me and I was like ‘well if they can’t provide the monitors and stuff then they just don’t want us bad enough. I’ve never heard of that, but I guess it goes on over there. It doesn’t go on over here.

Well it’s certainly a weird surprise to spring on someone.

Yeah, right after I approved it too! I was like: wait a minute. If we have to, like, rent our own monitors and our own P.A. to take into these huge theatres, you gotta be kidding me. That’s just not gonna happen (laughs). So she said no, she’ll make it happen, and I was like OK, make it happen and then the tour’s on! (laughs)

Cool. Well I reckon Primal Scream could afford your kit anyway.

I figure they probably could.

Well the tour is definitely good news, because I’ve been waiting for RTX to come over. Have you played here in the past actually?

RTX did once. Early 2005? But we just played two London dates and then Europe and that’s it. We played a party for iD, and then we played some old, big-ass rave warehouse… but they were both only London shows.

I’m looking forward to this because obviously there are now three albums of material to get into.

Yeah, yeah, definitely. We just did a U.S. tour, like two months ago. On the new album there are so many songs that are, like, so much fun to play, so we’re definitely doing the majority of the new stuff. We’ve toured a lot over here (America) actually… we’ll see what the set list will be.

When I first heard about the new album (J.J. Got Live RaTX), and I saw the title, I did assume ‘oh right, live album’, but it’s not. And it was just recorded live.

Yes, it is confusing, it’s just not confusing to me, because I know what it means! (laughs) So forgot about that. And also the pronunciation of ‘RaTX’. It’s just like when you say ‘xylophone’, it’s [pronounced as] a ‘z’, and it starts with an ‘x’. So I just assumed that everybody would figure out that it’s supposed to say ‘Ratz’. But, you know, using the ‘x’ in there because it provided an ‘r’, a ‘t’ and an ‘x’. yeah, it’ kinda goofy, but it all made sense to me, so I was quite certain it would make sense to everybody else, but I just forgot that I would probably need to explain it.

Well maybe I’m a bit slow on the uptake.

No, no, no! you’re not the only one.

Well I’ll explain it when I write [this interview] up, so then it’s clear for everybody.

Yeah. It’s just, it was recorded live in the studio. It wasn’t done, you know, track by track. It wasn’t done separated, like the past two records.

I do like the energy as well.

Yeah, and that’s a product of, you know, us playing simultaneously, you know, as opposed to just tracking in headphones. It provides a lot more energy when you’re all in the same room…

…you feed off each other…

Yeah.

So going back to the RaTX name for a moment. Was that a direct response to the whole Western Xterminator thing?

It’s not any one thing in particular. With RaTX, we had the imagery of the Pied Piper and we had the different rats and stuff on the Western Xterminator album. And then, having to re-title that album, I titled it RaTX, because of the imagery and because it also had to do with extermination. And then, on this one… we got the live… it’s basically, all the rats that were depicted in the illustration on Western Xterminator, and they were going, you know, towards the ocean? We didn’t lead them out into the ocean to drown. We have them, they’re live. (laughs) No, it’s totally twisted in my head, I just have this picture, like, they didn’t get drowned in the ocean, all the rats. And then we’re also the rats, so we’re all like in a cage together, and we have to, like, I don’t know. It’s just a big painting in my head, it all makes sense… to me.

I like it. In fact, I like all the artwork for the RTX albums. I noticed the little Ultimate Warrior plush doll on the new one.

Oh yeah, that’s my baby, yeah! (laughs) I actually got another one. I got a Sting wrestling buddy on the last tour. I’m getting quite a collection over here.

Excellent, excellent. I was chatting with someone just before phoning you up, who’s also heavily into the Royal Trux and the RTX and stuff. And he mentioned that he’s kinda reminded of the band RATT, by your music. now, is that an intentional thing?

The band RATT? No. I mean, we all love RATT. You gotta love RATT. I don’t know if… but there’s nothing intentional with the RaTX. The actual RaTX thing is twofold. I get to have the word ‘rats’ spelled totally weirdly, like r-a-t-x, but if you pronounce the ‘x’ as a ‘z’ it’s ‘ratz’. But we still get to have the r-t-x in it? Because I was gonna change the fucking name of the band to RaTX and everybody at Drag City (RTX’s label), they were all, like ‘no, no, you can’t do that! You can’t do that!’ But I get so sick of saying ‘RTX’, I just want it to be called RaTX. Not RATT, but RaTX. And then all the imagery, the Pied Piper imagery and stuff, I just kinda go on a tangent and a path and I don’t know if anybody else in the band even knows what the fuck I’m doing. But RATT the band, we love RATT. RATT is in our subconscious, you know, from early teenage years, somewhere in there. So there’s gonna be an influence, but it’s definitely by no means the only thing up in the noggin, you know.

I do actually think of a lot of stuff when I listen to your music, especially the new album. At times, and I’m always kind of a bit nervous when I mention certain eighties bands, because I don’t know how people are gonna react, but sometimes in some of the chords, I’m slightly reminded of WASP.

WASP! Oh, Blackie Lawless. Well when you look at the picture of the Ultimate Warrior you think of, like, Blackie Lawless, totally. I don’t know. I love WASP, but it’s not a band I listened to a whole lot. I know the bas player listened to WASP a lot. Yeah, that’s what I know. The bass player for sure. And I’ve listened to them, and I like ‘em, so they’re probably in there somewhere! (laughs)

It’s only a small detall, because it was just one of the riffs in ‘Hash’ that kinda reminded me of WASP.

Oh, yeah, well I’m not up on all my WASP. Maybe Brian fuckin’ nicked that from WASP, I don’t know.

I do go off on these strange flights of fancy…

I like that! I like that.

Cool, because I was listening to ‘Cheap Wine Time’ on the bus on the way into work this morning. And I don’t know, again, I don’t know if this is crossing a line or something, but I was thinking of ‘Home Sweet Home’ by Mötley Crüe. You know when it kicks in?

Yeah, yeah. Definitely songs like ‘Home Sweet Home’, all the ballads, like the fuckin’ power ballads? My first try at a power ballad in my own way was on Western Xterminator, and it was that song ‘Knightmare and Mane’. And then, on ‘Cheap Wine Time’, it was that but then the guitar has more of a Mick Taylor style to me. So it was kind of like a combination of the Crüe and the Stones. This is all in retrospect. When we were doing it, we were just doing stuff, and it would sound good, and we were like ‘yeah, that’s it’. But in retrospect you can listen and say yeah, this does have certain sensibilities that completely mesh with things that I love. So yeah, totally into the Crüe.

I grew up listening to the eighties rock as well, and I’ve got it all on vinyl…

Rad, dude…

And I just think of all of these really random details! Because you mentioned the bluesy guitar at the start of ‘Cheap Wine Time’ and I was thinking – and maybe it’s because of my age – but I was thinking about… you know Richie Kotzen, who replaced C.C. Deville in Poison at the start of the nineties?

Yeah. I love fuckin’ C.C. Deville. C.C.’s the man. I couldn’t get behind the other dude too much…

It was tough. Especially as he sang too much!

And he wasn’t C.C.!

And you just think ‘let Bret Michaels sing!’

Bret Michaels is a freak, dude. I love Poison, and they got so many great songs, but I’m, like, so not into Bret Michaels right now. Like, his Rock of Love and shit. That’s all good for him and whatever, but I saw too much of him. I would have preferred just to think of him only as Poison and it would have been okay, but he’s a total dork, dude. He’s so not rock. So not rock! (laughs)

That’s the thing, because Flesh & Blood was literally the first rock album I ever got.

(laughs)

I was ten years old, and I got it on tape. And I’ve still got the tape! Except I took it to Iran, and they wanted to have a look at it, and they magnetised it, so it’s all backwards now.

It’s backwards?

Yeah, the tape itself is fine, but it plays like it’s underwater. It’s very strange.

That’s pretty cool. I want a copy of that. I would love to hear what that sounds like.

I’ll see what I can do, because I’ve got it somewhere.

I would love that!

But I know what you mean about the Bret Michaels thing, because I didn’t watch that programme at all. I avoided it, because I just thought ‘it’ll ruin it’. Because I’ve got this image in my head of Bret Michaels being awesome…

Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally wrecked it! It wrecked it, dude.

I saw the Flavor Flav stuff and I thought I don’t want to see Bret doing that stuff.

See the Flavor Flav stuff didn’t freak me out. The Flavor Flav stuff actually… I found him more endearing, having watched the Flavor Flav shit. But Bret Michaels, nah dude. He’s so not a rocker. I couldn’t stop watching it, though, because it was just so over the top.

Yeah, it’s like a car crash.

Oh, a total car crash. And now they have one with all the girls in charm school with Sharon Osborne as their headmistress. It’s another car crash. It’s gonna be good. It just started, this one.

She’s another one who my perception totally changed of. I remember in the late nineties, she set up Ozzfest, and her favourite band was Neurosis. And they’re awesome and intense, and really nasty.

Wait, Neurosis was her favourite band? Oh wow, rad.

Apparently, and that’s how they got onto Ozzfest in the first place, because they were on the first two Ozzfests.

Rad, I didn’t know she was behind that.

Well it’s crazy now, because you see her, and she’s totally not about that at all.

She’s still a wild card in my mind. She’s somebody that is pretty close to having it both ways, if you know what I mean. You know what I mean? I love Ozzy. And watching The Osbornes, Ozzy’s such a badass. Like, I love him even more.

Yeah, he’s the best…

He’s the best! And she obviously loves him, so there’s obviously something super-rad about her. And you just don’t know about it necessarily. Because, like, Ozzy’s the man.

I know what you mean. Like, she’s really good at putting on this public persona, but she’s still an Osborne deep down. She’s an Osborne anyway.

Yeah, cool.

So, getting back to the music for a second. ‘Resurrect’, off the first album (Transmaniacon, 2004). I do love that song, and it hit me as the RTX version of ‘Rocket Queen’, because it finishes this great album, and it’s an epic!

I don’t know what to say. That’s a good thing to take away from it.

In fact, I think the reason why I thought of talking about it is because the solo in that song reminds me of C.C. Deville. A lot. Which is great, because he’s one of my favourite solo dudes.

Yeah, actually Brian met C.C. Deville not too long ago, at the Rainbow Room. He was there with his girlfriend. I don’t know, for some reason, and he met C.C. Deville. He was stoked.

That is brilliant. Because I do have this romantic image of L.A. in the eighties. Because I was only born in 1980, so I can distance myself from what must have had good and bad points at the time. But the whole Rainbow Room thing, that whole era, I just think is brilliant.

I wasn’t there either. It’s before my time, out here, but I felt as a teenager growing up… there’s just so much imagery, and the songs are so huge, and they were just all over the radio. It was it; that was rock. Big radio, and all the pictures… magazines. I used to tear out pictures, you know, put them all over the wall. It felt – what you’re saying – it felt cool as shit.

And it was so emotional as well. A lot of the current emo stuff is totally biting that sound, it’s just a bit less sexy.

Yeah, it’s not sexy at all. It’s kinda timid in a way, it’s a little too tame. Those dudes, no matter what kind of voice they have… whether it be like Axl Rose, or Bret Michaels, Ronnie James Dio… all those dudes just had voices that could just push, push, like push you up above the fuckin’ stars, sky high. It was just so insane. But emo, it’s like nobody even tries. It’s not about how well you execute, it’s the emotion behind it, and just try. If that’s what you’re feeling, you need to push. And I don’t care if you sound as good as Ronnie James Dio or Axl Rose, just let me hear you give something.

So what do you reckon to people like Andrew W.K.? Because I like the dude, and he doesn’t have a great voice, but he’s going for it.

I love Andrew. Andrew’s an old friend of mine.

Oh wow.

Yeah, before I moved out here, I was out here with him when he was recording his very first record. Andrew’s a special dude, he’s a freak. Freak, freak, freak. Stone cold freak. In a good way. That’s what he is, he’s great. He does what he does, and he doesn’t care. He doesn’t give a shit.

And that’s why he’s so cool. Because I remember when I first got I Get Wet (his full-length debut, 2001). I first read about it in The Face. And I was, like, ‘why am I first hearing about this metal dude in The Face, there must be something wrong’.

Something’s gone wrong, yeah!

And it rocked so much! And I just thought ‘this is fantastic!’

Yep, it rocks. Totally. And he’s such a great… just a great composer.

And he’s insanely enthusiastic as well…

Yeah, well that occasionally… I swear to God, it’s like ‘down, boy’. Occasionally I’m like ‘God damn it’. But it’s great. It’s him. It’s who he is.

Cool. Because I heard this song, it was him doing a song about Wolf Eyes. I think it was called ‘What Kind of Band’, and I started of with him shouting ‘WOLF EYES RULE’, and then it started. And I thought ‘that sums him up’, really. Because it’s innocent, and it’s brilliant at the same time.

Yeah, yeah. He’s… he’s… yeah. Yes. I agree with all of that. I don’t know what to say, I totally agree with you. I’m a huge fan. He’s a good guy.

I kind of got the same feeling when I heard Transmaniacon as well. And it took me a while to realise the Blue Öyster Cult reference.

Well it was definitely a reference, but it was also just… when the record first came out, I did interviews and people were all ‘Trans.. maniac. Trans… maniac-on’, and they were like ‘is that the devil’s skulls? Are you a maniac?’ and these types of things, and I was all like ‘it’s not what the word means, it’s how you say it’. And it really got jammed up at first. And just saying the word ‘transmaniacon’ (pronounced trans-man-I-acon), and it’s just such a badass word, transmaniacon. But ‘trans-mania-con’ is such a gay word. So I was, like, oh god, now I’ve fucked that one up too! So I got ‘Rat-X’ instead of ‘Ratz’, I got ‘trans-mania-con’… I don’t know. But it all comes out in the wash. There’s just so much going on in the world anyway, you don’t have enough time to figure out how to say a word. It’s okay.

That is one thing I did pronounce straight away, so I’m quite pleased with myself about that. Anyway, I’ve been on this big run of getting seventies and eighties records in, and I only got a record player about a year ago, so I thought I’d get some Blue Öyster Cult, and that’s when it clicked. Because I just thought you came up with the word.

No, it was also a book. It was a science fiction book. I forget who wrote it.* I have it somewhere. It’s not a great book, but…

…But it’s got a good name.

Yeah. Its got a great name.

Is there anything you particularly want to say to the people in England?

Just don’t be afraid of guitars, you know? I don’t know, it’s been a while since I’ve been over there, but rock ’n’ roll has gotta have guitars, dude.

English people are very apologetic. When they talk about British rock bands, and they say Oasis was the best, I think ‘Oasis?!’ Every American band rocks more than them!

You know what? I gotta tell you a funny thing. Oasis opened up for Royal Trux on their first American tour. They opened up for us in Virginia Beach (laughs). I remember I was like ‘this band is gonna be fucking huge’, I just remember thinking that. And it just kind of encapsulated a real pop sensibility. You know, what people love about British rock ‘n’ roll. It’s pop. It’s different. I don’t know, I love pop music, but I love rock music. And we play rock music. but I would like the rock music to become popular!

Definitely. Because there are loads of cool American band out there. I don’t know if you’ve heard Captain Ahab. They’re a duo, and they did an album a couple of years ago, that I think they call ‘ravesploitation’, so it’s like their take on rave. But you can tell it; a couple of metal dudes, because the energy’s there from metal, and the dynamics. I think they got famous in America because they had a song on Snakes on a Plane. They did the song for that.

I like that movie. I’m gonna check that out, definitely.

And they were on The Office. I don’t know if you watch that…

Yeah, I love The Office.

Well Michael Scott was having a party on his own, and he played this song called ‘Girls Gone Wild’. It’s a bit of a small reference, but that was Captain Ahab.

Okay, I wanna find that. I wanna check it out. Captain Ahab, I’m gonna look that up, it sounds good.

There are bands that really excite me at this moment in time, for different reasons, but totally. Because you’ve got you, Andrew W.K., Wolf Eyes, Captain Ahab, and it’s all different stuff, but it’s all brilliant. And it doesn’t sound like anything else that’s out there right now.

That’s great, I love that. I’m glad we could do that, like, give you something like that. It’s never a conscious decision, like, ‘we can’t sound like anything else’. We love so much different music, and we use all of it when we’re playing. I guess it’s just the chemistry that makes it so it doesn’t sound like anything else. And it means we’re doing a good job of being a band. Not just as songwriters, we have the chemistry of a band on record, which is really important. It; not just good songs, it’s special chemistry.

And it’s your own sound, which is great. Because I have this problem with bands that are just retro, whereas you get this sound from the past, but you make it so modern at the same time. And that’s why it works, for me anyway.

I would hope it does. A lot of people maybe just dismiss it because they hear one sound, or something that reminds them of something from the past and all of a sudden it becomes retro to them. But there’s nothing retro about RTX. The only thing that’s retro about RTX is just the fact that our influences are far and wide and many and diverse and these types of things. And the influences are most definitely things that have come before us. They certainly couldn’t have come from the future.

I don’t know what goes on. I have been really, really indulging this stuff that I grew up with and jut loving, and just like ‘fuck yeah!’ I remember being on the bus, on the way to school with my Walkman on, and just fucking listening to Mötley Crüe and being like ‘FUCK!’ And then on the weekday you’d go see a Bad Brains show, ‘cause they’re fucking great too. Just going back and listening to a lot of the stuff that gave me a lot of fucking energy, growing up. There’s tons of other stuff, but that was just the real mainstream stuff that was going on at the time, that you couldn’t avoid. It was just everywhere, and it just was great.

I think there’s a bit of a gap nowadays, because you’ve got bands who are really heavy, like Converge, and then you’ve got bands who want to be popular, who sound very MTV. So you don’t really get anybody between those poles, who rock, but don’t sound like grindcore or death metal.

Yeah, yeah.

There are some. Because there are you lot, and there’s High On Fire, and there’s Mammatus, and they’re all cool and stuff, but you lot are definitely my favourite.

It’s something that goes on with RTX that’s kinda gone on my whole musical life, where we definitely have some things in common with that, but we’re not like them, and we always have a hard time pairing up with bands on tours. Because of the fact that we stand alone, but we’re also part of all the best gangs too. We’re part of all the best gangs, but we haven’t drawn blood for any one particular gang, you know what I mean?

I think that sums it up really, because I remember when I first read about Royal Trux, and this will have been quite late on. It’ll have been about ’96, ’97, when I started buying Kerrang! and things like that. And I just thought ‘that is the coolest-looking band’. And now,I get your albums and I think ‘this is still the coolest-looking band’. And even though there’s only one person from Royal Trux in RTX, and it’s just a lot of new people, I still think ‘goddamn! Very cool’.

Yeah. We are. We’re pretty fucking cool. (laughs) I love it, that’s all I can say.

Thank you very much for your time.

No, thanks for all the great questions and the great references, it was great.

* It was apparently John Shirley.