The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

New Music Monday: The Royal Blue

The Royal Blue describes itself as: “a 3-piece garage rock band” from Appleton, Wisconsin. The members include: Karm Kerwell, Jeff Taugner, and Jason Nelson. Each member brings their own unique musical blend to the trio and it shows; The Royal Blue has released three musical works: My Woman On A Train (2014), Ramshackle Groove (2016), and their newest album: Big Bad Cake (2018).

MUR: Can you guys tell us more about your new album? How would you compare this to previous releases?

KK: We have our second LP out called Big Bad Cake and it was released a couple months ago, there are no covers, it’s all original.

JN: Big Bad Cake is more of a progression from Ramshackle Groove, it’s more mature and we keep getting a little stronger; we’re still a punky-rock band. We’re growing more and really enjoying making the music and performing it.

MUR: How long have you guys known each other?

KK: We’ve been together for four years. We originally started in Jeff’s basement in 2014 and we grew out from there; we originally experimented to see if we could do the band and we’ve really enjoyed it so far.

MUR: What is your favorite venue and why?

JT: Whoever has the best sound system, that’s what it comes down to honestly. Like Kochanski here in Milwaukee. We like to play early and try to be home by midnight, and we love who we end up playing with during those earlier times.

MUR: What musical groups have inspired you?

JN: My influence is more rock n roll/metalhead vibe.

KK: Basically everything under the sun, all the 60s bands.

JT: For me it’s the Sex Pistols and Johnny Rotten.

MUR: How was being in the final five for 106.7’s next2rock?

KK: Yeah it was kind of a surprise. We just signed up for this entry thing.

JN:  We didn’t even know we were in to be honest.

KK: I just sent in a song from Big Bad Cake just to get some publicity; but it was a really nice atmosphere and we loved the bands we performed with.

MUR: If you could spend a day with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?

KK: Sid Vicious

JT: Buddha

JN: Keith Moon; I loved the way he threw out the vibe to the audience, he was an absolute beast on stage.

MUR: What would you guys be doing if you weren’t in The Royal Blue?

KK: I would be in the Rolling Stones.

JT: I would spend more time up north to be honest.

JN: I’d be a clown in the circus.

MUR: How has this band impacted your life?

KK: We get to travel more which is really nice.

JN: Yeah we love to see parts of the country we’ve never seen before, even just in Milwaukee or Minnesota.

JT: It’s awesome to see fans and to see them across the Midwest is a feeling that indescribable.

MUR: How can people gain access to your music?

KK: We’re on Spotify, Pandora, ITunes, our website: https://www.theroyalblue.org and we have CDs available!

Photo by MUTV and MUR

Story continues below advertisement
Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

All Marquette Wire Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *