Neil Michael Hagerty first gained notice alongside Jon Spencer in the pioneering lo-fi noise rock band Pussy Galore in the late 1980s. Even before that band split in 1990, Hagerty and fellow guitarist and singer Jennifer Herrema had formed the moderately more coherent, blues-influenced Royal Trux. Hagerty gathered a new backing band called the Howling Hex and began a solo career immediately upon that band's dissolution with the release of 2001's NEIL MICHAEL HAGERTY. Hagerty and the Howling Hex quickly established a relentless release schedule, releasing their 11th album, THE HOWLING HEX XI, by 2008.