# The V-Roys

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_V-Roys
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/The_V-Roys.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_V-Roys
> Source revision: 1330600892
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox musical artist | <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name                = The V-Roys
| image               = The V-Roys.jpg
| background          = group_or_band
| origin              = [Knoxville, Tennessee](/source/Knoxville%2C_Tennessee), [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee), United States 
| genre               = [Alternative Country](/source/Alternative_Country)  
| years_active        = 1994–2000, 2011
| label               = [E-Squared Records](/source/E-Squared_Records)
| current_members     = [Scott Miller](/source/Scott_Miller_(country_musician))<br />Mic Harrison<br />Paxton Sellers<br />Jeff Bills
| past_members        = John Paul Keith
}}

'''The V-Roys''' were a [Knoxville](/source/Knoxville%2C_Tennessee), [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee)-based [alternative country](/source/alternative_country) band signed to [E-Squared Records](/source/E-Squared_Records).  The band was described as "walking the fine line between rootsy country and cutting-edge [alternative rock](/source/alternative_rock)".<ref name="amg_bio">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p194745|pure_url=yes}}|title=allmusic ((( The V-Roys > Biography )))|last=Bush|first=John|work=Allmusic|accessdate=2009-10-18}}</ref>  [Scott Miller](/source/Scott_Miller_(country_musician)), John Paul Keith, and Mic Harrison were the primary songwriters for the band.

==History==
The band was formed in Knoxville in 1994, with guitarist/vocalist [Scott Miller](/source/Scott_Miller_(country_musician)),  lead guitarist [John Paul Keith](/source/John_Paul_Keith), bassist Paxton Sellers, and drummer Jeff Bills.  They were originally named The Viceroys, but were forced to change it after being threatened with a lawsuit from a [Jamaica](/source/Jamaica)n band.<ref name="metropulse">{{cite news|url=http://www.metropulse.com/news/2009/jan/28/best-knoxville-band-ever-1-v-roys/ |title=The Best Knoxville Band Ever No.&nbsp;1: The V-Roys |work=[Metro Pulse](/source/Metro_Pulse) |last=Everett |first=Matthew |date=January 28, 2009 |accessdate=2009-10-18 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130219071717/http://www.metropulse.com/news/2009/jan/28/best-knoxville-band-ever-1-v-roys/ |archivedate=February 19, 2013 }}</ref>

Before their first album was recorded, Keith left the band and was replaced by [Mic Harrison](/source/Mic_Harrison).<ref name="amg_bio" />

==Releases==
The V-Roys first album, ''Just Add Ice'' was the first release on [Steve Earle](/source/Steve_Earle)'s [E-Squared Records](/source/E-Squared_Records).<ref name="metropulse" />  The title is a playful reference to their decision to remove the letters "ice" from "The Viceroys" as a result of the threatened lawsuit.  The album is described as a "solid reflection of their live show" and "jangling, melancholy country&ndash;rock".<ref name="billboard_1998">{{cite web|url=http://w3st.com/vroys/billboard_10_98.htm|title=E-Squared's V-Roys Rock This 'Town'|last=Bessman|first=Jim|date=October 10, 1998|work=Billboard.com|accessdate=2009-10-18}}</ref><ref name="amg_just_add_ice">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r240954|pure_url=yes}}|title=allmusic ((( Just Add Ice > Overview )))|last=Frey|first=Michael|work=Allmusic|accessdate=2009-10-18}}</ref>  The band recorded it "live without a lot of bells and
whistles, to get something out as quick as we could and go out and support it".<ref name="billboard_1998" />

1998's ''All About Town'' is a "more subtle, but endlessly melodic" album that saw the band "stretch out and add elements of bluegrass and broader production values".<ref name="billboard_1998" /><ref name="amg_just_add_ice" />  Miller commented that Earle "pushed us a lot harder and put his foot way up our asses this time", and "handed songs back to us if they weren't good enough".<ref name="billboard_1998" />  Allmusic describes the album as "twelve concise songs that swing from the [Creedence-ish](/source/Creedence_Clearwater_Revival) "Window Song" to the country-folk of "Mary" to the sounds of [Appalachia](/source/Appalachia) in "Virginia Way" to the great highway tune of "Strange".<ref name="amg_all_about_town">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r373669|pure_url=yes}}|title=allmusic ((( All About Town > Overview )))|last=Chrispell|first=James|work=Allmusic|accessdate=2009-10-18}}</ref>

Both of the band's studio albums were produced by Steve Earle and [Ray Kennedy](/source/Ray_Kennedy_(country_singer)), known as the "Twangtrust".<ref name="billboard_1998" /> The band also had 3 tracks on the soundtrack to the film ''[You Can Count on Me](/source/You_Can_Count_on_Me)''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.soundtrackinfo.com/tracks/youcancountonme/|title = SoundtrackINFO: You Can Count on Me Soundtrack (Complete album tracklisting)}}</ref>

After road-weariness, Earle losing interest, and reaching their creative peak, the band decided to break up.<ref name="metropulse" /><ref name="cin_enq_2001">{{cite news|title=Scott Miller's second act; Leader of lamented V-roys brings new band to Southgate|last=Nager|first=Larry|date=July 27, 2001|work=Cincinnati Enquirer}}</ref>   They released a live album, ''Are You Through Yet?'', recorded at a concert at the Down Home in [Johnson City, Tennessee](/source/Johnson_City%2C_Tennessee).<ref name="amg_through_yet">{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r504715|pure_url=yes}}|title=allmusic ((( Are You Through Yet? > Overview )))|last=Berick|first=Michael|work=Allmusic|accessdate=2009-10-18}}</ref>  The album is complimented as "a marvelous send-off, but it also provides a fine introduction to the group for those who missed them the first time around".<ref name="amg_through_yet" />

The band played what was then called their final show at the historic [Tennessee Theatre](/source/Tennessee_Theatre) on New Year's Eve, 1999.<ref name="metropulse" />

==Reunion==
In July 2011, it was announced that the band then would be releasing a compilation album on Miller's record label. The album, ''Sooner or Later'' features songs from their two studio albums, and previously unreleased tracks. They also played a concert on New Year's Eve 2011 in Knoxville.  The show was called "One Show; Goodbye".<ref name=reunion_metropulse_announcement>{{cite web|last=Mayshark |first=Jesse Fox |title=V-Roys Say Hello Again, Goodbye |url=http://blogs.metropulse.com/the_daily_pulse/2011/07/v-roys-say-hello-again-goodbye.html |work=Metro Pulse |accessdate=18 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316022853/http://blogs.metropulse.com/the_daily_pulse/2011/07/v-roys-say-hello-again-goodbye.html |archivedate=March 16, 2012 }}</ref>

==Reception==
The band was described as "a critically acclaimed, commercially under appreciated" band with a "tasty brand of roots rock".<ref name="roanoke_times">{{cite news|title=Roots Run Deep For Virginia-Born Musician|last=Berrier Jr|first=Ralph|date=July 7, 2001|work=The Roanoke Times}}</ref><ref name="austin_chron">{{cite news|url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/review?oid=oid%3A82553|title=Review: Scott Miller and The Commonwealth|last=Caligiuri|first=Jim |date=August 3, 2001|work=Austin Chronicle|accessdate=2009-10-18}}</ref>

Their live show was often complimented. It was illustrated as shows that "swung from honky-tonk pathos to punk-ish ferocity, and by the end of a show it was sometimes hard to tell one from the other".<ref name="metropulse" />  The band was particularly popular locally; shows were described as "genuine events, with advance tickets, sold-out clubs".<ref name="metropulse" />  ''Just Add Ice'' was said to be the best selling album in ten years at a Knoxville record store.<ref name="billboard_1998" />

The V-Roys were named the best Knoxville band ever in a 2009 poll conducted by Knoxville's weekly newspaper ''[Metro Pulse](/source/Metro_Pulse)''. The voters were members of the Knoxville music industry.<ref name="metropulse" />

==Discography==

{| class="wikitable"
! style="width:3.5em;" | Year
! style="width:15em;" | Title
! style="width:10em;" | Label
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 1996
| ''Just Add Ice''
| E-Squared Records
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 1997
| ''Johnny Too Bad EP (With Steve Earle and the Fairfield Four)''
| E-Squared Records
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 1998
| ''All About Town''
| E-Squared Records
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 2000
| ''Are You Through Yet''
| E-Squared Records
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 2011
| ''Sooner or Later (Compilation)''
| F.A.Y. Recordings
|}

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:V-Roys, The}}
Category:Musical groups established in 1994
Category:Musical groups from Knoxville, Tennessee
Category:American alternative country groups

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The V-Roys](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_V-Roys) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_V-Roys?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.