The Royal Trux are on the road. Again.

They're stopped in Lawrence, Kan., on their way to Columbia, Mo. Outside of the health food store, after visiting the laundromat, Trux vocalist Jennifer Herrema is shouting into the cellular phone, trying to get every word in before the battery dies.

College towns, she says, are good. "It's a little bit different than playing in major cities," she mysteriously intones.

An extensive tour of Ohio in support of their new album, Veterans of Disorder, brings the Royal Trux to the Union this Saturday, where the duo will inundate a gleeful crowd with hits from throughout their 10-year history.

Made up of Herrema and Neil Hagerty (who plays practically all the instruments), the Trux formed in 1989, when the two were only 16. They met at a show where Neil was playing, and Jennifer "was compelled to continue to go and see him."

This pair of "quiet and shy" teenagers formed the Royal Trux, named after the pivotal axle part of a skateboard.

Herema pauses before describing the quintessential Trux sound.

"It's got its basis in rock 'n' roll...but a lot of the other things as far as instrumentation and arrangements and stuff," she explains. "The influences are pretty far and wide."

'Far and wide' also accurately describes the Trux touring regimen.

"We've toured every state in America except North Dakota, Alaska and Wyoming," Herrema says, noting that the band has also visited the United Kingdom and a great deal of Europe. "I think one of my favorite places is Spain. It's gorgeous. The people are very down-to-earth...there's a really good vibe there."

Speaking of gorgeous, Jennifer had a stint as a Calvin Klein model when the Trux were on the cover of a cheesy musician magazine, though she describes the modeling biz as boring work where she met interesting people.

Though the Royal Trux have put out an album every year (which brings them to a total of 10 albums), Herrema wouldn't classify the band as prolific. She reserves that title for bands with loads of side projects and experimentation.

They have kept themselves simple at only two core members, though Herrema has found no disadvantages in the small number.

"It's actually much easier," she says. "We don't have to observe any kind of diplomacy. A lot of people in the band...really does tend to add to the mediocrity of the music."

Over the course of 10 years, Herrema has found little change in the types of people at the shows.

"The cool thing about it is it's always been a disparate type of people," she explains. "We get all sorts of people coming to see us. There's no herd mentality."

The Trux play to keep from becoming stagnant, with no concrete idea in mind. As Herrema explains: "It's more like how we keep going, a way of being...so we don't ever get bored. We've always got our eyes open for anything that comes our way."

Royal Trux hits the stage with Geraldine and the Indoorsman on Saturday at the Union Bar and Grille, 18 W. Union St. Tickets are $5 in advance, $6 at the door.