Teresa Taylor

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Teresa Taylor, also known as Teresa Nervosa, (November 10, 1962 – June 18, 2023) was an American drummer best known for playing with the experimental rock band Butthole Surfers. She was born in Arlington, Texas, and started drumming in high school marching bands in the Fort Worth and Austin areas. She and fellow drummer King Coffey were the band’s two drummers from 1983 to 1989, with a brief break in 1985–1986 when they performed on separate stand-up drum kits. Taylor played on several Butthole Surfers albums, including Psychic…Powerless…Another Man’s Sac, Rembrandt Pussyhorse, and Locust Abortion Technician.

Taylor left the band in 1989 after being diagnosed with an aneurysm and undergoing brain surgery; she later developed seizures triggered by strobe lights. She had a small role in Richard Linklater’s Slacker (1990) as a “Pap smear Pusher,” a character who appeared in the film and on posters.

In 1995, Coffey said Taylor was working at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and was writing a book about touring with the Butthole Surfers. By 2007 she was living in Austin and recording music with Gibby Haynes. She rejoined the Butthole Surfers in 2008, and the band announced tours for 2009 that included her.

In 2021 she announced she had end-stage lung disease, and in 2022 she described her death as imminent. She died on June 18, 2023, at age 60; her partner Cheryl Curtice said she died peacefully in her sleep, clean and sober. There has been discussion about whether Taylor and Coffey were actually siblings or only presented themselves as such because of their similar appearance; some sources say they were not related.