Thaddeus has been hard at work as "Thaddillac" on his new double album "Adayzndalyfalayk / One Man Trash Can Band." The double-CD release party is happening at the Seattle Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday, August 25th. Here are the details:

• buy tickets to the show
• Thaddillac's killer new website
  
• listen to music from the double album
• sign up for Thaddillac's email list and Facebook page

As fans of Maktub, there's no need to describe Thaddeus' stellar guitar work. Now you can experience Thad at the height of his powers: guitarist, songwriter, singer, solo artist. Looking forward to seeing y'all at the Hard Rock Cafe in Seattle on August 25th.

Last week we asked Maktub fans "what is your favorite song off of each of our five albums?" We unscientifically collated the results. It was too hard to limit to 5 songs, so we doubled down. Here are your two favorite songs off of each album (it's now a free download):

Subtle Ways (1999)

• Intuition
• Internal Light

Khronos (2002)

• You Can't Hide
• Just Like Murder

Say What You Mean (2005)

• 20 Years
• Feel Like Another One

Start It Over (2007)

• Open Mind
• Nothing Stays The Same

Five (2009)

• Took It All Away
• Slippin' Away

This is a FREE download. We'll probably pull it down after a while, so send it to friends and family now while the getting is good. Ten free Maktub songs!

On Friday we received the sad news that Gerald Turner, Sr. (Thaddeus' father) passed away. I'm sure he called many people "young man," but we always felt special when he said it to any of us.

Mr. Turner was a great friend, mentor and financial supporter of the band. As the Executive Producer for "Khronos," he confidently lent Maktub the money to record and produce the album. He then funded our first US tour. We'll always be grateful that a fellow musician and father had enough faith in 5 "young men" from Seattle to set us on the road that put us on the map. Gerald has many accomplishments: musician, producer of local music/theater (including Black Nativity), a successful career at Boeing, church leader, family man ... the list goes on and on. But the most notable to Reggie, Kevin, Davis and Daniel is the friend and bandmate he brought into our world: Thaddeus Turner.

As Gerald liked to say, "the apple does not fall far from the tree."


Thaddeus & Gerald Turner Sr. backstage at a Maktub show at The Showbox, 2007

Okay, horrible pun ... but thank you John Fossett for appreciating us. Right back atcha!

Maktub: Honestly, these guys were the first of the Nu-Soul movement to grab my attention. While Reggie Watts vocal acrobatics may be a showstopper, the musicians are top-shelf and the band is tight. I love all of their CDs, but "Khronos" is still my favorite.

Here's John's article in the Kitsap Sun.

P.S. Random observation—Kitsap Sun backwards is Nu-Spastik. Nu-Soul for Nu-Spastik. No idea where that takes us, but there you have it!

Considering Reggie's presence of hair, "Puffs" may be as good a nickname as any (and it helps make for a completely absurd blog title!).

Witness the awesomeness of Reggie (Puffs) on Conan (Coco) covering The Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy):

Game on ... Reggie enters the daily news cycle. I mean, Huffington Post people! What's next: Drudge Report and TPM?

Daniel (me) ran into Cory from People Within at Uptown Espresso today in SLU. His favorite Maktub show was Bumbershoot 2007-ish? Here's a picture of us (I look like a turtle) but you get the point: he wears orange, I wear green. We should start a basketball team.

Below is a free download of Cadillac Xmas by People Within. It's an awesome cut and I'll be rockin it the entire holiday season. Enjoy ... and friend People Within on FB. Turtle ... out

Crossed paths with Larry Metro moments ago (thanks for locating the size 'L' Hollow Earth Radio t-shirt). Larry's DJ resume: KCMU > KEXP > Hollow Earth Radio. Larry is loving HER and has a stellar Friday show you should check out. And, as fate would have it, Larry has attended quite a few Maktub shows (even MC'ing one of our Bumbershoot gigs).

Hollow Earth Radio is a Seattle-based non-profit (for now) streaming-only radio station. It's gathering a lot of steam lately, having just moved out of the attic and into a storefront space on 21st & E. Union. Go Larry! Go Hollow Earth!

Some great new photos from our pal Gregg Bleakney.  View the photos here. This is from our 2009 Showbox show.

Here's a tune we kinda forgot about. It was recorded quickly in Daniel's bedroom a few years ago with Reggie laying the vocal idea down over a drum machine track and some "fake" scratch keys. This was all recorded directly into a lil' Mac laptop using Garageband. When we recorded the FIVE album in 2009 the band laid "real" instruments over the scratch tracks and just kept Reggie's original vocal (and Daniel's backup vocals). We've always written songs quickly, but this is one Reg conceived and captured while the band didn't enter the picture with real instruments for a few years. The original tune we called "Goodbye Yesterday". We changed the name to "Coffee" with the updated version. They're both interesting versions of the same tune. Listen to Coffee (the updated version):

Reggie will be performing on Conan O'Brien's Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour! Again, Coco & the Bear will be on the same stage. UNBELIEVABLY AWESOME!