By Neal Pollack
“I don’t know,” he said. “I hope someone has reserved a table. Because there are fireworks it might be kind of crowded.”
Thax met Ralph Syverson through their mutual friends Brett and Rennie Sparks, who play music together as the Handsome Family. Syverson makes his own marionettes and performs with them around town; his most recent gig was a marionette version of the first scene from Barbarella. He’s never published a book before, but he says he’s starting an imprint called MOC, which stands for Mail Order Catalog. He originally intended for his company to sell independent books, small-label music, and art over the Internet, but he became so involved in Thax’s project that he has yet to create MOC’s Web site.
“Maybe we should pass the contract around and have everyone sign it, like the Declaration of Independence,” said Thax.
Thax is unmistakable in a crowd, yet so easygoing that he often blends in anyway. He usually stands with his shoulders hunched forward as though he’s perched waiting for something interesting to occur. Thick eyeglasses cover half his face. In the winter, Thax is usually seen in wild, multicolored sweaters. He often wears a thrift-store baseball cap bearing some random slogan. He’s 41 and has lost a good deal of his hair. He grows a beard when he feels like looking older and shaves it off when he feels like looking younger.
Thax: “Thanks. I’m very funny and witty.”
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Thax and Connors soon became fast friends. Connors suggested to Thax that the name “Ultimate Sports Show” wasn’t working. Connors suggested “Thax After Dark,” as a tribute to the 70s TV program Playboy After Dark.
