Thax Douglas Is No Longer On The Stage?
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 17, 2009 8:00PM
We just received word that Thax Douglas, rock and roll poet and friend of ours, passed away this morning. We, ah screw this third person thing. I just saw Thax a few days ago and can't quite believe what I'm typing. He will truly be missed and his passing will certainly throw a shadow over the city's music scene. He could be a divisive figure among audiences, but he should know, and I think he did, that he was truly appreciated by the bands he read for and those of us that thought he had a gift for turning ambiguous themes into solid imagery. We just lost one of Chicago's true treasures.
UUPDATE: Via Gapers Block, there was this posting on Thax's Facebook page: "This is Thax's Dad. Thax passed away this morning at about 10am. I know he loved the many friends he had in Chicago and I ask that you pray for him this evening." [M.G.]
UPDATE II: WBEZ is reporting that the coroner's office has no record of Thax's death, and since it appears he posted a poem on MySpace this afternoon, we're holding out hope this is some sick rumor via someone hacking Thax's Facebook account.
UPDATE III: Decider is reporting that Thax's dad has no knowledge of his son's death, so we're hoping this is all a hoax. Hopefully we'll be seeing Thax in Union Park Union Park in a few hours...
UPDATE IV: Thax is alive and well, and posted "wow--fwiw I have never attended much less read at Pitchfork- will write more tomorrow- thanks for the ♥ 's" on his Facebook page.