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Move over Star Search. Steer clear American Idol. With its roots in the jamband scene, Seattle-based Maktub has got the future of pop rock covered, and is doing it heavy soul style.
By Bruce Moore |
Being an East Coaster, I was not privy to the joy of Maktub until fairly recently, when the gifted vocalist Reggie Watts stepped to the stage along side of the NY-based band Soulive. Complete with a genuinely friendly smile and giant afro, Watts immediately engaged the crowd before dealing out a dose of his fiery funk. With Reggie demonstrating tremendous vocal range, I couldn’t help but feel as though I was truly witnessing someone use their voice as an expressive instrument, willing to try just about anything up on stage to produce the funkiest, soothing, soulful, powerful music. This was the voice of the 21st century. And I was intrigued.
My search for more led me to Maktub (pronounced "mock-tube"), the band in which Reggie is backed by Davis Martin (drums), Daniel Spils (keys), Thaddeus Turner (guitar) and Kevin Goldman (bass). Luckily for this eagerly awaiting music fan, the band did not keep me waiting in vain, with an early May visit to the stages of Tribeca Rock Club in NYC, and a consequent conversation with the charismatic lead vocalist of Maktub.
One of the very first things to come up in our conversation was the overall sound of the band. That is, the feel good pop sound, intertwined with a heavy rock influence, and topped off with a satisfying soulful R&B.
By Bruce Moore |
"It was formed during the time when groups like Portishead were around," says Watts. "D’Angelo had just released Voodoo. Trip-hop was still around, and we just started out as an ambient group with just some soulful leanings. And we just kinda went for it, we just were creating music. And then it evolved into this more concentrated effort on just to create more pop songs: shorter time frames, bridges and verses and choruses. Really it has been this organic evolution through time. What you hear now is the intent to make really good pop music.”
Watts credits the “different concoctions of tunes” to the “broad diversity of the group. Each member as an individual, and collectively as a group.”
And as far as the pop sound goes?
By Bruce Moore |
“I was always a pop fan,” explains Watts. “Even as a kid. I think Elvis Presley was my first record, and I was really into Ray Charles, and my mom listened to a lot of French music and my dad listened to a lot of Motown and jazz, and I listened to a lot of top 40. And I was just a really really big fan of pop music. And at the same time I am a huge fan of ambient music, music that just goes on forever. A lot if instrumental music - Pat Metheny is one of my favorite artists. But the key thing in all of that is that there has to be an interesting melody. Or a texture. And pop music is really nothing more than an interesting melody, something that catches your ear. So pop music to me, is what it literally is abbreviated for, popular music. It is music that a lot of people like. And that is what I aim to be involved with.”
Checking out the band live proved that they can really rock it out, and the sound is constantly changing through the set, and even throughout a single song. Some rock, with a resonating heavy sound to it; some flat out, giddy, big giant grin on your face fun pop, silky grooving seventies soul; some hip hop beats; and some just silly but funky sounds emanating from the stage throughout a Maktub set. Watching all this, one cannot help but wonder the development of such a sound.
“Right now the group is more in a rock phase, like bands such as Def Leppard or Whitesnake, those old band from the '80s that rocked but they were songwriters. I mean, sure they had their big hair and their horrible clothing, but even so, the fact is that many of those songs stand the test of time, and when you hear them you think, 'That is a great song.' And so we are inspired right now to lean in sort of a rock direction and we inspired by those kind of songs.”
For those of you who now have your eyebrows raised, let me assure the influences of the band also range from the likes of Al Green and Marvin Gaye, to bands like the Sundays and R.E.M.
“But we are not really thinking of all that when we are writing music,” elaborates Watts. “Most of the music is born out of improvisation and then we listen back and are like, ‘Ooh, that sounds like a song.’ And our style of improvisation that we developed in Seattle over the past six years, in these weekly jam nights that we have, our focus is that we are trying to create the illusion that we are playing rehearsed written songs, that end in three or four minutes. So if you are at an evening, you think that you are listening to a set, with improvised melodies and lyrics and choruses that repeat themselves and it is all improvised pop. So from that, developing that, we get a lot of song ideas. And so when we are in the studio we use that technique and we are able to come up with songs relatively quickly.”
By Bruce Moore |
Arriving at Tribeca to catch the band in action proved to be quite a surprise for me. Having been around the NYC music scene for several years now, I usually keep my ear to the ground, and the grapevine has been kind to me over time, passing on the word of all the great bands coming through, and out and about. And Maktub inexplicably escaped my notice. Walking into a packed Tribeca Rock Club on a Thursday night in early May, my brain was simultaneously broadcasting two distinct thoughts: one, where did all of these people come from? And two, boy am I feeling stupid that, in simplest terms, they beat me to the discovery of something new. Something mesmerizing. Something Maktub.
By the second song of the set, sweat is pouring down the side of Reggie’s cheek. And no wonder - this is one booty-shaking (quite literally) band delivering one heck of a performance. If stage presence could be bottled and sold, Maktub would be rolling in dough right about now. When you can tear your eyes away from the charismatic Watts (who even pushes up his sunglasses with flair), you find the rest of the band to be equally entertaining, throwing themselves body and soul, literally, into their music. And they are not the only ones. One example of the devotion of a Maktub crowd was the girl behind me, constantly yelling, “I love you Reggie... you rock my world,” amongst various other amusing, albeit slightly annoying, quotes. But I could easily relate to her sentiments, though in a considerably less vocal manner. Like I said: the voice of the 21st century.
Maktub is also developing a following amongst various musicians as well. Ben Taylor, son of the legendary singer songwriter James Taylor, has been listed as part of the droves of fans.
By Bruce Moore |
“Ben has been really instrumental in just pushing the group. He has brought a lot of people to our shows, we opened for him at Sundance, and he has just been amazing,” commented Reggie on the band’s relationship with the singer.
Also lending considerable support to the band has been musician and producer Printz Board (Nikki Costa, Black Eyed Peas). Describing him as “awesome,” Watts also adds that it was with the assistance of Board that Watts himself landed a gig playing keyboards behind Black Eyed Peas’ "Will I Am" for a show to be aired on MTV, featuring interviews as well as videos. And interesting enough, it was through another fan of the band that Maktub signed with NYC-based Velour Records. Whilst being courted by some major labels, Maktub had the good fortune of opening for Soulive, and consequently caught the attention of Jeff Krasno.
“It came down to who had the most vision and passion. And Velour just stepped up to the plate and said 'This is what we want to do with you guys, this is what we see in you, how we believe in you, and this is what is possible and this is what we can offer.' And they were very detailed and very concise and precise with what they wanted to give to us. And we just went with that and they were ready to go right away, and so they wanted to license the record that we already have, which is kinda a rare deal. And so everything just kinda worked out.”
By Bruce Moore |
Khronos, which is now available through a re-release by Velour Records, is a must-have for any CD collection. The broad range of the music is bound to meet the needs of any music listener. One you get past the catchy "You Can’t Hide" (which is no easy feat, as it is such a blatantly fun tune you want to hear it over and over again until you get your fill), you will find the rest of the album, which includes a cover of Led Zeppelin’s "No Quarter," delicious in its musical diversity. It is really hard to decide, but I have to say particular favorites of mine, in addition to the aforementioned "You Can’t Hide," are "Just Like Murder," a song that starts of soft, in a Maxwell-like fashion, moving into something hard and dark, and brilliant; and "Give Me Some Time," which features Reggie using one of his creative devices (the regg-a-phone, a vintage telephone mic used for special effects).
Much in the ways of Dave Matthews, Norah Jones and Phish, one can expect this band to blow up. Big. And fast. With a spring/summer tour that has the band hitting venues up and down the East Coast, the Midwest, and the West Coast, catch them while you can. For specifics on tour dates, please visit Maktub's official website at www.maktub.com. For information on solo Reggie Watts projects and his new upcoming release, Simplified, please visit www.reggiewatts.com.
Kristin M. Ciccone
JamBase | New York City
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