Cometbus #50 (94p, A5, $2, english)

Since this is the first issue of Cometbus zine that I’m writing about, I feel I should give some background info on it.

Cometbus has been issued in one form or another for nearly 30 years now. Actually this is the 25th year anniversary issue and it came out in 2006. It is one of the first (if not the first) punk zines that escaped the standard band info, interviews, music reviews zine form and took a more personal direction. The author and creator of the zine is a guy who is known as Aaron Cometbus. A well recognized figure in the bay area punk scene, not only for his long run zine but also for his involvement in the punk scene, squat movement and also the numerous bands he has played for (most known as the drummer of Pinhead Gunpowder). He is self-described as a punk-anthropologist and if you read his zine you’ll realize why. If you want to find out more about Aaron Cometbus, I’ve put a bunch of links in the end of this post.

Now about this issue. As I said, this is the 50th issue and it marks the 25 years of the zine. The original idea about this issue (which took 3 years to be released due to serious burn-out), was to be exclusively a compilation of letters that Aaron had received from friends. Fortunately the idea was dropped and although this issue mainly consists of the aforementioned letters, there is some original writing from Aaron himself (and some from others) and also a bunch of interviews with band members.

Here’s what you will find in this issue:

• More than a dozen letters Aaron has received from friends and friends of the zine over the years. This is a collection of some of the most original/important letters he received and I’m sure it was really hard for him to pick them out.
• The interviews section is a series of sort interviews with band members. The interesting thing is that these are interviews of the people, not the bands. No band related questions here. You will find interviews with Zak Sally (low, dirty three), Kyp Malone (tv on the radio), Dave Edwardson (neurosis, nailbomb), Greta Brinkman (moby, debbie harry band), Allison Wolf (partyline, bratmobile), Blake Schwarzenbach (jets to brazil, jawbreaker), Ian MacKaye (the evens, fugazi) and Christine Billotte (casual dots, quix*o*tic).
• There is a series of seven short stories Aaron wrote about the time he lived in New York, unsurprisingly called New York Journal. It’s mostly stories about his adventures in the city with friends he met and spent time with. Aaron is such a great story teller and this is my favorite part of the issue.
• Pensacola songs is a collection of lyrics by Scott Mylxine.
• Next are two stories by Maddalena Polletta. One of the stories is about a cross-country roadtrip she took from San Francisco to New York, which I am a big sucker for and I loved it.
• An in depth New York used book report written by Aaron. A big number of used bookstores is reviewed in much detail and it’s not just basic information but also the interesting stories behind the bookstores and the people who run them. It’s a very nice read even if you’re not planning on going book hunting in NYC.

This issue is very text heavy and contains only a small number of illustrations and photos. The ones that stick out are the illustrations that accompany the interviews, made by Troy Swain. The zine is all in black and white (photocopied?) and the cover/back art is awesome.

Overall this is a great read. Perhaps not the most representative issue of the zine but still very, very good. Unfortunately there is no contact information but you can find this zine in all the great zine-distros. I know that Microcosm Publishing carries it but a google search will get you more distros for sure.

As promised, here are some links to learn more about Aaron Cometbus and his projects:

• Aaron Cometbus, from Wikipedia
• Cometbus, from Wikipedia
• Flipside Interview 1986
• Maximumrocknroll Interview 2000
• Punk Planet Interview 2002
• Aaron Cometbus on writing and music
• Aaron Cometbus’ LiveJournal

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