Aaron Cometbus
Encyclopedia
Aaron Elliott better known as Aaron Cometbus, is an American drummer
, lyricist
, self-described "punk anthropologist," novelist, and author of punk rock
zine
Cometbus.
, Cometbus started writing fanzine
s in 1981 with Jesse Michaels
(later of Operation Ivy
and Common Rider) and started his own after Michaels moved to Pennsylvania
in October 1981. Cometbus became an active participant in the Gilman Street Project and was a founding member of Crimpshrine
, a highly influential East Bay
punk rock
band which also featured Jeff Ott
. After the demise of Crimpshrine, Cometbus formed Pinhead Gunpowder
with a handful of people from the East Bay punk scene, including Mike Kirsch
, Jason White
and Billie Joe Armstrong
of Green Day
. He also toured as a roadie with Green Day a few times and played drums for a few shows after the departure of John Kiffmeyer
and before Tre Cool
joined. He has played in a multitude of short-lived bands that generally release just a seven-inch or two before breaking up (see Band history).
He is a co-owner of the used bookstore in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Book Thug Nation.
Cometbus, which he began in Berkeley, California in 1981. Cometbus has self-published the usually-handwritten zine ever since, despite a few breaks. The name Cometbus was coined by Gregg Turkington
during the early days of the magazine when the name changed from issue to issue. Cometbus consisted of band interviews, personal diaries, artwork, and observations on the punk subculture
in the San Francisco Bay Area
and beyond. The zine captured a slice of life in Oakland
and Berkeley, California
from the late 1980s through the 1990s. This includes squatting
, collective living, falling in love and other perils of the punk rock lifestyle. Cometbus's writing is characterized by stories of loneliness and alienation, tempered with episodes of brightness and perennial hope in the ability of humans to connect to one another.
Cometbus has a very identifiable aesthetic: the author almost always uses black and white, and uses his photocopier as a tool for distorting and manipulating images and text. His handwritten print, in which almost all of the zine's issues are written, is very identifiable and is often closely associated with the zine. This aesthetic follows Cometbus to his bands, where he often does the layouts and artwork.
On August 1, 2002, Last Gasp Publishing
released Despite Everything: A Cometbus Omnibus (Last Gasp
of San Francisco; September 2002, ISBN 0-86719-561-4), a 608-page compendium of selections from 43 early Cometbus issues which are long out of print and often difficult to find.
From 2004 to 2006, Cometbus took a hiatus from writing Cometbus to pursue publishing his writing through other channels. Cometbus came out of retirement in 2006 with the release of Cometbus #50, the 25th anniversary issue of the magazine, which features interviews, short stories, book store reviews, and more of its usual type of content.
Cometbus #51, The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah, was released in September 2008. It chronicles the history of Moe's Books and other longtime businesses on Telegraph Avenue
in Berkeley, California.
Cometbus #52, The Spirit of St-Louis, Or, How to Break Your Own Heart, A Tragedy in 24 Parts, was released in 2009. Cometbus says in his blurb: "It all starts with the story I've told so many times it's turned stale and tired from overuse. There I was, dropped off in a city far from home. I didn't know a soul or have a hope, and so on..." Both issue #52 of Cometbus and the novel I Wish There Was Something That I Could Quit are rumored to be about his stay and relationships in Pensacola, Florida.
Cometbus #53 features contributions from Maddalena Poletta and a cover by Eisner Award winner Nate Powell
. Released in 2009, it features a lengthy piece on art, comics, and the early days of punk in NYC in the mid-1970s that is largely derived from an in-depth interview Cometbus conducted with John Holstrom, the co-founder of the legendary Punk Magazine.
Cometbus #54, In China with Green Day, released in February 2011, is about Cometbus' and Green Day's tour of Asia in 2010. Oddly enough, considering the title, they do not make it to mainland China at any point.
, Maximumrocknroll, and Tales of Blarg, occasionally writing under the pseudonym
Skrub. His work is easily recognizable by his distinctive, block-lettered handwritten script. His handwriting also appears in the liner notes of early Green Day albums and Jawbreaker
's Etc. compilation.
Double Duce (Last Gasp, 2003, ISBN 0-86719-586-X) is a novel based on Cometbus's life in a punk house
called Double Duce, and collects material published in Cometbus issues 32, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, and 45.
A novel titled I Wish There Was Something That I Could Quit, was published on March 15, 2006. This novel was loosely based on his experiences in Pensacola, Florida during the start of the Iraq War and is arguably his most political work.
He has also released a few smaller collections of short stories, Mixed Reviews and Chicago Stories (self published, 2004), a small collection about Chicago
originally published in "Cometbus" issues 35, 37, 38, 41, and 45.
His latest book, Add Toner, was published on July 15, 2011.
Two collections have been translated into French, including En dépit de tout (1997). Double Duce has been translated into German and was published by Lautsprecherverlag as "Doppelzwei" in 2004.
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, self-described "punk anthropologist," novelist, and author of punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
zine
Zine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
Cometbus.
Personal life
Born in Berkeley, CaliforniaBerkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, Cometbus started writing fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
s in 1981 with Jesse Michaels
Jesse Michaels
Jesse Michaels is a songwriter, vocalist, guitarist and artist from Berkeley, California. He is the son of the deceased author Leonard Michaels. His lyrics deal with politics, racism, and general social issues.-Musical overview:...
(later of Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy (band)
Operation Ivy was an American ska punk band that formed in Berkeley, California, and was often credited with spurring the 1990s punk revival in California. It is well-known as one of the first bands to "mix" hardcore punk with elements of ska, known as ska-core...
and Common Rider) and started his own after Michaels moved to Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
in October 1981. Cometbus became an active participant in the Gilman Street Project and was a founding member of Crimpshrine
Crimpshrine
Crimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine Cometbus, and a friend, Jeff Ott. Within D.I.Y...
, a highly influential East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...
punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band which also featured Jeff Ott
Jeff Ott
Jeff Ott is an activist, musician, author, and longtime member of the Berkeley punk community, having fronted such bands as Crimpshrine, and Fifteen.-Partial history:...
. After the demise of Crimpshrine, Cometbus formed Pinhead Gunpowder
Pinhead Gunpowder
Pinhead Gunpowder is an American punk rock band formed East Bay, California, in 1990. The band has consisted of Aaron Cometbus , Bill Schneider , Billie Joe Armstrong and Jason White for the majority of its existence...
with a handful of people from the East Bay punk scene, including Mike Kirsch
Mike Kirsch
Mike Kirsch has been active in the San Francisco Bay Area hardcore and punk community since the mid-1980s.-Band history:*The Skinflutes *Fuel *Fifteen...
, Jason White
Jason White (musician)
Jason White is an American guitarist who has played in various punk rock bands. He is most notable for being the long-time touring lead guitarist for Green Day and guitarist for Californian punk quartet Pinhead Gunpowder. Jason White has been a touring member of Green Day since 1999 when they...
and Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American rock musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, main songwriter and lead guitarist for the American punk rock band Green Day...
of Green Day
Green Day
Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool...
. He also toured as a roadie with Green Day a few times and played drums for a few shows after the departure of John Kiffmeyer
John Kiffmeyer
John Kiffmeyer , was born on July 11, 1969. He was the first drummer of the punk rock/alternative rock band Green Day. He was given his nickname in reference to his hometown, El Sobrante.-Biography:...
and before Tre Cool
Tre Cool
Frank Edwin Wright III, a.k.a. Tré Cool, is an American drummer, best known as the drummer for the punk rock band Green Day. He replaced the group's former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990...
joined. He has played in a multitude of short-lived bands that generally release just a seven-inch or two before breaking up (see Band history).
He is a co-owner of the used bookstore in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Book Thug Nation.
Cometbus zine
Cometbus is most famous for publishing the zineZine
A zine is most commonly a small circulation publication of original or appropriated texts and images. More broadly, the term encompasses any self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced via photocopier....
Cometbus, which he began in Berkeley, California in 1981. Cometbus has self-published the usually-handwritten zine ever since, despite a few breaks. The name Cometbus was coined by Gregg Turkington
Gregg Turkington
Gregg Turkington is an Australian-born U.S. comedian, best known for his stand-up comedy character, Neil Hamburger. He has also participated in a number of avant-garde and post punk bands...
during the early days of the magazine when the name changed from issue to issue. Cometbus consisted of band interviews, personal diaries, artwork, and observations on the punk subculture
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
in the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
and beyond. The zine captured a slice of life in Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
and Berkeley, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
from the late 1980s through the 1990s. This includes squatting
Squatting
Squatting consists of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied space or building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have permission to use....
, collective living, falling in love and other perils of the punk rock lifestyle. Cometbus's writing is characterized by stories of loneliness and alienation, tempered with episodes of brightness and perennial hope in the ability of humans to connect to one another.
Cometbus has a very identifiable aesthetic: the author almost always uses black and white, and uses his photocopier as a tool for distorting and manipulating images and text. His handwritten print, in which almost all of the zine's issues are written, is very identifiable and is often closely associated with the zine. This aesthetic follows Cometbus to his bands, where he often does the layouts and artwork.
On August 1, 2002, Last Gasp Publishing
Last Gasp
Last Gasp is a book and underground comix publisher and distributor based in San Francisco, California.- History :Founded in 1970 by Ron Turner to publish the ecologically-themed comics magazine Slow Death Funnies, followed by the all-female anthology It Ain't Me Babe, Last Gasp soon became a major...
released Despite Everything: A Cometbus Omnibus (Last Gasp
Last Gasp
Last Gasp is a book and underground comix publisher and distributor based in San Francisco, California.- History :Founded in 1970 by Ron Turner to publish the ecologically-themed comics magazine Slow Death Funnies, followed by the all-female anthology It Ain't Me Babe, Last Gasp soon became a major...
of San Francisco; September 2002, ISBN 0-86719-561-4), a 608-page compendium of selections from 43 early Cometbus issues which are long out of print and often difficult to find.
From 2004 to 2006, Cometbus took a hiatus from writing Cometbus to pursue publishing his writing through other channels. Cometbus came out of retirement in 2006 with the release of Cometbus #50, the 25th anniversary issue of the magazine, which features interviews, short stories, book store reviews, and more of its usual type of content.
Cometbus #51, The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah, was released in September 2008. It chronicles the history of Moe's Books and other longtime businesses on Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, USA, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California campus in Berkeley, California...
in Berkeley, California.
Cometbus #52, The Spirit of St-Louis, Or, How to Break Your Own Heart, A Tragedy in 24 Parts, was released in 2009. Cometbus says in his blurb: "It all starts with the story I've told so many times it's turned stale and tired from overuse. There I was, dropped off in a city far from home. I didn't know a soul or have a hope, and so on..." Both issue #52 of Cometbus and the novel I Wish There Was Something That I Could Quit are rumored to be about his stay and relationships in Pensacola, Florida.
Cometbus #53 features contributions from Maddalena Poletta and a cover by Eisner Award winner Nate Powell
Nate Powell
Nate Powell is a graphic novelist, publisher, and musician. He owns DIY punk record label Harlan Records, has performed in several punk bands , and occasionally performed hip hop as Featherweight MC...
. Released in 2009, it features a lengthy piece on art, comics, and the early days of punk in NYC in the mid-1970s that is largely derived from an in-depth interview Cometbus conducted with John Holstrom, the co-founder of the legendary Punk Magazine.
Cometbus #54, In China with Green Day, released in February 2011, is about Cometbus' and Green Day's tour of Asia in 2010. Oddly enough, considering the title, they do not make it to mainland China at any point.
Other writing
In addition to writing for his own zine, Cometbus has contributed stories to several other zines such as Absolutely ZippoAbsolutely Zippo
Absolutely Zippo is a punk rock fanzine created by Robert Eggplant to document the happenings of the East Bay Berkeley punk scene during its heyday in the late 1980s/early 1990s...
, Maximumrocknroll, and Tales of Blarg, occasionally writing under the pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Skrub. His work is easily recognizable by his distinctive, block-lettered handwritten script. His handwriting also appears in the liner notes of early Green Day albums and Jawbreaker
Jawbreaker (band)
Jawbreaker was an American punk rock band active from 1986 to 1996 and considered one of the most influential acts of the early-1990s emo movement...
's Etc. compilation.
Double Duce (Last Gasp, 2003, ISBN 0-86719-586-X) is a novel based on Cometbus's life in a punk house
Punk house
A punk house is a dwelling occupied by members of the punk subculture. Punk houses are similar to the hippie crash pads of the 1960s and the slan shacks of science fiction fandom. The Factory, an alternative living space founded by Andy Warhol as the home base of The Velvet Underground, is directly...
called Double Duce, and collects material published in Cometbus issues 32, 35, 37, 38, 41, 42, 43, and 45.
A novel titled I Wish There Was Something That I Could Quit, was published on March 15, 2006. This novel was loosely based on his experiences in Pensacola, Florida during the start of the Iraq War and is arguably his most political work.
He has also released a few smaller collections of short stories, Mixed Reviews and Chicago Stories (self published, 2004), a small collection about Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
originally published in "Cometbus" issues 35, 37, 38, 41, and 45.
His latest book, Add Toner, was published on July 15, 2011.
Two collections have been translated into French, including En dépit de tout (1997). Double Duce has been translated into German and was published by Lautsprecherverlag as "Doppelzwei" in 2004.
Band history
- S.A.G. (East Bay CA; 1982–1984)
- CrimpshrineCrimpshrineCrimpshrine was an American punk rock band from Berkeley, California. The group was formed in 1982 by Aaron Cometbus, founder of the seminal punk rock zine Cometbus, and a friend, Jeff Ott. Within D.I.Y...
(East Bay CA; 1984–1989) - Screeching WeaselScreeching WeaselScreeching Weasel is an American punk rock band originally from Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1986 by Ben Weasel and John Jughead.Since their formation, Screeching Weasel have broken up and reformed numerous times with numerous line-up changes. Ben Weasel has been the only constant...
(Chicago, IL; 1988 (two shows)) - Sweet BabySweet BabySweet Baby was a pop punk band that originated from Berkeley, California, and was part of the 924 Gilman Street scene. They were signed to Ruby Records....
(a.k.a. Sweet Baby Jesus) (East Bay/Northern CA; 1989–1990) - Pinhead GunpowderPinhead GunpowderPinhead Gunpowder is an American punk rock band formed East Bay, California, in 1990. The band has consisted of Aaron Cometbus , Bill Schneider , Billie Joe Armstrong and Jason White for the majority of its existence...
(East Bay CA; 1991–2001; 2008, 2010) - Mundt (Northern CA; 1992)
- Strawman (San Francisco, CA; 1993?)
- Shotwell (San Francisco CA; a.k.a. Shotwell Coho) (1994)
- EFS (Berkeley CA; 1995)
- Cosmetic Puffs (Eureka, Ca; 1995)
- Redmond Shooting Stars (Eugene, OR; 1995–1996)
- Cleveland Bound Death Sentence (Minneapolis MN; 1997–1998; 2004)
- The Retard Beaters (Chattanooga, TN; 1997–1998)
- HarbingerHarbinger (band)Harbinger is a band formed in 1997 in Berkeley, California featuring three prominent members from the East Bay punk scene:* Robert Eggplant , formerly of Blatz, The Hope Bombs, and editor of the zine Absolutely Zippo....
(with Robert EggplantRobert EggplantRobert Burnett, better known as Robert Eggplant, is a writer, publisher, musician and activist from California.- background :Born in 1973, Robert Eggplant has been the editor and publisher of Absolutely Zippo fanzine since 1987. The zine has documented the East Bay punk subculture from a...
, formerly of BlatzBlatz (band)Blatz was a punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Blatz came out of the 924 Gilman Street Project scene during the late '80s, and early '90s along with bands like Operation Ivy, Filth, and Green Day.-History:...
, and John Geek of FleshiesFleshiesFleshies are a band from Oakland, California signed to Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles. They are known for their outlandish stage presence, their left-wing politics and their non-stop world touring schedule...
) (East Bay CA; 1997–2001) - The Blank Fight (with Rymodee of This Bike Is a Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe Bomb was a folk-punk band from Pensacola, Florida, USA. Their first recording was released in 1997 on Ghostmeat Records. Their later releases have been on Plan It X Records and No Idea Records, but now appear on their own label Plan-It X South. This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb...
) (Pensacola FL; 1999–2000) - Astrid Oto (Asheville NC; 1999–2001)
- Colbom (San Francisco CA; 2001)
- End of the World News (New York; 2002–2003)
- Crybaby MacArthur (Brooklyn NY; 2004–2006)
- The Thorns of LifeThe Thorns of LifeThe Thorns of Life were a punk rock band from Brooklyn, New York. In October 2008, Blake Schwarzenbach, formerly of Jets to Brazil and Jawbreaker, revealed that he had started writing music for a then "as-yet-unnamed group" with drummer Aaron Cometbus and bassist Daniela Sea, formerly of the Gr'ups...
(with Blake SchwarzenbachBlake SchwarzenbachAlexander Blake Schwarzenbach is an American musician. He was the singer and left-handed guitarist of Jawbreaker , Jets to Brazil , The Thorns of Life , and forgetters -Education:...
and Daniela SeaDaniela SeaDaniela Sea is an American filmmaker musician, performance artist, former circus juggler, and actress. She is most widely known for her role as Max/Moira on Showtime's The L Word.-History:...
) (Brooklyn NY; 2008–2009) - Scooby Don't
- T. Zatana
- This Bike Is a Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe BombThis Bike Is a Pipe Bomb was a folk-punk band from Pensacola, Florida, USA. Their first recording was released in 1997 on Ghostmeat Records. Their later releases have been on Plan It X Records and No Idea Records, but now appear on their own label Plan-It X South. This Bike Is a Pipe Bomb...
External links
- Flipside Interview - Cometbus interview from 1986
- Maximumrocknroll Interview - Cometbus interview from 2000
- Punk Planet Interview - Cometbus interview from 2002