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Aaron CometbusAmerican musician, drummer and writer
Date of Birth: 20.05.1968
Country:  USA |
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Aaron Cometbus - Biography
Aaron Cometbus is an American musician, drummer, and songwriter, as well as a novelist who describes himself as a "punk anthropologist." He is the founder of the punk rock publication "Cometbus." Born Aaron Elliot on May 20, 1968, in Berkeley, California, United States, he began writing for fanzines in 1981 alongside Jesse Michaels, who would go on to join bands like Operation Ivy and Common Rider. After Michaels moved to Pennsylvania in October 1981, Aaron started his own fanzine.
He became an active participant in the non-profit music project "Gilman Street Project" and was one of the founding members of "Crimpshrine," a punk rock band that also included Jeff Ott. After the breakup of Crimpshrine, in 1990, Cometbus formed the band "Pinhead Gunpowder" with several local musicians, including Mike Kirsch, Jason White, and Billie Joe Armstrong from Green Day. He also went on several tours with Green Day, helping with their equipment and occasionally playing drums in shows.
Cometbus has played with numerous short-lived bands that lasted only a year or two and released one or two records before disbanding. He has been involved in a total of 23 bands throughout his career. Presently, Aaron Cometbus is also a co-owner of the used bookstore "Book Thug Nation" in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Cometbus Magazine
Aaron Cometbus gained fame through his publication, "Cometbus," which was first released in Berkeley in 1981. Since then, he has been independently publishing this journal, typically written by hand, with a few breaks. The name "Cometbus" was invented by Gregg Turkington in the early days of the magazine when it changed names from issue to issue. The content of "Cometbus" includes band interviews, personal diaries, drawings, and observations about the punk subculture in and around San Francisco. The journal provides a comprehensive glimpse into the punk community in Oakland and Berkeley from the late 80s to the 90s, chronicling squatting, communal living, intense romances, and other perils of the punk rock lifestyle.
Cometbus stands out from other similar publications due to its distinct aesthetic. The author primarily uses black and white colors and often manipulates images and text using a photocopying device.
Later Work
On August 1, 2002, "Last Gasp Publishing" released "Despite Everything: A Cometbus Omnibus," a 608-page collection of selected excerpts from the first 43 issues of "Cometbus," which had become rare due to their age. From 2004 to 2006, Aaron took a break from "Cometbus" to focus on other literary projects. However, in 2006, he released the 50th issue of the journal to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Subsequent issues, such as "The Loneliness of the Electric Menorah" and "The Spirit of St-Louis, Or, How to Break Your Own Heart, A Tragedy in 24 Parts," were released in 2008 and 2009, respectively. Issue 54, titled "In China with Green Day," was published in February 2011, and in July of the same year, the collection "Add Toner," featuring issues 44-48, was released.
In addition to his own journal, Aaron Cometbus has been published in other fanzines such as "Absolutely Zippo," "Maximumrocknroll," and "Tales of Blarg," sometimes using the pseudonym Skrub. His distinctive handwriting style can also be seen in the early albums of Green Day on their booklet inserts. Cometbus has authored two novels, "Double Duce" and "I Wish There Was Something That I Could Quit," published in 2003 and 2006, respectively, both based on events from his own life, as well as several story collections.
