Cometbus #54 in China with Green Day

Cometbus #54

by Aaron Cometbus

Aaron Cometbus, a roadie for Green Day in their early indie punk days, rejoins the band on the road after nearly twenty years and heads to Asia. Much has changed for the band since those early days, but, not so much for "Because, you see, I hadn't changed that much. Not enough." The result is a fascinating tour document and an incredibly personal story of relationships reconciling themselves. Great cover photo of Billie Joe Armstrong playing Scrabble... no idea what he is spelling but he has the "Z".

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Punk, Memoir

100 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Aaron Elliott, better known as Aaron Cometbus, is a drummer, lyricist, self-described "punk anthropologist" and author of Cometbus, a seminal punk rock zine.

Reviews

[Alanna Why · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh, Cometbus! I remember reading you as a Teenage Punk, wearing the Maximumrocknroll t-shirt I bought by sending in $20 US and a self-addressed envelope, hating everyone around me. I don't know if I actually liked Cometbus as a teenager, but I do know that I definitely thought I should.

Re-reading this as an "adult" stirs up some feelings. There are some really great parts of this, namely whenever he touches on how friendships can change dramatically when your lives go in different directions, a very hard feeling I don't know if I really understand when I read this issue for the first time in 2012. Also, as a Green Day fan, it's super interesting to get a peek behind the curtain from someone who knows them really well and went on their tours in the early 90s before they blew up.

But there's also a lot of filler. Oh my god, why do we have to read about every time he gets lost or every girl he kissed when he was in his twenties? These 90+ pages could have been condensed into one hell of a personal essay, or even a song.

Another flaw I will chalk up to the nature of zines: because of the ongoing narrative of separate issues, it can be hard to jump into one issue without being kind of lost or wanting to know more - for instance, wanting to know more about his parent's death, which he drops in several times but leaves virtually unexamined.

One more thing that's going to make me sound like a real asshole: why is there so much bad writing in zines? As someone who made a regrettable amount of diary-esque perzines in their teens, I know the answer, but I'm still wondering.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun! Aaron writes about going on tour with Green Day after they've become very successful, after having been a roadie for them at the very, very beginning of their career. He rekindles his friendship with the band and I would say is a solid travel writer who provides interesting observations. I also love the "humanize a rock star" story, it's fun and he has such a unique perspective through which to be able to do it. He also thoughtfully discusses the wins and losses for Green Day having made it/ sold out"(or probably somewhere in between).

The one thing I didn't love was the maleness and straightness that suffused the story. I don't think Aaron is chauvinistic on purpose, it's more that it's very much a straight male perspective. There was one homoerotically tinged moment which was not interrogated in any way, and women seemed to exist as something to sing about or date but not as equals. I don't think that the punk scene(s) Aaron and Green Day were a part of we're that great for women but it's not really discussed, or when it is, not in detail.

[Derek Perumean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up my first Cometbus a million years ago in Seattle. It was great! I greedily devoured it and laughed my ass off. It made me want to travel the country in a Greyhound like Aaron. I have been buying Cometbus ever since whenever I can find it. I was a little worried about this issue because I am not a Green Day fan at all. I don't think they're any good and very overrated. In short, they suck and that's putting it mildly. But Aaron was able to make Green Day interesting in a way that only he can do. Any other writer would've made me puke at all the hero worship/dick sucking that goes on with some writers. They come out looking like humans, as does Aaron, and the adventures of the tour make for an absorbing read. Read this if you're a fan of Cometbus. If you're a fan of Green Day smash yourself in the head with a hammer.

[jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

an enveloping rock and roll travelogue with detours visiting thoughts about relationships, aging, and what it really means to be “punk”. i’ve largely come to expect mediocre writing from zines (not to discredit mr. cometbus), but i loved how reflective this was and how it interrogated punk ideology in a way i don’t think most zine writers would. some people seem to knock this for being a bit ambling in tone and logic, but hey, that’s kind of the idea of a travelogue innit. you might as well knock “on the road” for not getting to the point fast enough (which is kinda fair tbh).

like another reviewer mentioned, aaron does seem a bit chauvinist in that characteristically gen-x punk dude fashion, though i think a lot of us were more pig-headed in 2011 than we’d like to admit. if that’s not your bag, you might not enjoy this, but i’d still encourage giving this a shot if you can find a copy. in a media landscape dominated by excessively long, overwrought (and likely ghostwritten) rock memoirs, this thin little zine is a bit of fresh air imo. it didn’t inspire me to quit my job and hit the road, but i enjoyed the time i spent with aaron and his buds in green day.

P.S: if i’m being honest, this beats the pants off of any 33 1/3 i’ve ever read, though that might not be the highest bar

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cometbus is a self-published zine written by a Berkeley punk named Aaron. I don't know how long it's been going -- at least 20 years, quite possibly 30 or more. You can find new issues when they come out once a year or so in used bookstores and comic book stores around Berkeley. He used to write it all out by hand (and apparently photocopy them himself at the copy shops where he worked the night shift); lately they've been typed. He writes about walking around strange cities, about punk music and punk philosophy, and about friendship with a level of specificity and heart that I find breathtaking. This one is about two weeks he spent reuniting with old friends who have since become ridiculously famous and successful. We don't all have friends who became international rock stars, but we've all dealt with growing apart from people we still love. It's a fraught situation, but he handles it -- and writes about it -- with surprising insight and a quirky sort of grace.

[Marycha 🪐 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ce que j'ai le plus apprécié, c'est la nuance, la délicatesse dans ce récit.
Au-delà de ça, j'ai rarement autant aspiré à adopter certaines caractéristiques de mode de vie et d'être que celles de l'auteur, tout comme je ne me suis peut-être jamais trouvée tant en adéquation avec la manière de voir le monde.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron Cometbus’s writing continues to be way better than it even needs to be - I’d gladly read this content from less capable hands, but his level of introspection and insight make this truly one of the better band-on-tour documents I’ve read. Also made me excited to see Green Day next year.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love Aaron trying to be open to the path that his friends Green Day took, and in the end he sees the many good reasons for that path. A favorite line “ I’d been the flea whispering in the elephant’s ear: ‘Feel the bridge shake with our mightiness’”.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may be the most poignant, sentimental piece of Aaron’s writing I’ve ever read. Got me all misty-eyed.

[Catherine Dwyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

does this count? Amazing.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best reading for green day stories.

Aaron Cometbus is the drummer in Pinhead Gunpowder. (Billie and Jason White is also in this band). Aason is also the guy who started document Gilman St Punk scene back in late 80s. He is such a prolific writer. His words are sincere, intelligent and honest. Great stories in this small zine, contains 2 weeks journey that Aaron spent with Green day in Asia.

Aason was a close friend to Billie Joe Armstrong but got distances due to many reason. While he was invited to join the tour he was nervous. In this small book, he is not trying to defend Green Day or picture a perfect band. He uses his eyes, ears to sense a most real band. Their good qualities, their love to music, their craziness and quirkiness. He also not afraid to say things he did not like.

For example , Aaron was saying he felt strange when 30,000 people singing "I want to be the minority" with Bilie. (haha, it's weird). Also Aason was not so convinced that Billie touched a Thailand girls head during the concert. (it's a taboo in Thailand to touch other's head)

I probably gonna read this book every year again. Such a gem from beloved Cometbus.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unlike anything about Green Day I can remember reading before.

Though there were times where I wanted to tell the author "wait, go back, I want to hear about that other thing!" he also managed to really take me with him on a sometimes nostalgic, sometimes frustrated, emotional journey.

Without getting into too much of spoiler territory I will just say that by chapter 20 I had a lump in my throat.

"Seeing them up close made me forget the cultural behemoth that they had become. Seeing them from afar made it easy to forget that they were human too." This, I think, is a quote that will stand out for me as I think about this.zine later - and one which gives you a hint of what sort of story Aaron Cometbus ends up telling in its pages.

If you love Green Day... Not if you thinks they are ok, but if you really love them. And especially if you have been through a lot with them as a fan, I could not more highly recommend this to you. I am so happy to have read it.

[Connor Koreski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an entirely too entertaining incite into the relationships between friends who've seen you at your best & worst as well as a look into the touring life of a huge international band. Good times!

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I need to start reading Cometbus again!

[Robert Cifuentes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Changed how I felt about Green Day and its an awesome read for anyone in a band.