Aaron Cometbus

Born along bold, black-and-white lines in Berkeley, CA in 1968, Aaron Cometbus began publishing Cometbus at age 13, months before Maximum Rocknroll got off the ground in 1981. A few years later, Aaron participated in the Gilman Street Project and started his band Crimpshrine. By 1989, Crimpshrine had broken up and Aaron steadfastly focused on Cometbus, which he honed to focus on "punk anthropology," partly to create a legacy bigger than his broken-up band. He was involved with many more part time and project bands over the next twenty five years, such as Pinhead Gunpowder, Cleveland Bound Death Sentence, Redmond Shooting Stars, The Blank Fight, and filling in for Green Day, Sweet Baby, and Scooby Don't. Cometbus became a consistent and determined force to be reckoned with predating trends and inspiring legions of imitators. After over forty years of steadfast involvement in the scene, virtually everyone you meet has an anecdote about meeting Aaron. Cometbus, when at its best, which is most of the time these days, is a perennial reminder that if we just apply hundreds of thousands of hours to one solitary task across 40 years, we too could become a Great American Classic.