IN THIS ISSUE OF COSMIK DEBRIS: The staff of Cosmik Debris says farewell to George Harrison, despite the fact that we can't believe he's really gone; We also wave bye bye as Ken Kesey's multi-colored bus drives off into the hereafter. Then it's time for interviews with rock and roll artist Kevin Salem, pop newcomer The Incredible Moses Leroy and electronic wizard and music scene survivor Momus. All that plus Gary Pig Gold's 8-question quiz for rockabilly guitar slinger James Richard Oliver, Rusty Pipes' look at the predictions in the film 2001, Eric Steiner's blue(s) Christmas and Bill Holmes, absent from the MP3 Files desk for too long, does double-time and brings you ten bands you should get an earful of. All in this issue of Cosmik Debris!

COSMIK RADIO!: No, we don't have a Christmas program for you. Sorry. Everybody else was doing one and we didn't feel like it. We have attitudes sometimes. So for now we're going to leave up the previous issue's show, which conisists entirely of pop and power pop. A new show will be online soon. You just need a RealAudio Player to listen. If you don't have one, go pick one up. Cosmik Radio is just the kind of Net-Only audio that radio station program directors don't want you getting hooked on. So go ahead. Inhale!

FAREWELL, GEORGE - The staffers of Cosmik Debris say goodbye to George Harrison, a man who meant a great deal to so many people all around the world.

KEN KESEY'S FINAL BUS RIDE - George Harrison wasn't the only cultural icon we lost since the last issue. Tim Owen takes a look at the life and the final years of the author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Sometimes A Great Notion, Ken Kesey.

1000 SMILES WITH KEVIN SALEM - Five years since his last release, Kevin Salem finally pops up with Ecstatic, but it wasn't easy. Salem talks to Bill Holmes about those five years and the versions of Ecstatic that didn't quite make the grade.

THE INCREDIBLE MOSES LEROY - The band is named after leader Ron Fountenberry's grandfather, their instrumentation includes "lead computer," and they play their show in front of a film of sock puppets "mouthing" the lyrics. What kind of craziness IS this, you ask? So did Rusty Pipes!

THE FOLKTRONIC MOMUS - Electronic music veteran Momus (Nick Currie) has never stayed in one place very long, but what's this? Momus goes Americana? Get the story from the man himself as he discusses this topic with Holly Day, and he even gets into that whole Cynthia Plastercaster thing. Well... you know what we mean.





CD & RECORD REVIEWS - This month's stack o' stuff covers the spectrum, as usual.

EVERYTHING ELSE IN REVIEW - Where we review things that AREN'T music CDs.



GARY PIG GOLD - 8 questions for rockabilly artist and head of Illbilly Records, James Richard Oliver.

CLOSET PHILOSOPHY - With Rusty Pipes. As 2001 comes to a close, Rusty takes a look at the technical predictions from the movie of the same name.

COSMIK BLUES - Eric Steiner has a cure for those holiday blues, and oddly enough, the cure is the blues.

THE MP3 FILES - Bill Holmes returns with a double-sized stack of bands you should get an earful of and the directions that'll get you there. Don't worry, you won't even have to get in your car.



CREDITS - The names and e-mail addresses of the people responsible for this thing.

COSMIK RADIO - Want an hour of music that fits the personality of Cosmik Debris Magazine? That's right, Sinatra segues into Megadeth into Peter Tosh into Man Or Astro-Man into... well, you get the picture. It's a little something we like to call Genre Whiplash. Or maybe you're in the mood for a trip into The Fog Machine, our mix of music of the ethereal variety. All you need is a RealAudio player. Come on in.

INTERNET RADIO STATIONS - Great radio is alive and well on the Net! Cosmik Debris presents links to take you where the good ones are hiding, from St. Louis to Dublin. You're no longer stuck with just the "classic rock," "young country" and "24-hour talk" that has your town held hostage.

OUR OWN WEBSITES - Many of the Cosmik Debris writers have websites of their own. We have some links right here.



Lately it seems as if every month brings the loss of a musician or icon that is somehow more important than most to the people who work with me to create Cosmik Debris. We've all written obituaries, and we've all felt genuinely sad while doing so. In recent months, however, we've said goodbye to people that had profound influences on our lives. It's been a strange little window of time. This month, we're saying goodbye to two: George Harrison and Ken Kesey. Each had an undeniable impact on the 1960s and the cultural changes that grew out of that turbulent decade, Harrison as 1/4th of The Beatles, Kesey as the author of many important works and, much more importantly, as the king of the psychedelic bus, the leader of the Merry Pranksters, immortalized in Tom Wolfe's book, The Electric Koolaid Acid Test. It's easy to say that The Beatles reached more people and therefore George Harrison had more impact, but Kesey and his Merry Pranksters influenced a segment of society that included many of the San Francisco bands, such as The Grateful Dead (the official Bus band), and you don't need me to tell you how far that influence reaches. Each were men of peace and goodwill, and to each we dedicate this, the final issue of 2001.

DJ Johnson
Editor

Did you miss an issue? We now have many of our back issues online, including sound clips and extras. Check out interviews with Julian Lennon, Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, Transglobal Underground, reggae legends Steel Pulse, country hitmaker Phil Vassar, legendary jazz producer Joel Dorn, Former Zappa guitarist and current guitar god Mike Keneally, Curve, publisher of The Skeptic and debunker of frauds Michael Shermer, bass wizard Jeff Berlin, voice of The Archies Ron Dante, the one and only Dr. Demento, the other one and only Stan Freberg, The throroughly amazing Firesign Theatre, juju guru King Sunny Ade, Chris Shinn of Unified Theory, privates preserver Cynthia Plastercaster, The Witches, Electric Frankenstein, the Vampire Beach Babes, The Southern Rock All-Stars, Ottmar Liebert, Big Ass Truck, Richard Cheese, Paul Krassner... The list just goes on and on, and this is only the tip of the burg. You can get lost for days on end in here. Don't worry, we'll send the Cosmik St. Bernard with the brandy. You'll be fine. Go on. Enjoy.