IN THIS ISSUE OF COSMIK DEBRIS: Soul stirrin' blues woman Debbie Seitz and Eric Steiner have themselves a nice li'l Cosmik Conversation; Author Richard Melo (Jokerman 8) sits down with Erick Mertz to discuss, among other things, the new viability of the protest novel, and whether or not his work falls in that category; Camper Van Beethoven returns to the road in support of a tasty new album, New Roman Times, and Holly Day has the lowdown; Erick runs quickly from that coffee house interview to do some digging into a question that ought to be on every American's mind: exactly who is Alberto Gonzales, Bush's nominee to fill Attorney General John Ashcroft's post? While the Bushies are painting him as a moderate, this portrait is far more accurate. Plus our usual full menu of columns, views and reviews, and of course the 13 O'Clock News, your only source for world news so skewed even the crappy mainstream media is offended. All of this can be found in the December issue of Cosmik Debris Magazine. Come on in and hang out a while.

COSMIK RADIO!: We're a bit late with Cosmik Radio, but hey, what else is new, right? A new one is on its way, but in the meantime you can listen to what is now officially being called "a golden oldie" right there over your computer speakers. For free. Cool deal, huh? 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!

WHERE WE'RE GOING - A COSMIK DEBRIS ANNOUNCEMENT: Editor DJ Johnson explains why you're going to be seeing some different kinds of articles popping up every issue.

SOUL-STIRRING BLUESWOMAN - DEBBIE SEITZ: Eric Steiner got a chance to sit down with blueswoman Debbie Seitz and talk about her new album that has made him such a fan, Soul Stirrings.

COFFEE & CONVERSATION with the author of JOKERMAN 8 - RICHARD MELO: This interview by Erick Mertz probes the new fiction book Jokerman 8 and its role as a protest novel in today's America.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - CAMPER VAN BEETHOVEN: Holly hangs out in frozen Minneapolis with CVB violinist Jonathan Segel, discussing the new album and the difference a 15 year break makes.


BUSH BUDDY GETS A BADGE - ALBERTO GONZALES: Cosmik Debris takes a look at what Bush was doing immediately after November 2nd's "election": Putting a loyal soldier in a position of trust, to serve his President above all else.

TIME FOR THE THIRTEEN O'CLOCK NEWS - Republicans on the march: A coin for the lamest duck of all; the leaky cabinet; a nice gesture in blue, with electronic tracking included free; comedians and the role they played; The Boss ponders the future; the Curse of the Babe may still be active in Beantown; new names for the teams in La La Land? All this and much more in this edition of the 13 O'Clock News. Remember, if you read about it in the 13, it must be a load.


CD & RECORD REVIEWS - Another veritable smorgasbord is laid out here for you to enjoy, from Bjork to Zappa, with everything you can imagine and some you might not want to (can you say 'William Shatner?') in between.

EVERYTHING ELSE IN REVIEW - Our writers review books, DVDs and movies they've taken time off from reviewing CDs to enjoy.



CLOSET PHILOSOPHY - "Memes". Memes are the themes, ... ah..er,... Memes is the theme of Rusty's philosophical discourse this month. As usual, this is some deep, intellectual stuff. As usual, you will learn something important. Read....

COSMIK BLUES - Join Eric Steiner as he conjures up a Blues party at his house for you.

PIGSHIT by GARY PIG GOLD - Greg Shaw passed away recently. The emotion is thick in the Cosmik staff rooms. Gary shouldered the burden of communicating that emotion somewhat, as he talks about what Greg meant to him, to rock'n'roll, and to all of music.

MOVING IN STEREO - Here's the news of the Ex's,the Stereo,and the Island (Long Island, of course!).



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.

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



This month, I'm saying most of what I need to say in a separate segment, which you can find in the index under the title "Where We're Going." In that short article, I'll let you know what we, the editors, publisher and writers of Cosmik Debris Magazine, plan to bring you from here on in. Don't worry, the things that you like about Cosmik won't change, but the events of November 2nd have had a profound effect on 49% of America (or at least that's the number they're claiming), and we're definitely in that group. If you're curious to see what we're planning, pop on in and take a look.

Meanwhile, this issue is packed with cool Debris, from interviews with up and coming Blues artist Debbie Seitz and Jokerman 8 author Richard Melo to articles on the wonderful and reinvigorated Camper Van Beethoven and the not-so-moderate Attorney General nominee, Alberto Gonzales. Gary Pig Gold remembers the legendary founder of Bomp Magazine and Bomp and Voxx Records, Greg Shaw, who passed away recently and far, far too young. He'll be greatly missed in the garage and power pop community.

We hope you enjoy this issue, because if you don't... well, that doesn't bode well for us, does it? We have columns, tons of reviews and more waiting for you, so have at it and I'll talk to you next month.

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 The Witches, Electric Frankenstein, the Vampire Beach Babes, Jeff Berlin, Curve, Michael Shermer, Steel Pulse, Transglobal Underground, Mark Helm, The Southern Rock All-Stars, Ottmar Liebert, Jason Noble of Shipping News, Phil Vassar, Joel Dorn, Mark Cline of Love Tractor, Texas Terri (of Texas Terri & The Stiff Ones), Mike Keneally, Chris Shinn of Unified Theory, Alley of Wise Monkey Orchestra, Mario Escovedo of The Dragons, The Clarks, Big Ass Truck, Richard Cheese, Paul Krassner, Tony Iommi, Ron Dante...