IN THIS ISSUE OF COSMIK DEBRIS: Former Violent Femmes percussionist Victor DeLorenzo discusses his latest solo album; The Donnas discuss the art of being The Donnas; Eric Steiner takes us Over The Rhine; Shaun Dale returns to the trenches with Political Playbook; Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young return to the concert stage; Plus our monthly columns by Rusty Pipes, Gary Pig Gold and Kenny Love, a new episode of Cosmik Radio and another big ol' stack of reviews.

COSMIK RADIO!: We have a brand new hour of genre whiplash sure to introduce you to music you might never have heard otherwise. 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!

VICTOR DELORENZO - He was a founding member of The Violent Femmes and spent 13 years as their percussionist before leaving in 1993 to pursue a solo career. His third album, The Blessed Faustina, is an artistic triumph. In this interview, Victor DeLorenzo talks about everything from Faustina to Duchamp to being a good barber. Interview by DJ Johnson.

Tape Hiss Interviews: THE DONNAS - Vocalist Donna A ducked into a nearby phone booth and rang up John Sekerka for a casual convo about rock, the road, the Backstreet Boys, and the art of being a Donna.

OVER THE RHINE - Their success has been described as overnight, but nothing could be further from the truth. Cinncinati's Over The Rhine has worked hard for ten long years, along the way creating a fine discography and a devoted fan base. Come find out what this band is all about. Article by Eric Steiner.

THE RETURN OF POLITICAL PLAYBOOK - Four years after it first appeared in the pages of Cosmik Debris, Shaun Dale's Political Playbook is back for the 2000 run for the White House. In this installment, Shaun takes a look at the main stage players in the unfolding circus.



CD & RECORD REVIEWS - Everything from rock to jazz to reggae and back again.

EVERYTHING ELSE IN REVIEW - Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young live in Portland, Oregon; Timothy Leary in print; and the German film Run Lola Run.



KENNY LOVE'S PERSPECTIVE - In this continuing manual for the indie label entrepreneur, Kenny offers a list of what works and what doesn't work in marketing music on the Internet.

CLOSET PHILOSOPHY with Rusty Pipes - Rusty examines the battle against stereotypes as the census approaches.

PIGSHIT - By Gary Pig Gold: Gary names the most influential records of the century.



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... and too many more to list!!



Welcome to issue #56 of Cosmik Debris Magazine. This month we've come up with one of my favorite issues. Our policy has always been to feature artists that are either miles above the throng in creativity and talent (while often almost invisible commercially), or, at the very least, artists who we love for one reason or another. This month we've brought you three such features.

Victor DeLorenzo's album knocked me out. I always knew the man was a major talent and that his gift was totally unique, but this was still a shocker, and I contacted him immediately to do an interview. Eric Steiner feels the same way about Over The Rhine, and it didn't take any convincing at all to get him to do a feature piece on the band. And I think ALL of us love The Donnas for the butt-kicking their music gives us just when we need it most. John Sekerka comes through again with his Tape Hiss Interviews, giving us a casual chat with Donna A. And Shaun Dale brought back his Political Playbook series, last seen during the 1996 presidential campaigns. Shaun knows his subject. His own political career has covered territory from speech writer to delegate to campaign manager to chair of the Democratic Party in his district. To call politics a passion of Shaun's is an understatement. Four features that fit the Cosmik credo of "don't do it unless you love it" to the letter.

That alone would be enough for me to love this issue, but when I also look at the columns, I see Gary talking about records he's passionate about, Kenny doing something he loves by helping people avoid the pitfalls of the music biz, and Rusty engaging in his favorite thing: deep thought. So that's why I love this issue. As usual we turned down a few interviews with top-o-da-charts stars because they bore us to tears, even though we know they'd bring huge numbers of readers to the door. Oh well. We hope our feeling for this music and these subjects comes through when you read this issue of Cosmik Debris. If you'd like to share your opinions on the subject(s), please send us e-mail at editors@cosmik.com.

That's about it for now. See you next month.

DJ Johnson
Editor