IN THIS ISSUE OF COSMIK DEBRIS: It's our 7th anniversary, and as is our custom we celebrate by bringing you a look back at the conversations from the year gone by. A 7th Year Of Cosmik Conversations will bring back fond memories for our regular readers and show the new folks why Cosmik is still the best, most diverse magazine around. We've also got new interviews with Rick Shea, who has just released a sweeeet Americana/country/folk/bluegrass/everything album with Brantley Kearns, and another with Rich Buhler, a very interesting chap who runs TruthOrFiction.com, where you can find out which of those upsetting stories going 'round the Net are for real and which are for the birds. Dina LaPolt brings us part 3 in our series on the music business, and this time around she gets down to the nitty gritty, as in "how do I go about bypassing record labels and doing it all myself?" And those daring young men of International Rescue are back with the completion of the Thunderbirds DVD series. They're fearless, they're heroic... they're puppets whose television show was canceled over 35 years ago, but their cult following is growing rapidly. Then there's the usual ridiculously huge mountain of CD reviews, our ever expanding "Everything Else In Review" section, which now features several DVD reviews as well as movie, concert, book and film reviews, and the fascinating ramblings of our columnist party. Yep, we're 7 years old now, and we're feelin' good. Come on in, have some cake and enjoy the 84th issue of Cosmik Debris Magazine.

COSMIK RADIO!: In honor of the anniversary of the Watergate scandal, Cosmik Radio brings you a special edition, directed and hosted by Rusty Pipes. Whether you were awake and aware when the tape went over the hotel door or you only know about it from the history books, you'll find this an interesting departure from the usual Cosmik Radio format and a perfect companion to this month's Closet Philosophy column. But you'll need a Real Player from Real Audio to listen, so go pick one up. We're waitin' for ya in here.

A 7th YEAR OF COSMIK CONVERSATIONS - A journey back through the conversations we've had in the past year with a diverse group of people, from that amazing painter called Frenchy to famed skeptic Michael Shermer to musicians from every shade of the genre spectrum.

RICK SHEA - Trouble and Me. That could be the title of the soundtracks to most of our lives, right? Guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Rick Shea named the album after an old Harlan Howard tune that happens to grace the album, but the Californian's style, mixed with musical partner Brantley Kearns' Carolina roots sound (fiddle/vocals) made a good case for "Carolina, California," as well. In this interview, just about all aspects of this moving album are covered. Interviewed by DJ Johnson.

RICH BUHLER OF TRUTHorFICTION.COM - You open your e-mail and find a plea - from a total stranger - for matchbooks from every city in the world to be mailed to a hospital in Florida. It's the final wish of a dying child who realizes he will never see these far away places, so the matchbooks are his only... blah blah blah it's a HOAX, foax! That one's easy, but there are dozens each month that aren't as simple to catch. So where do you turn if you want to know whether to feel bad or sneer? TruthOrFiction.com, where Rich Buhler and the staff go to great pains to check out each Net rumor and let you know what's real and what's really pathetic. This is the interview to read and get your friends to read so they'll stop forwarding you every damned e-mail about kidnapped princes from Nigeria and how you can help the government (and be handsomely rewarded, doncha know). Interview by Rusty Pipes.

MUSIC BUSINESS MICROSCOPE PT 3 - Our series on the dangers of the music business continues, only this time there's a twist. Music Attorney Dina LaPolt has provided two sample contracts to help any musician who wants to be his or her own boss, from recording to distribution. There's work involved, yes, but the best way to avoid being screwed over by your label is to take control of your own situation, don't you agree?


THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO! - Yes, the puppets! International Rescue, they were called, and there wasn't a mission too dangerous for them. The 1960s TV series is a bigger hit now than it was at the time, with collectors scrambling for memorabilia on E-Bay and at auction houses around the world. Now the entire 32 episode run is available on DVD, and we can see what the fuss is all about. Article by DJ Johnson.


CD & RECORD REVIEWS - Many many many many many round things that, when placed inside certain machines, provide musical entertainment. We place them in machines and then say either nice or mean things about them. We call it "reviewing." We think it may catch on. Stay tuned.

EVERYTHING ELSE IN REVIEW - DVDs, films, bordellos, books, and... Wait, no, we found out we couldn't legally review the bordellos. But all that other stuff and a concert.



COSMIK BLUES - Eric Steiner, a Chicago man himself, surveys the landscape once populated by Muddy, Elmore, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter and many others and previews the young blood keeping the scene alive today.

GARY PIG GOLD - Part two of Gary's three part series on Pat Boone. No, seriously. Pat Boone.

CLOSET PHILOSOPHY - On the anniversary of Watergate, Rusty takes a nostalgic look back. And speaking of Rusty, he was a gift from a friend. It had nothing to do with political influence. We like Rusty quite a lot, and, well... we're going to keep him.

MASS APPEAL MADNESS - Everybody loves to scream SELL OUT!!!! But actually, everybody just loves to scream. Jason Thornberry has a little congratulatory party for a deserving, hard-working band that have reached the bigs: the Cave-In.

MEDIA CURMUDGEON - Eeeeeverybody got back together! For a reunion show, anyway, and Karl Cable caught 'em all, including NBC's 75th Anniversary special, in which the network did everything but take credit for the Challenger shuttle disaster. Karl examines the seating chart and helps you make real sense of it all.



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.



Our seventh anniversary and you didn't bring presents. Thanks. Really. It's okay. No, it is. We're just "a magazine." It's not like we're family (even though we did sit up all night with you when you had that awful fever last winter, you lousy ungrateful bastard!). Just go ahead and read the issue as if everything's fine between us. Don't let the children see the tension. They worry so. Now go read. I SAID GO!

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...