Punk Planet #18 (Chicago)

Punk Planet scored a minor coup with their Jello Biafra cover interview for issue #18. After receiving an unjustified beating at the hands of a bunch of ignorant bitches at the legendary Bay Area Gilman Street club in 1994 (for, of all things, not being "punk enough" and for being a "sell out"), Biafra laid low for a while and recuperated. While Maximum Rock 'N' Roll was boycotting the punk rock icon and his independent Alternative Tentacles Records label, for many of the same stupid reasons that Jello took a beatdown, Punk Planet was one, if not the first, punkzine to interview Biafra once he broke his silence.

What Jello had to say about punk rock and the meaning of "punk" is just as germaine today as it was over a decade ago, in this 1997 issue of Punk Planet. Sadly, many of the same social issues still exist in 2009, and although Biafra has been raging against the machine for decades, he has often been unfairly maligned by the same thuggish mudheads that he's been defending, idiots that believe that being a punk means nothing more than a pair of Doc Martens boots and a black leather jacket and a NoFX CD. If you're going to talk the talk, kids, ya got to walk the walk, and Biafra continues to fight for what is right.

Punk Planet #18 also includes band interviews with Kiss It Goodbye, Cast Iron Hike, Lucid Nation, and Corm. There is an interview with Jody Bleyle of Candy Ass Records, who also played with Hazel and Team Dresch, and another with the founders of the women's zine Bust. This issue's "heavy lifting" article is on the issue of welfare reform, and another covers the "Mayan Punk" scene, opening our eyes to an entirely different viewpoint of punk. And don't forget the usual columns, cartoons, record and zine reviews, and lotsa B&W photos.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #18
• May/June 1997
• B&W w/spot color, 144-pages w/covers, newsprint
• Style: punkzine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Jello Biafra interview
Kiss It Goodbye interview
Cast Iron Hike interview
Jody Bleyle interview
Welfare Reform article
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