DS Book Club: “In China With Green Day” by Aaron Cometbus

Next in PM Press’s reprints of the Cometbus zines is In China with Green Day. It documents Aaron Cometbus’s time with Green Day during their 21st Century Breakdown World Tour from January 12th through January 25th, 2010. While a little debauchery and exploration in a foreign land is definitely on the menu, it’s Aaron’s recounting of his experience with the early days of Green Day that shines through in these writings.

Aaron Cometbus does a great job setting the scene for his reason for being there. Mike Dirnt had invited him as long as he wrote about his time on tour with them. After agreeing, Cometbus reunites with Green Day after becoming distant from them since their breakthrough to the mainstream. At one point, Cometbus had been one of two roadies for Green Day twenty years prior to the writing of In China With Green Day. Recognizing that both himself and the band had changed in the last twenty years, he boards a plane for Thailand.

The title Green Day in China is a bit of a misnomer, as Cometbus follows the band throughout their first tour of Asia in at least a decade. Part travelogue, part memoir, Cometbus recounts his time with Green Day in those early years right before they broke into the mainstream. The tour allows Cometbus to catch up with each member of the band. This is an interesting cross-section of how success had changed his childhood friends before and after they hit it big. Cometbus is at times conflicted about the Green Day he knew and the Green Day they’ve become, but what is clear is Cometbus’s love for the band despite going against his aesthetic.

While Cometbus had been hired by the band’s original drummer, Al Sobrante (John Kiffmeyer), there is something of an early history of Green Day after his departure from the band. Cometbus recounts his time as their roadie and friend. It’s interesting to hear the history of the band told with those little details from someone who experienced it rather than some third-hand horseshit. As a seminal figure in punk zine culture, Cometbus brings a rare authenticity to his reflections on Green Day’s evolution from Gilman Street to stadiums.

There is also a sort of behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of the well-oiled machine that is a Green Day tour. Cometbus recognizes that they are no longer the band that rolls out of bed in the afternoon before driving to the next venue anymore, and they run a somewhat tight ship when it comes to traveling. We also learn about the Big Three: Jason White, Jason Freese, and Jeff Matika, the touring members of Green Day, who back the band up in a multitude of ways when they’re on stage.

The portions of the book where Cometbus explores the countries the tour takes him through are equally fascinating. Whether it be a search for a book in a series he was looking for or to clear his head, the recalling of these details makes you feel like you’re there with him, but missing out just as much. A running bit was that Cometbus had bought a throwaway camera for the trip, and describes what the pictures would have been if they had developed properly. Of course, tour shenanigans are afoot, specifically involving an octopus and a sex club (separately). It’s not exactly A Hard Day’s Night, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Cometbus at one time described himself as a Green Day apologist, but mentions he had recently stopped being that about a year before going on this trek with the band. Yet, through his experiences with Green Day in the past and present time of the writing, he gives you an understanding of why Green Day became what they’ve become. There’s a really good story of reconnecting with your friends after growing apart, and even if time changes things on the surface, underneath a lot doesn’t change.

In China With Green Day is available from PM Press. You can purchase it and more of Aaron Cometbus’s writing here.