in this issue of Kissoff Chris visits his sister in Melbourne, Australia in 1999. he shares stories of isolation and loneliness as he wanders around a new city making observations and comparisons to his life back in Canada, on a constant search for decent coffee. Then the stories switch to Ottawa; people, places, and revolution. My favorite story is a discussion about the finality of books and authors from a basement Scrabble game in suburbia:

“Cliff, chill out. You’re being a total downer right now.” Said Sylvia, shaking a bag of scrabble letters.

Strongly reminiscent to Ghostpine in terms of approach and style, Kiss Off always teaches us life lessons. This time around it's about crying to student loan people, drinking at home before you go out, how to resolve other people's family crises, how to navigate an open mic, and how to write films while drunk. Various snippets and selections from Chris' life around Ontario. Always entertaining.

A true personal punkrock fanzine! Kissoff is great because it buffers Frederico Garcia Lorca quotes up against stories about Circle Jerks flyers. Chris is smart, articulate, and dedicated to zinedom. He writes about hitchhiking with a girl who is no longer his friend, unemployment, and a friend who becomes a night-watchman. And then a Gore Vidal quote to round it out. Kissoff is always an enjoyable read.

Chris sort of threw this issue together a little more spontaneously than usual, but still it still represents his style. He's a storyteller whether he's riding the bus without his walkman, hanging out with his friend JB (Querencia Zine), or the different paths that brought them to the same place, playing with his band at a now-defunct punk rock community center where the squares would lurk outside & menace the punks until the cops came & escorted everyone safely to their cars, a dream about hanging out with the late ogoni liberation activist ken wiwa, & his desperate attempts to quit smoking. As with any good punk rock storytelling, the emphasis is on the text, which is banged out on a typewriter and interspersed with drawings, 50's-style clip art, & pieces from a hand-drawn map of Ottawa. Check plus.