Robert Eggplant

Robert Eggplant is a writer, musician, activist and, since 1987, the editor and publisher of Absolutely Zippo zine.

Absolutely Zippo documents the California East Bay punk scene. It has been compiled and released in paperback as Absolutely Zippo!: Anthology of a Fanzine 1988-1998.

Robert Eggplant began his zine while still in high school, covering a music scene he would soon become part of. With drummer Joey Perales he co-founded the band Blatz, in which he played guitar. The band also included fellow zinester Jesse Luscious, editor of Berkeley Sucks, on vocals, poet Anna Springer Joy and Anna Lalania, also vocalists, and Marshall Stax on bass. The band played frequently at 924 Gilman Street, where Eggplant was also a volunteer, and released a number of albums and singles on the Lookout! Records label.

His next group was The Hope Bombs, which existed from 1994 till 1996. In 1995 Eggplant began to help organize Geekfest, the free all-ages California music festival, at which The Hope Bombs also played. He then played in the band Harbinger with John Geek (fellow Geekfest organizer) and Aaron Cometbus. They have released one album to date, entitled Challenging the Prevailing Judeo-Christian Doomsday Mentality on Riisk Records. His most recent band is Lil' Runt.

Robert Eggplant has also contributed to other zines, such as Tales Of Blarg, edited by Janelle Hessig. He is, as well, an activist and works with many groups including the Slingshot collective. His writing can be read on their website and in their newspaper, as well as in the pages of Absolutely Zippo.

Zines

• Absolutely Zippo

Contributions

• Slingshot
• Tales Of Blarg
• Maximum Rock and Roll
• Big Duck Zine
• Medatrocity
• Radix
• The Hell Times
• Teen Punks in Heat

External links

• Portrait of Robert Eggplant
• Absolutely Zippo Anthology
• Slingshot website
• The Hope Bombs