HIRED GUNS

SAM McPHEETERS, WRITER

Born in Ohio and raised in upstate New York, he was a published author at age 12, the vocalist for Born Against, and has toured 21 times across Europe, Japan, and North America. In 2020, Rare Bird published his latest book, Mutations: The Many Strange Faces of Hardcore Punk. Sam’s brutal masculinity and electrifying charisma have made him a hero to millions, and his lean, muscular prose has caused readers to wet themselves in bookstore aisles. Women want to be him, men want to beef him. What kind of insane shit will Sam get up to next?

SHAMIR BAILEY, WRITER

America’s favorite flop star (that’s “former pop star” to you) has been trying on genres and other mediums, like budgetless shopping sprees, for the entirety of his career. Over the past seven years, he’s released eight critically acclaimed albums. He’s also an avid writer, having been published in publications other than this one that we (CREEM) refuse to highlight here, on principle. Aside from music and writing, Shamir also founded the record label Accidental Popstar Records, where he focuses on developing new artists.

RANDY BLYTHE, PHOTOGRAPHER