V.I.P IN A GLASS

Welcome to the second installment of CREEM's cocktail column, Born to Booze, where we discuss all things alcohol-related. This issue our resident bartender/ musician, Kirk Podell (Subversive Rite, Anti-Machine, Neo Cons), has a drink with the band Sheer Mag, who add an unusual non-alcohol-related ingredientto their very alcohol-related alcohol. If you prefer your drinks shaken, not stirred, this one’s for you.

Philadelphia glam rock gods Sheer Mag never stop never stopping. Chances are, every six months or so you’ll see either a poster or, better yet, a member of Sheer Mag pop up in your bar. They’re like the Beetlejuice of touring bands—say “Sheer Mag” three times and in an instant you’ll be having a chuckle and cracking a coldie.

Every devotee to the lifestyle of the road has their routines, but Sheer Mag’s most secretive is their signature cocktail, the World Famous. “The drink kind of started as a code to get our favorite bartender in Brooklyn to make it stronger,” says guitarist Matt Palmer. “Logan from Hank Wood and the Hammerheads instructed me to ask for it world famous,’ and it worked!”

In the hypercautious world of the year-or-so following COVID-19, wellness items started to pop up on every band’s rider, leading Sheer Mag to come up with a few remedy ideas of their own. “We were playing Pappy & Harriet’s in Pioneertown, California, and someone finally put Emergen-C on our rider—which they never do,” recalls lead guitarist Kyle Seely. “We realized that was the missing element, and that night the real World Famous was born: equal parts clear tequila, Red Bull, and Emergen-C.” Adds Matt: “It’s a goddamn pandemic, ya need Emergen-C on the rider!”

And while the ingredients are crucial to the World Famous, its preparation is far more important. “Careful instructions are to be adhered to when making this special drink—you don’t shake the cocktail, you shake the bartender,” says singer Tina Halladay, meaning whoever has the distinct pleasure of mixing this concoction gets grabbed and shaken up themselves. Once the fizz (and the user) has settled, it’s time to take a sip. “There have been

some World Famous drinks that were better than others. Tucson’s was a standout,” recalls Matt, “but maybe that’s because I was dressed like Stuart Little. ” The World Famous is definitely a world-class beverage and a secret alcoholic handshake among the touring elite, but, according to Matt, it comes with a world-class caveat, too: “Hy too close and you won’t be feeling too world-famous the next day. But hey, it’s better than smoking mushrooms.”