Mekong

"This is dedicated," says singer/songwriter Roger Clyne, "to the late, great Michael O'Hare, who was there with me in Thailand when I wrote this song. The best friend I've ever had and probably ever will have. I know he's out there somewhere. So if you can hear me, Mike, I love you, and here's to life." This is how Clyne typically introduces this song at live shows. What he doesn't say is that Mike O'Hare died "hard and slow" of cystic fibrosis, and that it was Mike's spirit looking over Clyne's shoulder that actually helped in the writing of this song.

The story, according to Clyne, goes like this: With their guitars on their backs, a few weeks of summer yawning out in front of them, and just $300 between them, Mike and Roger made their way to Thailand to "experience the culture." They promptly blew through their money, but found they could make pocket change by teaching guitar lessons. And that is how they survived for the next several weeks. Of the things they uncovered during that spiritually - and otherwise - awakening sojourn was a unique rice whiskey which, says Clyne, could take the white right off your teeth. The drink was called mekong. (Get more in our Roger Clyne interview. His website is azpeacemakers.com.)

Mekong, a rice whiskey, is the drink of choice for blue-collar workers in Thailand. Created by James Hanzatko, a Chinese entrepreneur, and his partner Peter Sawer, in 1985, it has a 35% (70 proof) alcohol content, which is lower than most Western brands of whiskey. When it was first being manufactured, mekong whiskey was rumored to contain amphetamine. The rumor proved to be false.