Steel Panther [USA]

Published 27 July 2011 on voltagemedia.com.au


The year is 2011 and Steel Panther is getting ready to dominate their first Australian tour for the Soundwave Revolution festival. The time is just ripe for metal to "come back", but did it ever really leave? I took a long hike up a mountain [in other words, I got my ass off the couch and got the phone] to talk to metal guru and drummer Stix Zadinia, from the legendary Los Angeles glam metallers, and he filled me in on all things bitchin’.


“I think metal coming back has a lot to do with the economy. With inflation and prices of things going up, people are ready to say ‘Fuck this shit!’ and party!” Stix says adamantly. “I think we provide the platform for people to raise their middle fingers in the air and say ‘Fuck it, I’m gonna have fun for a while. I’m gonna listen to killer rock tunes, I wanna smoke some weed, drink some beer, fuck some chicks and Steel Panther is the perfect soundtrack for that.”


With their debut album, Feel the Steel, still pissing people off everywhere it matters, and a sophomore record nearing release, Steel Panther is becoming a household name [especially where mothers are concerned].


On their first time coming to our lovely country, expectations are high within the band, “I keep hearing that Australian chicks are hot and we don’t know because we’ve never been there before,” explains Stix, “but we’re looking forward to finding out!” Considering their hometown, you’d think they’ve had their fair share of the hottest girls around, but they’re looking for something… more. “There’s a high standard I’m looking at,” he assures the Australian public, “I’m thinking it’s going to be a freak show out there!”


Stix was more than happy to talk about their as-yet-untitled release, currently scheduled to pleasure your tympanic membranes and cochleas in September of this year. “There’s some shit on the new albums that’s faster than anything we’ve done before. There’s a couple of awesome ballads and we broke some new ground, y’know?” When he mentioned that one of the ballads was a piano ballad, I just had to ask more, and he was quick to dispel any assumptions of a Motley Crue sickly love song a la ‘You’re All I Need’. “It’s way better than that! People are going to trip out on this one. Satchel [guitars] wrote it. We both came up with the arrangement and I think it’s something for everyone. It’s going to be a universally accepted song.”


Steel Panther has weekly residencies at a few big-name clubs around Hollywood and Las Vegas, but they occasionally venture forth into Europe, Scandinavia, Japan and Canada. With such a huge touring schedule, one has to wonder how the four of them maintain their hair on the road, and what exactly do they eat? “Pussy,” Stix replies, “lots of pussy. But for actual nutrition I like to eat a cereal called Cinnamon Life - and steak. When it comes to the hair,” he continued, “I’m a wash-and-conditioner-every-other-day type of guy. Lexxi [Foxxx, bass] likes his hairdressers; he’s got one in every city! So wherever we are there’s one down the road.”


The five dates that Steel Panther is playing are sure to be huge days, not just for the band but for the fans who will relish seeing them in Australia for the very first time. On whether or not Australia can expect trouble from Stix Zadinia, Lexxi Foxxx, Michael Starr and Satchel,Stix had this to say: “It’s in my genetic makeup to cause trouble. This will be our first time out there, and who knows? It could be the last. So we’re going to make the most of it. I don’t want to get locked up abroad, but we’re definitely going to come close.”






Steel Panther will be touring Australia as part of the Soundwave Revolution festival this September and October.