Normally, it’s pretty easy to find Steel Panther – they’re almost always out on the road, taking their OTT glam metal style to their legion of adoring fans.
Failing that, they’ll be found in the back corner of some VIP bar, drinking anyone and everyone under the table as the clock ticks over into the early hours. In a rare moment of downtime, however, drummer Stix Zadinia answers from an unexpected location. “I’m a little bit stoned, just workin’ on some songs on my computer,” he hazily reports.
“It’s just stuff I’m doin’ on my own – I find myself writing just to stay sharp, y’know? We’ve got a new album coming out, so I’ve been in the mindset of just writing a lot of songs at the moment. The ones I’m coming up with on my own aren’t even really heavy metal songs – they’re more along the lines of Cheap Trick, The Cars, power-pop sort of stuff. They’re still rockin’, though. They’re still heavy. I don’t do R&B, and I don’t do usual pop. I don’t know if anything I’m just doing by myself will ever see the light of day, but we’ll see.”
It’s interesting and a little coincidental that Zadinia brings up Cheap Trick – the veteran rockers, after all, have just been covered by Steel Panther and included on their upcoming fifth album, Lower The Bar. For Zadinia, it seemed like a no-brainer, and ended up being a complete honour for all involved on account of a very special guest.
“We were talking about doing a cover song, because we used to do a lot of them and we wanted to try and bring it back for this record,” he says. “We’re all massive Cheap Trick fans, so it hit me: I was like, ‘Dude, we should do ‘She’s Tight’, because the lyrics are so Steel Panther. It’s a sexy song, y’know – Steel Panther do sexy. As it turned out, our manager actually knew [Cheap Trick singer] Robin Zander. That set me off again – ‘Let’s ask if he’s interested!’ When he said yes, that was the tipping point for us.
“Cheap Trick are a great band – they’re one of those bands that has just written countless hits, and all of them are so fucking good. ‘She’s Tight’ is a great song, and we had so much fun playing it. Plus, just on a personal note, getting to rock with Robin Zander is always fucking cool! If I’m that good when I’m at his age, I’ll be stoked.”
Although it’s been three years since the last Steel Panther record – the entendre-laden All You Can Eat – it must be emphasised that the ensuing time has not been spent twiddling thumbs. Instead, the band has toured extensively all over the world, even trying its hand at unplugged versions with the DVD Live From Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage for good measure. As a result, Lower The Bar is a worldly endeavour of sorts.
“Because of the nature of our touring schedule, there’s really no in-between,” Zadinia explains. “Song ideas come about anywhere, any time, any country. These are songs that have been worked on over the last two years, all over the world. [Guitarist] Satchel generally comes in with the ideas. Maybe one of us will show him a riff or an idea for a song title, but he’ll generally tend to lead the charge. Sometimes it’s just a chorus, sometimes it’s a verse and a chorus, sometimes it’s a full song. After that, it becomes this full-band thing where we come together to talk about changes that need to be made – if any. One of us might suggest a chord change, another might tighten up a part or something like that. By the time that a song is done, it sounds like a true collaboration to me. It sounds like Steel Panther, and that’s definitely what this record is to me.”
With the release of Lower The Bar imminent, it’s high time for Zadinia and his bandmates to once again hit the road for an extensive world tour. With a particular excitement pertaining to premiering new songs live, the highly entertaing hair metal troupe have a long list of places to go and people to see – and, yes, Australia is on there.
“We’re gonna be touring a lot this year – we have a lot of major European festivals lined up, like Download and Hellfest,” says Zadinia. “I think there’s some US touring coming up as well. I honestly don’t know when we’re gonna see you guys next. I’m sure it will be soon, though – you guys have been very supportive, and having Lower The Bar out is gonna light that fire again.
“We always have so much fun over there – I remember one time, we were playing in Sydney and Insane Clown Posse were playing next door. That was crazy! Those Juggalos are nuts!”
It’s casually mentioned to Zadinia that the Juggalos – the collective name for Insane Clown Posse’s fan base – are planning to march on Congress in an attempt to clear their name and to be officially removed from the group of recognised gangs. “Are you kidding me?” Zadinia laughs. “Man, maybe if they didn’t put on all that stupid clown make-up, they might not be seen as a gang! That’s pretty simple, right?”
Lower The Bar is out Friday March 24 through Kobalt.
