Steel Panther is like a ’70s commercial for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: “‘Hey, you got comedy on my Glam Metal.’ ‘No, you got Glam Metal on my comedy.’ ” They’re both correct, of course. Steel Panther is serious about being funny and never funnier than when they’re being serious.
Is Steel Panther a parody or a real band? The answer, obviously, is hell yes. The quartet — vocalist Michael Starr (Ralph Saenz), guitarist Satchel (Russ Parrish), bassist Lexxi Foxx (Travis Haley) and drummer Stix Zadinia (Darren Leader) — assembled 15 years ago in Los Angeles, attracting a sizable following with a weekly Sunset Strip residency doing parody covers of ’80s Glam/Hair Metal hits (Starr also fronted the Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks for 14 years). Initially known as Metal Shop, the group later briefly changed its name to Danger Kitty (appearing on The Drew Carey Show and in a Discover card commercial), then became Metal Skool before finally settling on the Steel Panther name. Last year, the band returned to its cover roots with a secret show at L.A.’s renowned Viper Room as Jam Prancer.
As Metal Shop, the band released its 2003 debut, Hole Patrol (featuring cover art mimicking Poison’s Look What the Cat Dragged In and comedy sketches). In early 2008, the band adopted the Steel Panther moniker and signed with Universal Republic for its major label debut, 2009’s Feel the Steel. Featuring guest vocals from Slipknot’s Corey Taylor and The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, Feel the Steel underscored Steel Panther’s duality, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Comedy chart, while also cracking the top half of the overall Billboard 200.
In 2011, Steel Panther released Balls Out, which topped both Billboard’s Comedy and U.K.’s iTunes Rock charts, and hit the top 40 of the Billboard 200. As a result, Steel Panther opened the Def Leppard/Mötley Crüe “Mirror Ball Tour” and a one-off gig for Guns N’ Roses in L.A., as well as a largely sold out U.K. headlining tour. Last year, Steel Panther played the Download Festival, released its third album, All You Can Eat and won Metal Hammer’s Golden Gods Award for Video of the Year with its “Party Like It’s the End of the World” clip.
This article appears in Dec 9-15, 2015.