Steel Panther is a notorious Sunset Strip act- and the All-American pseudo-eighties icons may be rude and crude dudes- but they definitely know a thing or two about putting on a show!

I saw them back in the day- in the era where Steel Panther (Michael Starr, Satchel, Lexxi Foxxx, Stix Zadinia) was still Metal Skool- and the insanity and frivolous onstage antics have been taken up a notch.  It’s no wonder SP has an indefinite residency at the famed Key Club, bringing the Strip back to its prime with hard rock from yesteryear and some serious stage savoir-faire.

After their onstage interview for all press at the Viper Room yesterday, Bestnewbands.com got to get a little more up close & personal in the Viper Room dressing room where I was regaled with the boys’ quick wit and crude attitude!  Here’s the sexclusive behind the scenes look at the masters of music mayhem.

BNB:  Hello boys- introduce yourselves!

MS:  Hey I’m Michael Starr- lead singer, and I book all of the rental cars, and usually the hotels for the band…

BNB:  But no hookers.

MS:  Well, we get all of them for free.  Or, sometimes we lease.

SZ:  I’m Stix Zadinia, the drummer, and usually I’ll reconcile the tour at the end to make sure all the accounting is appropriate and correct.

BNB:  Hey you two wanna get in on this? (Satchel & Lexxi Foxxx)

SZ:  No you’re just getting a Stix-clusive!

 

BNB:  Would you guys consider yourselves a good “first date” act?

MS:  Absolutely.  If you’re gonna go on a blind date especially.  Pull up in your car, put in our CD and IF the girl lasts through the whole record- she’ll be sucking your d*** by the end of the night.

 

BNB:  What are your main musical influences?

SP:  C***-Rock, Metal, Spermicide

LF:  My main musical influences…(takes swig of smart water)

BNB:  Smart water?

MS:  No, that doesn’t work for him.

LF:  NOT cool Michael.  No, I like Rudy Sarzo- and- do you ever watch cartoons?  The Road Runner!  (Proceeds to make Road Runner sound).

 

BNB:  And what would you do for a klondike bar?

MS:  Depends is there cocaine near it?  I’d suck d*** for that bar.

 

BNB:  So word on the street is that you’ve got a PhD in English Literature- what’s up with the career change?

MS:  You know- he doesn’t like to talk about it.

MS:  I don’t normally talk about it.  I keep trying to have that taken off my bio because the last thing I want my fans to think is that I’m a lot smarter than them.  No, I mean- I learned a lot- and I talk way gooder than most people.  No but honestly, English was like my worst subject.  And math, history, science- but I excelled in P.E.- scuba diving was my favorite class.

 

BNB:  And Michael- you were a singer in Atomic Punks were you not?

MS:  I was for a minute and then they fired me.

BNB:  You wanna get into that?

MS:  Yeah- they were mad because I kept playing with Steel Panther even though Satchel and I were fighting at the time.  And it just didn’t work out.  And then I had sex with the drummer’s girlfriend- but they were just a Van Halen tribute band and it doesn’t matter- because now we’re like the biggest cover band ever.

 

BNB:  What bands epitomize the Sunset Strip aside from yourselves?

LF:  epito-WHAT!?  What does that even mean!?

BNB:  What bands mean Sunset Strip to you?

LF:  Why didn’t you just say that!  We do.

BNB:  And anyone aside from yourselves?

SP:  Well just all the bands that made Sunset Strip what it is.

MS:  It’s fing hot in here!

SP:  We actually wrote a song about this- ever hear “Hell’s On Fire?”

MS:  The Viper Room dressing room is on fire!

SP:  The song “Hell’s On Fire” was written in THIS dressing room.

 

BNB:  Fave guilty pleasure Guitar Hero song to rock out to?

MS:  OOOO…..”Death To All But Metal”

BNB:  Okay- your own song!

MS:  No- somebody else’s song.  F*** no dude!  I listen to Steel Panther ALL the time- and I’ll tell you why- because when fans come to see us, they want us to hear it and play it like they do on the record.

 

(Michael Starr’s cell phone starts blowing up)

MS:  5-4-1!?  What the hell kind of number is that- that’s NOT a phone number!

LF:  5-4-1 is Tijuana dude.

MS:  How the hell did she get our number?!

 

BNB:  Fave pre-show vices or rituals- besides interviewing of course.

MS:  Well now many people would think we like to do cocaine and drink Jack Daniels before we go on- but that’s not true.  We wait till at least the second song.  Maybe have a few beers- sugarfree red bull- coke zero.  The most important thing is making sure we have everything before we go on.

 

BNB:  You’re all sponsored by different musical companies- Gibson, Kramer, DW Drums- who endorses your eyeliner?

SZ:  I don’t have an eyeliner sponsor.

MS:  I do.  Maybelline.

SZ:  What!  When did you get a sponsorship?

MS:  I’ve had it since like, before I knew you.

BNB:  He’s going to get jealous.

SZ:  Going to get?

MS:  Having an eyeliner sponsor is not a big deal though- because it’s like maybe a dollar and it lasts for a whole year.

SZ:  Yeah- but it’s so cool to say.

 

BNB:  Closing Remarks to fans, friends, and fiends?

SZ:  Yeah one time, I was riding my bike, and I did a table top jump, and I kicked my wheel out and I crashed.  And I cut my lip.  And I had to get stitches.

MS:  I have one!  I have a closing remark!  I used to have a VW bug- and my friend jumped it with his BMX bike.

 

After the hot as hell (literally it must have been 90 degrees) session in the dressing room- the boys scampered off to wander the strip pre-performance and in a haze of rock, hairspray, and spandex- one thing is apparent- they won’t be losing their sex appeal anytime soon.  You can check them out every Monday night at The Key Club and if the venue’s rockin’- I definitely recommend you go knockin’- they’re putting the sex and drugs back in rock and roll.