IT’S NEVER TOO LATE
A CONVERSATION WITH STIX ZADINIA OF STEEL PANTHER
With the release of Steel Panther’s sixth album fast approaching, it is a truly exciting time to be a fan of the greatest ‘80s rock outfit to blow up in the last decade. On The Prowl drops on February 24 and follows a pair of previously released music videos for singles “1987” and “Never Too Late (To Get Some Pussy Tonight)”. Speaking on the record, drummer Stix Zadinia reflects on the relatively DIY approach to making music that resides at the heart of On The Prowl.
A strong collection of 13 songs, On The Prowl is led by two singles. The first, “It’s Never Too Late (To Get Some Pussy Tonight), a catchy as all hell rocker and, as Stix puts it, “our public service announcement to the world”, was released in October 2022. This was then followed by a power ballad full to the brim of pop culture references, “1987” in December. The song pays tribute to the golden age of ‘80s hard rock, an era where glam and leather ruled the airwaves. Reflecting on that year in particular, Stix explains, “1987, heavy metal was at its pinnacle. You had ’83 where it really started and by ’87, it was peaking right before it ate it’s own ass and got pitiful.” Stix adds, “It was the coolest time, aside from being in Steel Panther today. I love that we are this fun place that people can come to, be themselves, let go, and just get weird.” Such is the ethos of the band; Steel Panther, musically, lyrically, and aesthetically, are able to transport listeners back to the Sunset Strip circa 1987 through a one of a kind atmosphere and songs that kick ass as hard as they’ll make you laugh. On The Prowl is no exception to this as it only pushes the musical and lyrical envelope further with each track.
PURCHASE ON THE PROWL
Not only is On The Prowl the first album solely produced by Steel Panther, but it is also the first record to include their new bassist, Spyder. Stix echoes this with an analogy, “We decided that it was time to kick the baby bird out of the nest. We knew we’d either fly or hit our head on a rock and I feel we learned a lot in this process. It was really fun and exciting!” Having co-produced all their previous records with Jay Ruston, this was a major step for the band. To add to this, the album – apart from the drums – was recorded at each member’s home studios. Stix expands on this, “it wasn’t born out of us going ‘we really wanna do this at home’ ‘cause we love the studio. Being in a proper studio – that experience of making music, recording – you can’t substitute that”, however, these is a resounding sense of pride in the album and what Steel Panther was able to do almost entirely independently. The writing process saw lead guitarist Satchel write a majority of the material, sending it over to Stix to demo drums on. From there it would go through a feedback cycle between all members as they narrowed the potential songs down and honed them together. The final recording was done in a similar fashion. “There is a different joy that we got from doing it this way. There is something cool about saying ‘we made this thing, on our own, from scratch’… it was sort of out of necessity, but also out of a want to experiment” Stix exclaims.
Six full length albums down, Stix reflects, “I am so fortunate to get to do what I do and have people like it”. There is a level of humility that seems juxtaposed to the over-the-top, larger-than-life rock star image of Steel Panther. Underneath the spandex and mascara is a group of talented musicians who seem to always be pushing the band forward, rarely, if ever, taking some down time. Stix adds to this sentiment “We work hard at miniating a level of integrity in Steel Panther” with a laugh, he adds “sexually, we have very low standards ‘It’s Never Too Late’ is not just a song.” As the band doubled down with two major factors that could have run the record off the rails, the band’s work paid off as On The Prowl can stand among their strongest records. Where self-producing and introducing a new member can both be make or break moments, Steel Panther have successfully delivered the best album from 1987, today.
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Photo Credit: David Jackson
