INTERVIEW: STIX ZADINIA OF STEEL PANTHER

L.A. rockers Steel Panther return with their fifth studio album Heavy Metal Rules, set to be released on September 27th. Building off of a repertoire of already legendary anthems Steel Panther made sure to deliver more of the same but different tunes. RockRevolt had a chance to speak with the man behind the kit, Stix Zadinia, about the recording process for Heavy Metal Rules, playing the legendary Download Festival at Castle Donington, UK and what Stix’s parents think about their son’s career path.

RR: Being in a high profile heavy metal band has it’s benefits with money and everything else at your finger tips including women, any celebrities on that list?

Stix:  We keep that close to the vest.  I will tell you though that every show I put Charlize Theron on my guest list.  She has a standing invitation to our show because I’m in love with her.  Whether or not she’s in the country it doesn’t matter she goes on Steel Panther’s guest list.  I’d like to use this opportunity as an open invitation to Charlize, come chill with me.

Let me know what show she’s going to be at as she’s on my list as well. On a more serious note I’m sure you guys take yourselves very serious being great musicians. With that being said what does it mean to you that the Grammy’s have considered Steel Panther for the best comedy album category?

I’ll tell you what, it’s interesting because what we do is we take not being serious very seriously.  If we got attention for being a comedy band I don’t really give a fuck as long as people are listening to us.  It doesn’t matter what category people would consider us because at the end of the day we make music for people who dig fucking heavy metal, who dig having a good time, who just want to rock.  I highly doubt that we would end up even getting nominated for a Grammy, it just feels like Steel Panther is super not Grammy.  But if they want to put us in a comedy category it wouldn’t matter to me.  I wouldn’t be offended by it at all, I’d be down.

It’s pretty fucking cool just to be in that conversation, right?

Yeah to be recognized by anyone, a kid down the street at his house to dig Steel Panther or the Grammy’s that would be cool too.  The whole goal for us is to have people pay attention and listen to what we do and dig it.

Well there’s no doubt people are listening as your fanbase continues to grow. Let’s talk about the new album Heavy Metal Rules which seems to have a heavier edge to it. Can you take us behind the scenes and review what the writing process is like and is there a primary band member these creative ideas come from?

I would say Satchel our guitar player is our main writer. The guy is a freak in the best way. The first time he and I jammed together both of us went ok there’s something that happened here between the two of us musically that we just clicked. He comes up with a lot of ideas, I’ll send him riff ideas. I’ll send him song title ideas. The song “Fuck Everybody” for instances was Satchel and I backstage at the House of Blues in Cleveland and one of us was serious and said fuck everybody! Someone else said everyone can suck my dick. Then I said what if that’s a song and he comes up with a riff right on the spot. He has an acoustic guitar backstage. And then goes dude check it out, that was the germ of that song. For us on this record in particular as opposed to say the first record. The first record for us we wanted to really define Steel Panther, it’s your first record you want to make a real clear fucking impression. We put out Feel the Steel and it had songs and elements of all the cool shit that 80’s metal could offer. I feel like on this record I don’t think we rested on any of our laurels. I feel like we pushed the fucking envelop and we wrote songs and recorded songs that stretched our sound musically and it’s fucking exciting man. I mean a song like “I’m Not Your Bitch” is one of the heaviest things we’ve ever done. It’s fun to be at this point in our career where we can put out a fifth record and it sounds like Steel Panther but it doesn’t sound like shit that we’ve done before. I feel like people will be like fuck man they keep staying fresh because it doesn’t sound like another album of the same shit. It’s the same shit but it’s different.

I completely agree, when I was listening to the album, I took from it right away that it’s heavier.  Just like you said it’s different but it’s still Steel Panther.  That’s important for a band with an identity, you don’t want to stray too far from that but make it different enough that it doesn’t sound like you’re repeating yourselves.  Now on your new record is there a track that stands out for you or more specific one that showcases Stix? Maybe a track that was challenging for you?

Oh man, you know “I’m Not Your Bitch” is one of those songs where in the chorus it has that syncopated riff with some double kick in it. That was a little challenging to make it feel good and right. That’s what you’re trying to do when you record an album, capture that fucking lightning in a bottle and get the right feel. We don’t fix shit and make it perfect. We keep it rock intentionally, it’s important to us because that’s how our favorite records were recorded and sometimes it’s a little bit off, but off in a way that makes you feel good. We try to record the songs from top to bottom instead of sections because if you record it in parts it can feel sterile. When you play it top to bottom there’s that dynamic flow that happens that you won’t get if you do it in sections. For us we just try to perform the best we can on the record and try to capture what we think is super fucking cool.

What do you have upcoming tour wise?

We are doing an album release party at the Whiskey (in L.A.) on the 26^th I believe of September and we’re going to have our friends in this band California play with us.  Our tour manager Joe Lester is actually in the band so that’s exciting for us.  Then we are going to do Sammy Hagar’s Beach Festival two days later at Huntington Beach.  Then we start the Heavy Metal Rules Tour in the states in October for about two and a half weeks on the east coast.  Come home then more touring in the states in November and December.  Then we have some special shit we have not announced for the beginning of the year that I can’t quite say yet because we like to keep shit top secret.

Glad you guys are hitting up the east coast, I’ll see you at the Portland, ME stop.

We love coming to the east coast.  Portland is great, Boston is fucking amazing.  There’s a lot of rock and roll fans on the east coast.  It’s always exciting for us to go there accept when it’s in the dead of winter.  You guys have cold fucking winters.  But we’ll warm it up, we’ll bring the heat.

I caught you guys at Download Festival (UK) in 2012 and 2014, it’s just an amazing festival. What’s it like playing in front of 100,000 people? It’s got to be unbelievable, a complete mind fuck.

Ok I’m going to tell you how it is.  Imagine being on stage in front of 100,000 people.  That’s exactly how it is (both of us laughing).  There is no fucking analogy that you can give to someone to make it feel any cooler.  It’s fucking scary, it’s exhilarating, it’s fucking crazy.  I’ll tell you this there have been moments, I think it happens every time we do a festival.  Just going back to Download, yes everybody in the states needs to go to Download, there’s a few festivals in the world that really stand out to me.  Download is one of them, Wacken is one of them, Hellfest is one of them.  There are a few festivals that there are so many people it’s unbelievable, you have to go to experience it.  When we’re playing “Community Property” and you have 100,000 people singing “Community Property” all at the same time I’ve gotten fucking choked up.  I don’t cry at movies, that’s not my shit.  I’m trying to sound macho I just don’t really get effected like that but when I fucking see and hear and feel all those people doing the same thing at the same time and it’s because of something that I was a part of creating I’ve fucking gotten choked up.

It’s unbelievable just being in the crowd.  And it makes sense there is no analogy that can describe it.  Of course at the 2012 Download Festival Cory Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour) joined you on stage, you’re know to have a lot of special guests participate.  Is there someone on the list you’d love to have play with you that has not already?

Oh man I’d like to have Lady Gaga come up.  I think it would be fucking cool to have Lady Gaga come up.  We’ve had Pink come up so I can’t say her or else I would say her again because she’s fucking amazing.  Man we’ve had so many of my fucking favorites up with us.  It’s like a hard question to answer because I can’t think of people I haven’t jammed with.  We’ve had Jerry Cantrell and Tom Morello, Sebastian Bach, Kip Winger, a bunch of people man.  We are very, very fortunate that people are down to get up and rock with us.

Is there one of your headline shows that stands out?

Yeah, Wembley Arena.  When you go to Wembley and headline they give you a plaque that says congratulations you made it.  When you pull up to the arena and get out of the bus, you park underneath of the arena, and I see all the people putting the show together – the stage, lights and the sound, all those people are doing that because of this thing that we created.  It’s intense.  Then you do that show, headline show of 12,000 people it’s pretty unbelievable.

What does Mr. & Mrs. Zdinia, your parents think of how and what Stix is doing these days?

I’ll tell you what pops Zdinia is very proud. And mom, I think they’re proud of their boy. Look it’s not lost on me being able to fucking rock and roll for a living is a rare opportunity. It’s not something that you can apply for. You don’t work your way up the corporate ladder to do. I feel like I was born to do and they feel like I was born to do it. I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. And I think that they’re really happy that I’m not in a gutter somewhere.

Let me ask you this, if you weren’t a Trump fan before did you become one after it came out about his locker room banter about grabbing her by the pussy was revealed? What is your take of the man in the Oval Office?

You know what I tend to stay away from that shit.  You know why, I don’t get involved in that because the moment you say some shit 50% of the people are going to go fuck you.  My station in life is to provide good fucking rock and roll.

Can you quickly give us your top 5 records?

Shout at the Devil, Motley Crue;  Pyromania, Def Leppard;  the first Winger record;  Steel Panther Heavy Metal Rules;  Queensryche, Rage for Order. 

Stix any final words for the fans?

Thank you for fucking letting us do what we do and supporting us. And get ready because Heavy Metal Rules is going to rip your dick and tits off. And you’re going to freak out because you haven’t heard a record like this and it’s going to be more of the same different shit.

I can attest to that, it is a kick ass record.  You’re going to have great success with it.  Best of luck with it and the upcoming tour.  Appreciate your time today, thank you!

Thanks Brett I appreciate it. 

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