STEEL PANTHER's SATCHEL: 'Even If I Catch The Coronavirus, I'm Not Afraid Of It'

STEEL PANTHER's Russ "Satchel" Parrish has been using the coronavirus downtime "to be creative and write songs." He tells Metal Wani in a new interview (hear audio below): "There's always more songs to write. I don't know a whole lot of bands that have downtime except for now. Most bands have to tour to make money, and you have to write albums while you're touring most of the time. And now we're all forced to take a break from the touring, so it's a great time to be creative, 'cause there's certainly not gonna be any shows. I don't know any bands that are doing shows right now."

Satchel went on to say that STEEL PANTHER's future touring plans are up in the air at the moment. "Nobody knows what's gonna happen," he explained. "The touring could continue. It could get postponed more. We're just like every other band — we can't wait to get out and play. 'Cause that's really all that's left of the music business — the live performance — and we love to play live, and we've always been a live band first. We can't wait to go play. We did have to postpone a few shows.

"However long this takes to get through, we're going to get through it and we're gonna keep on rocking," he added. "And hopefully none of us will die of old age before we can start playing again. 'Cause we're not spring chickens at this point."

Asked if he is nervous about the prospect of being around hundreds or possibly thousands of people in a concert venue during the coronavirus pandemic, Satchel said: "Not at all. I'll roll the dice. Even if I catch the coronavirus, I'm not afraid of it. It can't take me out. I'm too strong-willed, too stubborn to go… You can't kill me with the goddamn flu, you couldn't kill me with chlamydia or gonorrhea or herpes. I don't care about anything."

STEEL PANTHER's latest album, "Heavy Metal Rules", was released last September. The disc, which is described in a press release as a "heavy metal version of a self-help manual and ultimate party album combined," was once again produced by Jay Ruston, who collaborated with the band on all of its previous recordings, including 2017's "Lower The Bar".

STEEL PANTHER specializes in imitating and exaggerating the less flattering aspects of 1980s hair metal, with unrepentantly crude, non-PC sexual content as a favorite lyrical theme.

The group's music has been described as "VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets 'Wayne's World', complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive."

Twelve years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from '80s metal covers to originals.