STEEL PANTHER's STIX ZADINIA: 'We're Like The Biggest DIY Band Ever'

In a new interview with Australia's Metal Roos, STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia spoke about the band's songwriting process. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "[STEEL PANTHER guitarist] Satchel is our main songwriter. When you've got a guy like Satchel in your band who plays the guitar the way he does, and he's like genetically engineered to write '80s-style heavy metal riffs and he's incredibly talented and gifted…. When we're on the road, everybody's throwing ideas out as far as, like, someone says something funny, and we start writing stuff down. And then generally what will happen is he'll sketch out a verse and a chorus, or sometimes he'll have half a song or a whole song, and then he'll generally bring it to me next, because he and I are kind of simpatico in the music department. And if it's something that I go, 'Oh, dude, yeah, let's roll,' he'll get fired up. Once we decide what we wanna do on a record, then we go into a pre-production situation where we work out the little details so we don't spend the time and money in the studio. We'll go do pre-production at rehearsal studios, but we play so much on the road that we don't rehearse and we don't get in a band room because there's no time and it's not necessary. With e-mail, we can do ideas at home, just flip something over to the other guy and go, 'Hey, dude.' Or he'll throw me an idea and he'll go, 'Hey, what are you hearing on drums for this?' And that's kind of how it goes generally. I mean, obviously there's variations, but that's the general vibe."

He continued: "When I was young, you lived near the guys you played with. And as we get older, we moved different places. Satchel lives out in Vegas. I live out in L.A. And so to get together, it's, like, okay, well, somebody's gotta hop a flight or make a four-hour drive. So we just throw ideas back and forth."

Stix also talked about the importance of knowing the ins and outs of music business and learning how to generate profit and endure longevity.

"Fortunately, we are our own record company," he explained. "We're like the biggest DIY band ever. We're the merch company. We do it all. Yeah, we do. So we manage our band. But I have guys who are specialists. I have a merch guy who works with us. And then I have a touring guy who does all the logistics. But we oversee it all. We don't have a management company. We don't have a merch company. We do it all, man."

He continued: "I cannot express how much value there is in knowing your business and doing it yourself. Look, when we got rid of management in 2017 and I decided to take it on, I was, like, 'Hey, I know that I don't know everything, but I know specialists who know things about this lane and that lane and this plane.' So as long as you know that you don't know everything, you can find the answers. And it's done wonders for our business, our bottom line."

Stix added that "you have to have somebody in the band who's interested and halfway able to focus" in order to be a self-managed act.

"It's cool, man," he said. "We really are DIY. It's awesome."

The California glam metal jokesters recently announced the final batch of headline dates in the U.S. as part of their "On The Prowl" world tour 2024. The band will return to the road in the United States on August 23 in Buffalo, New York and continue through September 14, where it will wrap up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. The 15-date trek will make stops in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire (August 24-25); Portland, Maine (August 30); Baton Rouge, Louisiana (September 8) and Augusta, Georgia (September 14),to name a few. Additional information on all ticket and VIP packages, including meet-and-greets, exclusive merch items, early entry and more for all tour dates can be found at steelpantherrocks.com.

STEEL PANTHER recently had another career first as they have moved their brand into the world of skateboarding. The band has spent the past year designing an official skateboard deck complete with band illustration on the bottom, custom grip tape and fluorescent green wheels. The "Build A Board" bundle sells for $124.99 (trucks and bearings are not included) for the STEEL PANTHER skateboarder in your life and there is a "Wall Hanger" bundle for $74.99 for the non-skateboarder that loves bitchin' artwork.

Formed in 2000, 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."

Sixteen 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.

STEEL PANTHER's sixth studio album, "On The Prowl", was released in February 2023.

In September 2022, STEEL PANTHER announced the addition of Spyder as the band's new bassist.