Steel Panther is banging heads every weekend at Green Valley Ranch Resort
Steel Panther is holding on to the heavy metal of the ’80s.
“It was in the ’90s you started seeing grunge,” said Michael Starr, lead singer for the group. “Then bands cut their hair and started wearing flannel. We are holding on to (’80s heavy metal) and bringing it back.”
The four-man band, which includes Starr; Satchel, lead guitarist; Lexxi Foxxx, bassist; and Stix Zadinia, drummer, rocks out at 8 p.m. every Saturday inside Ovation at Green Valley Ranch Resort, 2300 Paseo Verde Parkway . There is no cover charge, but the audience must be 21 or older.
Even though their names might sound far-fetched, Satchel can’t remember going by any other name.
“I think the lines got blurred between our real names and the names we have now,” Satchel said.
Dressed in anything from leather to brown-sequined pants and sporting long hair perfect for head banging, the band doesn’t just pay tribute to the 1980s. It embodies it.
“Sometimes the costumes are uncomfortable,” Starr said. “Since we have a weekly show, we try to make (the costumes) as different as possible We have a designer that comes up with different ideas.”
Along with heavy metal sounds, the band uses crass and blunt humor.
“I’m not afraid to say what’s on my mind,” Starr said. “I think the crowd enjoys that.”
The band formed nearly 20 years ago.
“It was 1996 when we got our first residency in Vegas,” Starr said .
Satchel said it feels much longer.
“We’ve been there since (Frank) Sinatra,” Satchel said. “That might not be true, but it feels like it.”
The band has been at Ovation for five years.
Steel Panther currently has one album out called “Steel Panther: Feel the Steel” and plans to have its third album out in September.
In addition to its shows at Green Valley Ranch Resort, the band also plays Friday nights at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay and Monday nights at the House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood, Calif .
Each venue is a different crowd.
“In Las Vegas, we have about 50 percent tourist and 50 percent locals,” Starr said.
At Green Valley Ranch Resort, Steel Panther has a good number of locals show up.
“But they all are ready to party,” Starr said. “The whole weekend (in Vegas) is a big adventure.”
Satchel said all crowds, whether it is in Hollywood or Las Vegas, have a common factor.
“Deep down, all people want to rock out,” Satchel said. “They just want to rock out and party.”
Starr said both Las Vegas and Hollywood are great, but there is nothing like Hollywood.
“There are no rules in Hollywood,” Starr said.
Starr said the Hollywood shows can include anything from celebrity sightings to lots of nudity from the audience.
But the band loves its weekends in Las Vegas.
“We are flying (into Las Vegas) with everyone who is ready to party,” Starr said. “People fly in (Friday) to go to bachelor parties or strip clubs. It is a fun flight.”
Starr said that when the band flies out on Sunday, all the same partiers are tired from the weekend.
“That flight is more somber,” Starr said. “After a weekend of rockin’ out, we are ready to crash, too.”
Despite the constant commute and hourlong flights each weekend, the band members love what they do.
“There is nothing like being a musician,” Starr said. “Work hours are killer. The worst part about it is getting to shows.”
Starr said the band has had bad experiences flying with delays or layovers.
“Getting to a show is the worst part,” Starr said. “But once we are at a show, everything is great.”
For more information on the band, visit steelpantherrocks.com or follow Starr on Twitter at @MichaelStarrr.
Contact Henderson and Anthem View reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@viewnews.com or 387-5201.
