STEEL PANTHER / KREATOR / PERTURBATOR
Steel Panther's Michael Starr grabbed 2017 by the balls
YOU GUYS RELEASED LOWER THE BAR IN JANUARY – WHAT WAS THE BEST RESPONSE YOU HAD?
“We were able to get into all the major chains out here, like Amazon Prime and Walmart, which is a big deal. It’s been a very positive response: I think they’ve realised that we’re like cockroaches – we’re not going to die and we’re not going away!”
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD THIS YEAR?
“It’s all subjective: my world’s great, but when you look outside the world of Steel Panther and hot chicks, there’s a lot of shit going off. But, I love [American] football and I love America; I’m really grateful to live here. Then there’s the shit that happened in Vegas – that’s scary. I had a couple of friends there, one who got shot. One of my buddies made it through, but another bought it. The guy that made it hid in an ice machine.”
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT YOUR MUSIC OFFERS FANS A GOOD TIME, IN CONTRAST TO THE BULLSHIT OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD?
“When I go to a football game I want to be entertained – I want to escape. I hope that when people watch us play, they can enjoy a few beers, hang with buddies and have a good time. We can’t solve any global problems, but we should try to help our fans.”
WHAT WAS THE STANDOUT MOMENT OF YOUR DOWNLOAD SET THIS YEAR?
“Oh man, just playing it. We can’t wait to headline, or go on before the headliner. We’re planning to be the biggest band in the world. It doesn’t have to happen overnight – in our case it’s not happening in a decade, either – but we’re getting there.”
WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING PART OF hammer’s ISSUE 300 CELEBRATIONS?
“It’s fucking awesome – almost like being knighted in a sense. We got media knighted! I’ve got it in my bag now – I can give it to my landlord and show him I don’t have to pay rent… it should
cover at least half a month!”
WHAT'S BEEN YOUR LOW POINT OF 2017?
“I had some sort of acid reflux attack and the flu at the same time, so I couldn’t go onstage at the roxy.
I had to drop out before the show, drive to the hospital, and get it taken care of in the emergency room. Then I couldn’t get hard for a month, but I’m alright now: I almost couldn’t pee this morning, it was straight north.”
WHAT DOES 2018 HOLD FOR STEEL PANTHER?
“We’re hoping to get our TV show up and running. It’s really funny; we have a lot of great actors in it. It’ll show what happens at a Steel Panther show and backstage. A really big ambition for me is to try and get a star on the Walk Of Fame, and part of the show is us trying to do that, but it’s fucking impossible. It’s interesting to see the inner workings of Hollywood – a metal band that are [in their eyes] completely outdated, trying to achieve that. But if you’re into metal, you know Steel Panther. Even if you don’t like us, you know us…”
“OUR NEW TV SHOW FOLLOWS US TRYING TO GET A STAR ON THE HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME”