Steel Panther are here, once again, to kick arse and chew bubblegum – and, as luck would have it, they are all out of bubblegum. The mane-thrashing comedy kings have steadily built up a fanbase on a global scale thanks to their theatrics, their infectious (ear-wise, mind you, not downstairs) choruses and the fact that – all joking aside – these dudes know how to shred.
It’s brought them across four studio albums, countless world tours and even a foray into going unplugged for their recent live DVD, entitled Live From Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage. As the title suggests, it’s the band stripping back a range of their songs into acoustic mode in the surrounds of a garage that happens to be well-lit and spacious – that also happens to belong to the mother of bassist Lexxi Foxxx (who, indeed, still lives with his mum). On the back of the DVD’s release, the band are just about to return to Australia for a run of headlining shows across the capitals.
We got Mrs. Foxxx’s baby boy on the line to talk all things heavy metal – wet vaginas, 5 Seconds of Summer and what’s next for these butt-metal killers.
Music Feeds: We’re getting ever closer to the Australian tour – are Steel Panther prepared?
Lexxi Foxxx: We were actually just rehearsing! I’m back at my mum’s house now, though. She’s out getting beer, though, because I’m having a party tonight. It’s a Tuesday, and there’s not a lot of crap going on, so I’m going to have a bunch of people come over to my house… [pause] …well, my mum’s house. Whatever. We’re just gonna kick back and have a couple of beers.
MF: How does your mum handle the rock & roll lifestyle?
LF: Oh, she loves it. She loves partying with my friends – I think that’s why she’s so happy that I still live with her. I mean, her favourite song of ours is Gang Bang at the Old Folks’ Home, if that gives you any indication.
MF: It sure does. Back to Australia, though…
LF: Man, we’re stoked to be coming out again. Every time that we come and visit, it’s incredible to see how well-received we are. I can remember the very first time that we came out there and did Soundwave, and you guys ticked all the boxes from day one. There are beautiful women everywhere, you all love heavy metal and you’re all as stoked as we are about bringing heavy metal to Australia.
MF: What about our hair? Surely if anyone would be a solid judge in that department, it would be your good self.
LF: Y’mean as far as girl’s hair or guy’s hair?
MF: Let’s go with both.
LF: It’s funny you say that – the best hair that I have ever seen was on a bunch of your guys. They’re part of this show called The Thunder From Down Under that runs in Vegas – they’re great, by the way, and a few of them are friends of mine. I could not believe how cool their hair looked. One of them had this long-haired, Criss Angel thing going on – I loved it. As for the ladies, I always love it when I look out in the crowd and I see the hair done up real big like in the 80s. I wish I could get out there more to see it all up close – I’ve seen a lot of Aussies with bitchin’ hair.
MF: By the time you guys get out here, it’ll be something like two years touring in support of the All You Can Eat album. What have been some of the highlights for you across that time?
LF: Everywhere is a highlight, man. It really is. It’s been so awesome. Everywhere we go, we always get to experience something different. It doesn’t matter if we’re in Europe or New York, I get to do the things I love to do – I get to get high, I get to party and I get to meet all these amazing people.
We want to bring back heavy metal, but we also want to bring back the lifestyle – and a big part of that is the partying. My tip is that you don’t want to party too hard, though. You gotta party in moderation, otherwise you’ll fuck up your looks – and, in heavy metal, that’s all you have. You can’t party all day. You should only party for a good part of it.
MF: So what you’re saying is that you want to rock & roll all night and party most of every day?
LF: That’s exactly it. [laughs]
MF: What have the shows been like recently in terms of the setlist? Have you been changing it up at all?
LF: A little bit. We’re not too sure what we’re going to do while we’re out there. We might be doing some acoustic stuff, like we did on the DVD. We’re gonna be doing a couple of new ones, too. Well, they’re not “new,” exactly, but they weren’t on the last record.
There’s a song called That’s When You Came In, which we did for the first time on the DVD, and people seem to really dig that one. We’re probably going to do a heavier version of it, too, which is a lot of fun. We’re actually going in to record just before the tour starts, and we’ll probably have a new record out either at the end of this year or the start of the next. We’re excited for you guys to hear it!
MF: What can you tell us about the new album? Or is it still too early to say?
LF: This album is going to be essentially documenting a year inside our lives. It’s gonna be about the people we’ve met, the places we’ve been and the tours that we’ve done. It’s all about our own experiences, and that’s what Satchel mostly writes about. Everyone always thinks we’re just making shit up, but all our stories are true. When Michael was working at a pizza place, he actually did deliver pizza to the old folk’s home and have a gang-bang there. That’s real, man.
We’re not too sure about when we’ll be able to finish the record, because we’re just touring so much at the moment. We’ve got Australia, the States and the UK lined up. I can’t believe how fast this year is going. Anyway, this is gonna be another party record. We’re not gonna do anything too far from what people like about us. We’re not gonna sell out. It’s Steel Panther. We’re bringing heavy metal back. That’s what we do.
MF: And yet, here we are, talking about Steel Panther going acoustic for Live From Lexxi’s Mom’s Garage. Where did the idea for that come about?
LF: We just thought we would do that, just to get on a closer level with our fans. Really, it was just a chance for us to pack a bunch of beautiful women into my mum’s house. I remember when I was a kid, way back in the 50s, when having an acoustic guitar around the campfire got the vaginas so wet. Just the open fire, a couple of beers, a bit of weed… that’s all it took, man.
MF: Wait… let’s get this straight: You were noticing wet vaginas as a kid?
LF: Totally, dude. That’s exactly when I knew what I was put on this earth to do. You put a guitar in your hand and chicks just instantly dig it. That’s what happens. It’s how I won over my babysitter as a kid, and it’s how I win over chicks to this very day.
MF: Back to the acoustic stuff – how have fans reacted to it so far?
LF: I think people have really enjoyed it. It just comes down to people loving those songs, so it’s cool for the fans to get to hear them a little differently. The DVD’s doing really well in Australia, in particular, now that I mention it. We’re super stoked about that.
MF: When Steel Panther were last in town for what ended up being the final Soundwave Festival, you guys were talking in the press about hanging out with one of Australia’s current prime exports: A little band by the name of 5 Seconds of Summer. What can you tell us about hanging out with them?
LF: Those guys were great! This is how bitchin’ Australia is: These dudes are good lookin’, they’re in a boy band, they’re cute as hell, just bouncing around, all the girls think they’re the coolest thing ever… and there they are at our show, just rocking out to heavy metal!
That is the coolest thing in the world to me – and it’s not just because they have great taste in music, either. They’re badass, and they like to party! I can’t really tell you what we gave them, because their parents will come after us, but it’s so funny when they’re wasted.
MF: They’re definitely at that age where they’re not quite able to handle their narcotics yet…
LF: That’s it, man. Oh, dude, they were bouncing off the walls. They couldn’t deal! It was hilarious!
MF: You mentioned the big run of dates that you have lined up. Is there anywhere you haven’t played yet that you’re hoping to perform in?
LF: Y’know what, man? We’ve played in Russia. We’ve played in Tokyo. We’ve been to Paris. We’ve been to Brazil. We’ve been very fortunate in the places that we’ve gotten to play. The one place that’s still on our radar, though, is China. We’ve never been to China. That’s the only place I can think of that needs a bit of Steel Panther.
With all of that said, we’ll play anywhere that wants us. Our fans are just incredible – and I’m not just saying this, but we always get so much love in Australia. I’m not high or drunk all the time, despite what you might believe, and I always take in the sights and surrounds of all these beautiful places. Australia is just fucking gorgeous, man. I do love Sydney in particular, but everywhere we’ve played there has been fucking awesome.
Now, before we wrap up, I actually have a question for you: What’s it gonna be like weather-wise when we touch down there?
MF: Pretty cold, from the looks of things. You should probably pack a few extra scarves.
LF: I will! I love scarves. I’ll bring my leather, too. It’ll be weird coming down there when it’s like that – it was always so fucking hot when we did Soundwave. This should be nice and cool.
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Steel Panther are back touring Aus this June.
Friday, 17th June
Big Top, Luna Park
Tickets: Oztix
Saturday, 18th June
Festival Hall, Melbourne
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Monday, 20th June
Eatons Hills Hotel & Function Centre, Albany Creek
Tickets: Oztix
Wednesday, 22nd June
Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide
Tickets: Ticketmaster
Thursday, 23rd June
Metro City, Perth
Tickets: Oztix
