Learning a Little From Steel Panther

Just recently I was perusing through my Facebook news feed over a cup of coffee and I saw yet another post promoting the return of Steel Panther to Atlanta.  For $22.50  at the Tabernacle (which holds about 2400 people), you too can see Steel Panther; a joke band  with a shtick of parodying the image and performances of hair metal bands (think Warrant, Poison, LA Guns) and asinine songs like “It Won’t Suck Itself”, “Eatin’ Aint Cheatin’”, and “Asian Hooker.”  This whole concept just somewhat infuriated me and had me rolling my eyes.  How can a band that is basically a joke go out there and fill up large scale venues while bands who are playing from their hearts and trying hard to do “real” music be struggling to play in tiny, shitty clubs?  Bands like Holy Grail, Gypsyhawk, 3 Inches of Blood, and even classic acts like Doro Pesch are out there working their asses off to play tiny dives to sometimes small audiences.  Why would people give their money to go see a joke when they could go see and support something that isn’t?  Well, after a recent conversation with my buddy and some reflection on my own, I figured out the answer.

So there are two sides to this “joke band” concept.   First, from the listener/audience perspective, I need to put myself in that position and remember that this isn’t a new concept.  The first band that comes to mind is Spinal Tap. Those guys are probably one of the first “joke bands” and I fucking love that band.  I loved the silliness of songs like “Big Bottom”, “Sex Farm”, and “Majesty of Rock” so why bust on Steel Panther?  Well, it’s because I just had a moment where I forgot that sometimes people need an escape from reality.  People don’t always want be faced with the “real” or the “serious” side of music.  I guess it could be equated with the same concept of going to the movies or reading books.  Why do people read fluffy fantasy books or go see comedy, sci-fi, and/or fantasy movies?  We go see them to escape from the sometimes harsh hand of reality just for a moment where we can lose ourselves in it.

Then we have the other side of it.  I can’t help but think of the band members themselves.  Steel Panther are a collection of really talented musicians.  Guitarist Russ Parish (Satchel) is a super talented guitarist who played with Rob Halford’s first solo band Fight while singer Ralph Saenz (Michael Starr) sang for a Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks for a while.  As for the other two guys, I’m not quite sure what they did and I’m too lazy to look.  So these guys are all super talented musicians and even Parish had his own band called Thornbirds.  At some point, I have to assume that making a living playing music and touring was way more important to these guys than artistic credibility and in all honesty, there’s nothing wrong with that.  I myself am a singer/songwriter who is lucky to make 30 bucks at a coffeehouse gig so if someone came up to me and said, “Hey Don.  Would you put on a wig, play a bunch of ridiculous hair metal songs, and we’ll give you a tour bus and you can tour the world and make pretty awesome cash?”  I’d have to be honest and say I would do it.  Hell, my music will still be my music when I get back and if anything, the moolah I make doing this shtick band will even award me with more opportunities to do my own music.

I guess you can say that at the end of it all, I learned from my thoughts and opinions of Steel Panther to just take a step back and respect and appreciate bands like this for what they do.  These guys are out there making a living by bringing fun, laughs, and good times to any and everyone who go to see them.  I actually gave their stuff a listen and you know what?  I actually found myself laughing and totally getting a lot of their jokes.  I grew up on this kind of music made by bands that were actually doing it to be serious.  It makes that whole scene look even more ridiculous yet it makes me remember that I liked that shit back then because of the lightness of it all.  It’s nice to be intrigued and provoked by music but sometimes it’s nice to just be entertained and humored.  This was just a reminder for me to not only loosen up a bit as a fan of music but to also loosen up my way of thinking as an artist as well.

About The Author

Don

I have been running this blog since 2009. AKA as the Great Southern Brainfart, Southeast of Heaven is my baby now and forever. I’ve had my ups and downs with bands over the years but they are all great experiences and memories. My Swedish friend Charlie said once, “Don is known for being one of the meanest bastards in American rock journalism.” It’s nice to be loved.

I also once took a shit in Anthrax’s dressing room toilet and didn’t flush.

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