Jun 15 2026, 9.34am / Features
Dear Joey and Brooke, What a wild ride! I just wanted to write to express …
It is indisputable that the 80’s were the most outlandish times that rock music has ever gone through. The cliché of sex, drugs and rock n’ roll was on the menu 24/7 and escaping reality was always the aim.
These days Los Angeles, the capital of excess is still recovering from the 80’s but the hair metal bands have passed the baton to parody bands who bare witness to the hedonistic lifestyle of the era whilst taking the piss out of it all. Steel Panther are one of the most successful heavy metal parody bands around today, using their musician prowess and hilarious hit songs to entertain audiences around the world. Steel Panther will be returning to Australia as part of their Sunset Strip Down Under Tour and are thrilled to be heading back to our shores. Singer Michael Starr defies political correctness and talks about some of his memories of the band’s previous visits down under: “I like the girls in Australia. To be honest with you, we have a really good time when we go over there, we’ve always been greeted with open arms and open legs, but mostly with open arms, we have a lot of great fans out there and it’s such a joy to come visit and be received in that way and I truly do have fond memories of going to Australia but I got to be honest with you the girls out there make me really happy”.
MORE: REAL TALK: Don’t See Female Bands? Blame Yourself // Story Of The Year – Waking The Pack // Dead Of Winter Festival Line-Up // Our epic wrap of the first Australian Download Festival
Before Steel Panther’s rise to prominence they had humble beginnings as a tribute band playing covers of classic metal anthems from the 80’s but with 5 original albums into their catalogue they’re now playing a one hour set of original songs followed by another full hour of classic covers. Starr explains how they made the transition from tribute band to writing their own material: “It was pretty easy, we were already playing these cover shows on the sunset strip every Monday night and ultimately ended up doing it for 14 years consecutively but when we first started out we always wanted to be an original band, it was the time Grunge had taken over and metal was pretty much dead and we couldn’t sell our style of music to record labels because they weren’t listening to that music anymore”. Steel Panther’s first E.P Hole Patrol was self funded and recorded in their home studio; this gave them leverage to secure a record deal with Universal, gradually they started introducing those original songs in their set, eventually leading to entire shows of totally original material. Starr is the first to admit however that they missed playing cover songs hence why they now play the two sets in all their shows.
Rock your balls off and maybe fuck your girlfriend
[ Michael Starr ]
Steel Panther are one of the few bands that realised the mass appeal of 80’s hair metal’s hedonistic lifestyle, over the top antics and flamboyant fashion could be exploited as the perfect marriage between their chosen genre and satire. “It was infectious!” says Starr: “The one thing about that type of lifestyle is that if you’re going to let it bleed into your music and bleed into your stage persona, you’re going to have to be able to deliver good musicianship, a solid tight performance with the band and a killer stage show and also you better be able to talk to the crowd because I feel like if you can’t deliver that no one will want to be a part of your show. We joke around a lot and we have a good time doing that, but we also deliver you the musicianship, the songwriting craftsmanship, we deliver you the stage show and we talk to you and make you feel a part of the show, I think that’s really important”. In the 80’s a handful of cover bands attempted to tribute the true metal stars of the period but in the end they were dismissed as merely posers. In contrast Steel Panther have created a successful and authentic representation of the era and the band’s role as Starr claims is to “Rock your balls off and maybe fuck your girlfriend”.
Starr first began playing in the Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks back in the 90’s and sites David Lee Roth as a significant influence on his singing style and stage persona but admits Van Halen was an influence on all the glam metal bands of the 80’s. Starr also acknowledges singers like Stephen Pearcy from Ratt and Ian Gillan from Deep Purple as other major influences in terms of their stage act but as far as front men that don’t take themselves too seriously Starr mentions Dave Grohl who he admires for just enjoying himself on stage and always having a good time.
Steel Panther’s attitude of just letting loose and having a good time is most evident in the band’s hilarious music video Party Like Tomorrow Is the End of the World which encompasses the essence of what they’re truly all about. For fans that are eagerly anticipating the Sunset Strip Down Under Tour but are not too sure of what they are exactly in for, Starr answers by saying:“ Do you like to party? Do you like to have a good time? If you like to have a laugh with your buddies and have some beers, if you like to see hot chicks, if you like to see hot guys, you’re going to see all that at a Steel Panther show, you’re going to have a really good time and even if you don’t like heavy metal you’ll enjoy yourself at the show because that’s how fun it is. If you’re having problems at home with your girlfriend or your boyfriend or you lost your job or just got out of rehab, Steel Panther is your place to go. We’ll take you away out of your reality for 2 hours and it’s cheaper than cocaine!
Steel Panther’s Sunset Strip Live Australian tour Dates Below:
Tuesday May 15, The Forum, Melbourne VIC
Wednesday May 16, The Forum, Melbourne VIC (Sold Out)
Friday May 18, Big Top, Sydney NSW
Sunday May 20, Eatons Hill, Brisbane QLD
Tuesday May 22, Astor Theatre, Perth WA
