WHITESNAKE guitarist Joel Hoekstra says STEEL PANTHER’s Satchel “campiness” affected the guitarist’s reputation

WHITESNAKE guitarist Joel Hoekstra says STEEL PANTHER's Satchel “campiness” affected the guitarist's reputation

19-12-2024

Joel Hoekstra said that STEEL PANTHER‘s guitarist Satchel is a “killer” player, but that his skill is “underappreciated” due to the “campiness” of his comedic glam metal band. Longtime WHITESNAKE guitarist Joel Hoekstra told Masters of Shred in a recent interview that he and Satchel go way back, to a time when the latter player went by the much more mundane name of Russell Parrish.

As Hoekstra recalls, they first met at GIT (at the Musician’s Institute), hitting it off immediately:

“Russ was a teacher at GIT when I went, and he had his open counseling. For those that have been in GIT, open counseling was basically going into a room, and they’d jam with each student, pass the cable around, and have a little extendo jam. I went to Russ’s all the time. And he was amazing.”

“He was a killer. He was young and amazing — and he *is* an amazing player. Russ is a killer rock player. Underappreciated because of the campiness of Steel Panther.”

Recalling their first meeting after years of not keeping in touch, Hoekstra said:

“When I saw him, I don’t think he knew who I was. I was now in Whitesnake… I think it was at night off, in Switzerland, I went to see Steel Panther and Dead Daisies — the Dead Daisies guys are all friends. I saw Russ backstage, introduced myself, and I think he was a little [reserved], ‘Is this guy a fan?’ I looked a lot different; I had short hair back then. But anyway, he ended up being really cool and supportive. He’d see me play some festivals with Whitesnake, and I’d get some really nice texts from him, like, ‘You killed him.’ I got a lot of respect for him, he’s a hell of a guitar player.”

Steel Panther burst on to the music scene in 2009 with their debut album ‘Feel The Steel’. The spandex-clad quartet took the world by storm with the release of their debut single “Death To All But Metal” – an anthem that called out the evils of the pop music world while shouting the anthemic line “Heavy Metal’s back.” Songs like “Asian Hooker,” “Community Property” and “Girl From Oklahoma” won over fans and critics alike. The debut album also featured guest appearances by Corey Taylor of Slipknot, M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, and Scott Ian of Anthrax. The BBC reviewed the album upon original release stating: “Quite simply, Feel The Steel is an utter feelgood masterpiece.”

The 15th Anniversary Edition features two tracks that were only released on the original Japanese import: “You Don’t Make Me Feel Dumb” and “I Want Your Tits.” The album was produced by Jay Ruston (Anthrax, Corey Taylor) and sounds as timeless today as it did when originally released on June 8, 2009. Feel The Steel – 15TH Anniversary Edition will be released worldwide on November 15TH. Fans can order Feel The Steel 15TH Anniversary Edition in various configurations at www.SteelPanther.com including CD, vinyl, a cassette version (available via Steel Panther website only) and exclusive merch designs. All pre-orders via the band’s website will receive exclusive digital content not available anywhere else. More information on that will be available in the future as the band searches their numerous vaults and drug dealer’s apartments for bonus material.

The track listing for Feel The Steel – 15TH Anniversary Edition is:

1) Death To All But Metal

2) Asian Hooker

3) Community Property

4) Eyes Of A Panther

5) Fat Girl (Thar She Blows)

6) Eatin’ Ain’t Cheatin’

7) Party All Day (F@#k All Night)

8) Turn Out The Lights

9) Stripper Girl

10) The Shocker

11) Girl From Oklahoma

12) You Don’t Make Me Feel Dumb (Bonus Track: Originally Available in Japan Only)

13) I Want Your Tits (Bonus Track: Originally Available in Japan Only)

To celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the album, Steel Panther will be heading out on the – you guessed it – Feel The Steel 15TH Anniversary Tour.

Tour dates:

13-14 Jun: Finland – Lisää Löylyä Festival – TICKETS
13-15 Jun: Donington Park, UK – Download Fest – TICKETS
18 Jun: Dublin, IE – Vicar Street – TICKETS
21 Jun: Leipzig, DE – Hellraiser – TICKETS
23 Jun: Arnhem, NL – Musis – TICKETS
24 Jun: Cologne, DE – Essigfabrik – TICKETS
25 Jun: Dusseldorf, DE – Zakk – TICKETS
25-28 Jun: Oslo, Norway – Tons Of Rock Fest – TICKETS
29 Jun: Braunschweig, DE – Applaus Garten – TICKETS
30 Jun: Frankfurt, DE – Batschkapp – TICKETS
1 Jul: Bochum, DE – Matrix – TICKETS
2-6 Jul: Hungary – Rockmaraton Fest – TICKETS
4 Jul: Regensburg, DE – Eventhall Airport – TICKETS
5 Jul: Memmingen, DE – Kaminwerk – TICKETS
6 Jul: Geiselwind, DE – Music Hall – TICKETS

STEEL PANTHER’s latest release ‘On The Prowl‘ was released digitally and on CD, Cassette, and 2 different color variant records. Purple/Blue Marble is wide and Pink/Purple Marble will be a limited edition signed. All versions will be the entire 13 song album.

Tracklisting ‘On The Prowl’1) Never Too Late2) Friends With Benefits3) On Your Instagram4) Put My Money Where Your Mouth Is5) 19876) Teleporter7) Is My D**k Enough (feat. Dweezil Zappa)8) Magical Vagina9) All That And More10) One Pump Chump11) Pornstar12) Ain’t Dead Yet13) Sleeping On The Rollaway

Order ‘On The Prowl’ AT THIS LOCATION.

In early 2023, STEEL PANTHER singer Michael Starr spoke to the “Everblack” podcast about his relationship with the band’s original bassist Lexxi Foxx who left the band in July 2021. “I just talked to him today,” Michael said. “He’s doing good, man. He did exactly what he wanted to do. He started a family. He’s living in Chicago. Him and his wife just had a baby. So Lexxi Foxx is not gay. I thought he was gay this whole time. It’s so weird.”

Starr continued: “The party never stops. Just because he’s not on tour doesn’t mean he’s fucking having a good time. And we miss him. I fucking miss him. And we still stay in touch and talk. We talk just about every other day — just stay in touch with one another. I mean, we were together for 27 years, 26 years, and we know each other’s moms and dads and all of our cousins. We know everything about one another. So it’s been really, really sad not having him in the band, but I understand why he’s doing what he’s doing. And he was one of the smart guys — he saved up all his money. Not me — I’m still living at my mom’s. Let’s go.”

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