Steel Panther announce people will know they have chosen a new bassist when they reveal who it is
Photo by Christopher Carroll ROCK Photography
Steel Panther announce people will know they have chosen a new bassist when they reveal who it is
Photo by Christopher Carroll ROCK Photography
Yesterday, Sleaze Roxx questioned whether Steel Panther had found their new bassist given that Petty Cash bassist Phil Buckman (stage name “Silk Pockett” in Steel Panther) announced that his first show with the band (at the Rocklahoma Festival on September 5, 2021) was “in the books.”
Back in mid-August 2021, Steel Panther consisting of guitarist Satchel, lead vocalist Michael Starr and drummer Stix Zadinia announced that they were accepting video submissions for who would be their new bassist to replace Lexxi Foxx. Three days ago, Steel Panther revealed that they had reached a “very important threshold” in their search f0r a new bassist while continuing to encourage more video submissions.
However, earlier today, Steel Panther posted a message on their Facebook page to indicate that they aren’t quite ready yet to announce who their new bassist will be. The group’s Facebook message indicates:
“You know what they say about assuming…
#YoullKnowWevePickedANewBassPlayerWhenWeTellYouWevePickedANewBassPlayer”
About six and a half years ago, Red Dragon Cartel featuring guitarist Jake E. Lee (ex-Ozzy Osbourne, Badlands) were touring after parting ways with their singer Darren James Smith. Although Smith ended up returning to Red Dragon Cartel in August 2015, during the prior four and a half month period, Red Dragon Cartel played shows with different lead vocalists including Michael Beck (ex-Kings of Dust), Chas West (Resurrection Kings, Tango Down, West Bound) and Paul D’Eath (Citizens Unite) without announcing any of those singers as their new frontman. In an interview with Sleaze Roxx back in December 2016, former Red Dragon Cartel bassist Greg Chaisson, who recommended Beck to Lee, revealed that those various singers were actually each undergoing some sort of live audition during that time.
Chaisson indicated: “Yes, I recommended Michael to Jake. Jake and Darren had a disagreement and Darren ended up leaving so Jake wanted to check out some other singers. Michael Beck owns Sound Vision Studios where we had rehearsed for the first show that I did in Tempe. So they kind of knew Michael already. Michael sings in my original project called Kings of Dust that we have been trying to do for three and a half years but my cancer sort of got in the way. So I recommended Michael. They all knew him. As I said, he’s a great singer. By then Jake was using different singers every dozen gigs or so, kind of as a live audition. Just from what I heard on YouTube, I heard some bits and pieces. I thought that he did a good job. In the end, Jake and Darren worked things out and Darren rejoined Red Dragon Cartel.”
