"There was an area in our driveway where the reception was spot on, nowhere else but there. I would park the car in that very spot and listen to KNAC for hours"

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Live Photo By Mike Lewis
Band Photo Credit David Jackson

"Oh my God, dude! KNAC was such a huge part of my teen years. I lived in L.A. and the station was based out of Long Beach. There was an area in our driveway where the reception was spot on, nowhere else but there. I would park the car in that very spot and listen to KNAC for hours, dude! What memories," reminisces STEEL PANTHER drummer STIX ZADINIA. STEEL PANTHER have a new album, their 5th studio album, titled Heavy Metal Rules due September 27th, 2019. Zadinia took some time out of his busy schedule to chat with KNAC.COM about the new album, amongst other things.

KNAC.COM: The new album titled Heavy Metal Rules is due September 27th. You released a video for "All I Want To Do Is [Fuck Myself]", which is on par with STEEL PANTHER of the past. The songs I'm really digging at the moment are "I'm Not Your Bitch", "Fuck Everbody" and "Sneaky Little Bitch".

ZADINIA: [laughs] Funny you say that, because I think all three of those songs should be included in the new set. I know you hear this all the time from bands, but I truly feel that this is our best record to date! Top to bottom this is the best thing that we've done collectively, as a band. I really think you can hear the musicianship on this and it proves that we're not a joke.

KNAC.COM: Who produced the new album, was it JAY RUSTON? He makes some great sounding records. The last URIAH HEEP album sounds massive.

ZADINIA: Yeah, it's JAY RUSTON on this one too! He's done all our records and at this point, if it's not broke, don't fix it! JAY has been with us from the start and we can't see ourselves working with anyone else. He's gotten a lot of great gigs producing bands like ANTHRAX and STONE SOUR, now we're not taking all the credit for that but I do think it’s because people heard what he did with our records and Heavy Metal Rules is no different.

KNAC.COM: You've grown STEEL PANTHER from an L.A. thing to a National thing. It's on a larger scale in Europe where you're performing in arenas.

ZADINIA: Yeah, we're so grateful for the success we've had in America for sure. Europe has always embraced us, they 'got us' from the beginning. They invited us to appear at festivals and venues just get bigger and bigger. That's not to say that we don't love the intimacy of theaters and casino halls, we'll play anywhere the offers come from.

KNAC.COM: Who's surprised you that has outed themselves as a STEEL PANTHER fan?

ZADINIA: Oh, dude! There's a lot of people, but to me the one that really stands out was LADY GAGA who totally got us! She's such a sweet woman. This was before she became this blockbuster superstar, you probably heard that she IS a huge metal fan. I can confirm that she is from our conversation.

KNAC.COM: You've cut a song about TIGER WOODS ["Just Like Tiger Woods"]. I would think you could do some pretty outrageous stuff with a tune about DONALD TRUMP. Is something like that off limits or not?

ZADINIA: [pause] I think we could, if he weren't a politician, we might have tackled that. I think it was thrown out before and it was shut down pretty quick. It's too easy to pile on and if we did, even if it was fucking 'epic', we'd risk alienating a portion of our audience. We're a fun band that are here to entertain and make you forget about all the bullshit that's happening in the world. TIGER WOODS is a celebrity/athlete and not a politician. If it were DONALD TRUMP the businessman/reality show star that would be a different story.

KNAC.COM: Are there any 80s era musicians or bands that you've had a feud with because they feel you're 'mocking' the 80s bands?

ZADINIA: [laughs] If you're talking about an 80s 'hair band', then yes. I hate using that term, but I'm not being derogatory, I'm using it as a way of differentiating who you're asking about. Feud? No, but I can tell you NIKKI SIXX and TOMMY LEE said some really negative stuff about us when we toured with MOTLEY CRUE and DEF LEPPARD. We took the high road, they're entitled to their opinion, it hurt a little bit because we're all fans, but the fact that JOE ELLIOTT and VIVIAN CAMPBELL have been so supportive of us made it better, if that makes sense?

KNAC.COM: Let play 'one's gotta go'. I'll give you four drummers and you tell me which one goes. Make sense?

ZADINIA: Yeah, but I'm a little worried! [bursts into laughter]

KNAC.COM: Here we go: TOMMY LEE, RIKKI ROCKETT, 'WILD' MICK BROWN, BOBBY BLOTZER...one's gotta go.

ZADINIA: [laughs] Fuck, dude you can't do this to me! [laughs] I'm friends with a couple of those guys! I'm a fan of all four of them! [laughs]

KNAC.COM: You're not gonna pass on this one are you?

ZADINIA: Fuck! [laughs] No, I'm not! I like this! [laughs] Okay, here we go; TOMMY LEE stays, even though he said what he said, that won't influence me, he's a monster drummer and highly influential. RIKKI ROCKETT stays too, he's a better drummer than people give him credit for. BOBBY BLOTZER...I know him, he's been a part of my youth, love all those RATT records...I guess that's the list, TOMMY, RIKKI, BOBBY and MICK goes! I love DOKKEN too though, and MICK sings too! Damn, that was so hard dude, don't do that to me again! [laughs]

KNAC.COM: This will be a little easier, we're running out of time so answer these is rapidfire mode if you'd like. There's been a series of biopics released and I wanted to hear your take on the if that's okay with you?

ZADINIA: Let's go!

KNAC.COM: Bohemian Rhapsody.

ZADINIA: Great film, sure some of the timeline was off, but it was brilliant. My favorite scene was when FREDDIE [MERCURY] came home and his dad finally accepted him and gave that huge hug. That was my favorite scene. I know a lot of people are all about the sex, drugs and the partying or the Live Aid performnace, but to me it was all about his dad showing him some love.

KNAC.COM: The Dirt

ZADINIA: As I said earlier, I grew up a diehard MOTLEY CRUE fan. The Dirt started off as a great biopic, everyone wants to see the sex, the drugs and the rock 'n' roll, as do I. Somewhere along the way going into the second half of the film it became an 'anti-drug' film and no one wants to see that from MOTLEY CRUE. I liked half of it. That also had some issues with the timeline.

KNAC.COM: Rocketman

ZADINIA: I haven't seen that yet, it’s on the list. I've heard about it, like it's more of a cross between a musical and biopic. I'm an ELTON JOHN fan so I'm looking forward to seeing it.

KNAC.COM: If STEEL PANTHER were the subject of a biopic who would play STIX ZADINIA?

ZADINIA: Dude, you're doing it to me again! [laughs] My first thought would be BRAD PITT, but I think I'll go CHANNING TATUM! If he's not available then DON CHEADLE! [laughs] He's a great actor and could pull it off! [laughs]

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