California metallers STEEL PANTHER have welcomed live fill-in bassist Joe “Spyder” Lester as their new, permanent bassist. Spyder originally filled in for now-ex Steel Panther bassist Travis “Lexxi Foxx” Haley in 2018, and then again upon his departure in 2021. Steel Panther has now welcomed Spyder as their new bassist, adding “Spyder is the chocolate to Steel Panther‘s peanut butter.”
Spyder and the STEEL PANTHER guys have known each other for decades. But it was in 2018 that Spyder did his first live show with the band. Little did they know that those shows would be a foreshadowing of what destiny had in store for their collective futures. In 2021, the band found themselves in a pickle; they needed a bass player. An exhaustive search brought many submissions and fans were treated to a variety of bassists on different tours. The band had even considered a few well-known bassists to fill the void. Throughout the five-week European tour in summer of 2022, it became quite evident to all four guys that this lineup was unstoppable. A few more months of touring together perfected the new lineup and now anyone that has seen the band recently knows that Spyder is the perfect addition to STEEL PANTHER.
STEEL PANTHER said in a statement: “We wanted it to be you. We wanted it to be you so badly. So, it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but we want to do that because we want you. We want all of you, forever, you and us, every day. To us, you are perfect. You had us at hello. You complete us. We’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
To coincide with the new bassist announcement, STEEL PANTHER has announcing a U.S. tour, “Claus & Paws Holiday Party”. The eight-city trek will kick off in late November after the band wraps up its recently announced Canadian leg of the “Res-Erections” tour 2022.
Res-Erections 2022 Fall Tour Dates:
10/28 – Calgary, AB – Grey Eagle Casino
10/29 – Enoch, AB – River Cree Casino
10/30 – Grand Prairie, AB – The Bowes At Bonnetts Energy Centre
11/1 – Saskatoon, SK – The Coors Event Centre
11/3 – Regina, SK – Casino Regina Show Lounge
11/4 – Winnipeg, MB – Burton Cummings Theatre
11/5 – Minot, ND – The Original Bar & Grill *
11/7 – Green Bay, WI – Epic Event Center
11/9 – London, ON – London Music Hall
11/10 – Toronto, ON – History
11/11 – Ottawa, ON – Algonquin Commons Theatre
11/12 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
* Steel Panther Only/No Black Stone Cherry
A Claus & Paws Holiday Party Tour Dates
11/26 – Sault St. Marie – Kewadin Casino
11/27 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live
11/29 – Warren, OH – Packard Music Hall
11/30 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s Entertainment Center
12/2 – Waterloo, NY – Del Lago Casino *
12/3 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance Theater
12/4 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
12/29 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
12/30 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
* On Sale Soon
When STEEL PANTHER first announced Lexxi‘s exit in July 2021, the band jokingly said that Foxx “started his side business, ‘Sexy Lexxi’s Prettiest Pets,’ to bring in money for Botox during the lockdown.” After realizing that “his love for making pets pretty was greater than his love for being pretty himself,” he chose “to hang up his mirror and focus on his newfound passion: making ugly dogs pretty,” the group wrote in a statement.
The group’s music has been described as “VAN HALEN meets MÖTLEY CRÜE meets RATT meets ‘Wayne’s World’, complete with operatic shrieks, misogyny, shredding guitar solos and libidinal overdrive.” Fourteen years ago, STEEL PANTHER changed its name from METAL SKOOL to its current moniker and shifted the focus of its act from ’80s metal covers to originals. Haley, who was an original member of STEEL PANTHER, recently announced the formation of his new band HOLLYWOOD GODS N’ MONSTERS with longtime friend and television celebrity from MTV‘s “Pimp My Ride”, Diggity Dave.
