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Michael Starr | |
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 Starr performing in June 2023 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ralph Michael Saenz |
| Also known as |
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| Born | May 17, 1965 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Origin | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) |
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| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Member of | Steel Panther |
| Formerly of | |
Ralph Michael Saenz (born May 17, 1965), better known as Michael Starr, is an American musician who is best known as the lead vocalist of the comedic glam metal band Steel Panther. [1]
Saenz was born in Chicago on May 17, 1965. He is of Spanish and Swedish descent. [2] He was raised primarily in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, where his father was a college professor. He is often cited as having a Ph.D. in English from University of California, Berkeley, however, this is a common misconception, as Saenz had lied about his education to get an apartment when his credit was being checked. [3] [4]
He has three children, two sons and a daughter. He is married to Jocelyn Saenz.
Saenz was the lead singer for the David Lee Roth-era Van Halen tribute band Atomic Punks from May 1994 to December 2008, where he used the stage name David Lee Ralph. He formed the band with future bandmate, Steel Panther guitarist Russ Parrish. Saenz was briefly the lead singer for L.A. Guns, singing on the Wasted EP. He also has sung for the band 7% Solution.
Saenz formed Steel Panther, a satirical metal band, in 2000 with Parrish under the name Metal Shop (soon changed into Metal Skool, Danger Kitty [for a commercial], then into Steel Panther). The band has become successful worldwide, and has many celebrity fans who have performed onstage with them.
He provided background vocals for AFI on the albums Sing the Sorrow and Decemberunderground [5]
Ralph Michael Saenz is famed for turning down the opportunity to have been the first rock star featured as a playboy centrefold.
Saenz also briefly appeared in the 2001 film Rock Star , playing the part of a singer auditioning for the fictitious band Steel Dragon.
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. They have also achieved seven platinum or multi-platinum certifications, nine Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart, twenty-two Top 40 mainstream rock hits, and six Top 20 pop singles.
The Animals are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The Animals are known for their deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon and for their gritty, bluesy sound, exemplified by their signature song and transatlantic number-one hit single "The House of the Rising Sun" as well as by hits such as "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", "It's My Life", "Don't Bring Me Down", "I'm Crying", "See See Rider" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". They balanced tough, rock-edged pop singles against rhythm-and-blues-oriented album material and were part of the British Invasion of the US.
Robert John Arthur Halford is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance. He has been noted for his powerful and wide ranging operatic vocal style and trademark leather-and-studs image, both of which have become iconic in heavy metal. He has also been involved with several side projects, including Fight, Two, and Halford.
Paul Andrews, better known by his stage name Paul Di'Anno, is an English heavy metal singer who was the lead vocalist for Iron Maiden from 1978 to 1981. In his post-Maiden career, Di'Anno has issued numerous albums over the years, as both a solo artist and as a member of such bands as Gogmagog, Di'Anno's Battlezone, Killers, Rockfellas, and more recently, Warhorse. Together with fellow Iron Maiden member Dennis Stratton, he joined Praying Mantis for the recording of their 1990 live album Live at Last.
Rock Star is a 2001 American musical comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Herek from a script by John Stockwell, and starring Mark Wahlberg and Jennifer Aniston. It tells the story of Chris "Izzy" Cole, a tribute band singer who ascends to the position of lead vocalist in his favorite band.
Badlands was an American heavy metal band founded by former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Jake E. Lee, former Black Sabbath members Ray Gillen (vocals) and Eric Singer (drums), as well as former Surgical Steel bass player Greg Chaisson. After the first Badlands album, Singer was replaced by Jeff Martin. Compared to the sound of the members' former bands, the sound of Badlands was more in an AC/DC-influenced blues/hard rock vein. The group lasted from 1988 to 1993 and released three albums. Badlands (1989) and Voodoo Highway (1991) were released before Gillen left and was replaced by singer John West from New York. Gillen's death in 1993 effectively ended any hopes of reuniting the project. The album Dusk was released in 1998 with then-recently deceased Gillen on vocals.
Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band that featured Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen upon his arrival in the United States. The band was founded in 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, by vocalist Ron Keel and released one album on Shrapnel Records in 1983 before morphing into Keel.
American Hardcore is the fifth album by the American rock band L.A. Guns. It is their only album to feature singer Chris Van Dahl and the first to feature bass guitarist Johnny Crypt. This album continues the increase in heaviness by the band started on their previous album Vicious Circle. The band was very influenced by Pantera during this time.
Jeff Scott Soto is an American rock singer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for being the vocalist on Yngwie Malmsteen's first two albums, and the lead vocalist for Journey in 2006–2007. Soto also sang lead vocals in the band Eyes as well as Sons of Apollo. He also had a long tenure as the front man of hard rock band Talisman. Currently he works as a solo artist, with his self-named band SOTO and as the vocalist of supergroups W.E.T. and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. In 2020, Jeff joined forces with the band Art of Anarchy and their debut together drops in 2024.
Nocturnal Rites is a Swedish power metal band formed in 1990.
Beautiful Creatures are an American hard rock band formed in 1999 by guitarist DJ Ashba and singer Joe Lesté of Bang Tango. The group's current lineup is composed of Lesté, Alex Grossi, Anthony Focx, Kenny Kweens (bass) and Timmy Russell (drums). Previously the group featured Michael Thomas and Glen Sobel among others while founder DJ Ashba is currently the lead guitarist for Sixx:A.M.
Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. Fronted by lead singer Michael Starr, the band formed in 2000 as Metal Shop and was also known as Metal Skool before adopting the name Steel Panther in 2008. The band is known for its profane and humorous lyrics, and for parodying the stereotypical glam metal lifestyle.
Ron Keel is an American rock singer. He is known as the singer for Ron Keel Band, Keel, Steeler, and Saber Tiger, and has also fronted IronHorse, Fair Game, and The Rat'lers, in addition to being a solo artist. He is also an author, radio show host, actor and owner/manager of RFK Media LLC.
Ronny Munroe is an American singer, most noted as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Metal Church from 2003 until the band broke up in 2009. His second tenure with the band lasted from 2012 when the group reunited until 2014, where he left to "pursue other interests". He also had a brief stint as the vocalist for Lillian Axe. He was also the lead singer of progressive rock band Presto Ballet. In October 2011 Munroe joined the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, as a vocalist. In 2022, Munroe became the lead vocalist of Vicious Rumors. and Munroe's Thunder Project in 2016
Russell John Parrish, better known as Satchel, is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist for the comedic glam metal band Steel Panther.
Feel the Steel is the debut studio album by American glam metal band Steel Panther. It was released first in Europe on June 8, 2009, on Universal Records. The tracks "Fat Girl", "Stripper Girl" and "Hell's on Fire" are re-recordings from the band's 2003 EP Hole Patrol while "Death to All but Metal" is a re-recording from their 2004 contribution to the Metal Sludge compilation Hey That's What I Call Sludge! Vol. 1. Unlike the debut album and their Metal Sludge compilation tracks, Feel the Steel is composed entirely of songs, lacking any spoken word comedy skits present on earlier releases. The video for "Death to All but Metal" features comedian Sarah Silverman. The album debuted on #123 and peaked at #98 on the Billboard 200 chart and peaked at #1 on the Billboard Top Comedy Albums chart.
Balls Out is the second studio album by the American glam metal band Steel Panther. It was released on October 28, 2011, on Universal Republic Records.
Lower the Bar is the fourth studio album by American glam metal band Steel Panther. It was originally scheduled for release on February 24, 2017, but was delayed to the following month.
Sáenz or Saenz may refer to:
Wasted is an extended play (EP) by American hard rock band L.A. Guns. Recorded at Red Zone Studios in Burbank, California, it was co-produced by the band with recording and mixing engineer Denis Degher, and released on September 15, 1998, by StandBack Entertainment. The EP features four new tracks, a re-recording of "The Ballad of Jayne" and a cover version of the Kiss song "Cold Gin". It is the only L.A. Guns release to feature vocalist Ralph Saenz.
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