STEEL PANTHER have announced Joe “Spyder” Lester as their new bassist.

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.

“Claus & Paws Holiday Party” tour dates:

Nov. 26 – Sault St. Marie – Kewadin Casino
Nov. 27 – Grand Rapids, MI – 20 Monroe Live
Nov. 29 – Warren, OH – Packard Music Hall
Nov. 30 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Piere’s Entertainment Center
Dec. 02 – Waterloo, NY – Del Lago Casino
Dec. 03 – Poughkeepsie, NY – The Chance Theater
Dec. 04 – New Haven, CT – Toad’s Place
Dec. 29 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
Dec. 30 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom