Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, has announced that she will sit out the legendary rocker’s fall 2022 tour. She has also scrapped the festival dates her solo band had planned for the rest of the year.
Earlier today, the 35-year-old Strauss issued the following statement via her social media: “After this absolutely incredible run in Europe, it is bittersweet for me to let you guys know that I will not be joining the Alice Cooper band for the upcoming fall tour. I will also regretfully have to cancel the festival dates my solo band had planned for the rest of the year.
“I AM NOT PREGNANT!!! There is no drama whatsoever and my touring year is still VERY full- in fact, I’m on a flight straight into the next adventure as I post this, and I’ll be on stage again much sooner than you think! But that’s news for another day.
“The past eight years together has been the experience of a lifetime, and I could not be more grateful to Alice and Sheryl Cooper, Shep Gordon, the amazing band, crew and fans for welcoming me to all of your nightmare.
“I don’t know what the future will hold after this, but I am forever thankful”.
Strauss had been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker’s former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.
Two years ago, Alice praised Strauss, saying she “just keeps getting better.” Speaking to Meltdown of Detroit’s WRIF radio station, Cooper stated about Nita: “She just won [the] ‘Guitarist Of The Decade’ [award] in Guitar magazine. Best chick in the world — she’s such a great chick. Gets on stage, and she’s a force of nature unto herself. An I’ve got Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen in the band also — you’re talking about two great rock guitar players. And then I needed a chick that could really play.
“Orianthi was a great blues rock player,” he continued. “She could play with Eric Clapton — she was that good. And she went off to do an album on her own. And then I accidentally found Nita, and Nita was a shredder. And that’s what I was kind of looking for — was a shredder. But I didn’t know how good she was, but she was a total shredder up there and killed it. And immediately just fell right into it with the guys in the band; she was one of the guys. Great chick. And she just keeps getting better. That’s the thing about it — she just keeps getting better. No drama — it’s always just, can’t wait to get onstage.”
Last October, Nita shared “Dead Inside”, her first new solo music since the release of her debut album, 2018’s “Controlled Chaos”. The track is her first-ever solo collaboration with a vocalist, David Draiman, frontman of Grammy-nominated rock icons DISTURBED.
Nita released “Controlled Chaos” to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it “a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt”, and Guitar World stating “‘Controlled Chaos’ is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss‘s many strengths”. To date the album has clocked up 6.7 million streams worldwide, with music videos for singles “Our Most Desperate Hour”, “Pandemonium”, “Alegria” and “Mariana Trench” generating over 3 million YouTube views.
As well as performing with Cooper, Nita has also played with R&B star Jermaine Jackson, early MTV darlings FEMME FATALE, video game supergroup CRITICAL HIT and popular tribute band THE IRON MAIDENS.
In April 2020,
Nita launched
“Rock Guitar Fundamentals” — a three-module online guitar teaching program suitable for learners of all levels. The course is available at
www.iwanttoplayguitar.com.
Nita‘s live show is mostly instrumental in nature, combining originals with covers.
Source: www.blabbermouth.net
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