Nita Strauss talked about her first audition for Alice Cooper’s band in a recent chat with VRP Rocks. It turns out the guitarist didn’t make the cut in her first try. She shared what went wrong:
“When I took my first pass, I wanted to show them everything. I wanted to show everything I could do. I was playing over the neck with one hand. Like sweeps, arpeggios, and tapping and all the stuff.”
Strauss submitted a 10-minute recording for Cooper’s producer, Bob Ezrin, to check out. However, what she played did not align with what the team was looking for:
“The note that I got back from Bob Ezrin was ‘Have you ever heard an Alice Cooper song?’ [Chuckles] Like, ‘This is not what it sounds like.’ So, the note that I needed was just to dial it back to playing more for the song.”
She Wouldn’t Change A Thing
The guitarist had three shots at the audition, and she holds no regrets about her approach during the first one:
“In retrospect, I probably would have done it the same way because I wanted to show them everything that I could do and what was possible and now, of course, we’re playing a lot more ‘80s Alice in the set. We’re doing ‘Lock Me Up’ and ‘Roses on White Lace’ and ‘Teenage Frankenstein’ and a lot of the Kane Roberts era of Alice that is sort of unlocked by being able to do that.”
She noted:
“More chaotic tapping and stuff that Kane was so known for. So, I’m glad they know I can do it, and I’m also glad that I was able to dial it back enough to show them that I could play ‘18’ and ‘Billion Dollar Babies’ and ‘Poison’ and not step all over them.”
Nita Strauss will be touring with Alice Cooper’s band again this summer. The US tour will start in July and end in mid-August.
The Guitarist Is Expected To Play Cooper Songs
Strauss also has some solo shows in line. The guitarist wrapped up a headlining tour in late March and is now set to perform at Welcome to Rockville and Sonic Temple Festival on May 12 and May 16, respectively.
The Alice Cooper guitarist’s supporting her latest album, ‘The Call of the Void,’ at the moment, but fans expect her to also play Cooper songs during solo shows. She commented on this in a March interview by saying:
“I think a little bit. I mean, you want to, of course, have everybody leave happy. You never want people to go, ‘Man, I wish I would have left hearing ‘I’m Eighteen’ or ‘Poison’ or ‘Billion Dollar Babies,’ whatever it is.”
She added:
“But, I’m gonna come back. I’ll be at the PNC with Alice Cooper in a couple of months. You guys can come and see that show!’ Especially with a short set. I have a 40-minute set on this tour, and I just wanna hit them with everything that I have from this new record and show what I can do.”
Check out Nita Strauss’ recent chat below.
