Like Sophie Lloyd, Nita Strauss weighed in on the ‘female guitarist’ label discussion during an interview at Guitar Summit 2024.
She admitted not being particularly excited when people ask her about being “a female in heavy metal.” But she added that she doesn’t mind being referred to as a female guitarist.
“To be honest with you, that doesn’t really bother me,” the guitarist shared. “I hear some people get offended by that saying, ‘Oh, you should not be called the best female player. You should just be the best player.’ And like, I’m just happy to be in that conversation… Because I don’t think I’m the best — I think that I’m good at what I do, but I don’t think I’m faster or more technical than anyone, or anything.”
“So, just to be in the conversation of being a good player makes me really happy. And I think that people have a lot more important things to get offended about than if someone’s saying, ‘She’s the best female guitar player, best California guitar player, [or the] best blonde guitar player,’ whatever. I just think there’s more important things to get offended about.”
Sophie Lloyd has a different perspective on the label. She told The Mistress Carrie podcast a few weeks ago that it feels restrictive, as if it implies that female guitarists aren’t being compared to male players equally.
“There’s so much girl power now, in rock and in music in general. So many session musicians I know of are also females, especially in the bigger bands. And generally, people are leaning more towards that kind of thing, because — I don’t know, women have a really cool energy as well,” she explained.
“It brings something kind of new to the genre,” the guitarist added. “And I guess people are finally starting to see that and appreciate it, and that means more women are getting into it because they’re seeing it more as well. So it’s, yeah, it’s definitely, it’s taken over, and it’s about time.”
Lloyd built her career by sharing guitar covers and original music on YouTube. She later joined Machine Gun Kelly’s touring band in 2022 for the Mainstream Sellout Tour. In 2023, the guitarist released her debut album, ‘Imposter Syndrome,’ featuring artists like Lzzy Hale and Matt Heafy. The album performed well, reaching the top of the UK Rock chart and making an impact on the Indie chart.
Strauss, on the other hand, made a name in Alice Cooper and Demi Lovato’s bands. She became the first female guitarist to have a signature Ibanez model, the JIVA series. Her first solo album, ‘Controlled Chaos,’ topped several Billboard charts. In 2021, her song ‘Dead Inside’ featuring David Draiman became the first solo track by a female guitarist to hit #1 on rock radio in nearly 30 years.
Strauss is currently on a solo tour across North America. She is set to perform at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC, on February 6.
