Orianthi Decides To Bring A Different Sound To Alice Cooper Than Nita Strauss’ Metal Approach

In a recent chat with Guitar World, Orianthi revealed that she wants to bring a new sound to Alice Cooper’s band.

“I bring something really different to the band than Nita does,” the guitarist explained. “She brings rock and metal – which is awesome. She’s an incredible player, like, the way she plays is different from me.”

She continued, “I play more classic blues rock, so it’s a different dynamic. I’m pretty much going to do it my way. I’m just going to play the songs the way I played them before, and then, obviously, Alice adds the new stuff he wants me to add. Because I’m an artist, I don’t copy anything.”

-Partnership-

Orianthi has experience playing with Cooper. She was part of his band from 2011 to 2014 before Nita Strauss took over. Now, over 10 years later, she’s returning to replace Strauss on the ‘Too Close For Comfort’ tour next year.

“When Orianthi moved on to pursue her own career in 2014, we were lucky to find Nita. Over the past decade, Nita, Chuck [Garric, Cooper’s bassist], and Tommy [Henriksen, another one of Cooper’s guitarists] have also launched their own projects, and we always try to coordinate our schedule so we can keep the band together, but these shows came up after Nita had already committed to another tour,” Alice shared in a statement.

The singer added, “So, I reached out to Orianthi, and thankfully she was available to jump back in, so we’re all really looking forward to doing these shows with her. I’m so fortunate to always have such great musicians to work with.”

Cooper’s tour dates featuring Orianthi on guitar start on January 31 in Augusta, Georgia. Alice will announce more 2025 tour dates soon. Strauss will rejoin the band for shows, including the Sonic Temple festival on May 9 in Columbus, Ohio, and a show on August 15 in Philadelphia with My Chemical Romance.