Alice Cooper guitarist Ryan Roxie has weighed in on the band’s newest addition, Anna Cara, sharing his impressions of her playing and how she fits into the group. Cara has been stepping in for Nita Strauss during her pregnancy leave.
Roxie has been with Alice Cooper longer than any other guitarist in the band. He was asked directly about his first impressions of Cara and whether she seemed like the right cultural fit for the group.
Asked, “Ryan, you’ve been with Alice the longest and have been in the band with a lot of great guitarists. What did you think of Anna after first hearing her, and did you get the sense she’d be a good cultural fit?” Roxie responded:
“Absolutely. Fitting into any gig is just as important, if not more so, than musicianship,” Roxie said. “You have to have a high level of musicianship, but in this band you wear a lot of hats and share a lot of things. You have to be adept at learning a whole spectrum of music.”
Roxie went on to describe just how impressed he was by Cara’s technical ability given her age.
“When I heard Anna play, I thought, ‘How the hell is that sound coming out of a 22-year-old’s fingers?'” Roxie continued. “Usually, to get a tone like that, it comes from years of playing. You’ve heard the stories about smokey bars and how you get experience, but she got it from many years of woodshedding in her room and putting out videos.”
He also pointed to a surprising connection between himself and the much younger guitarist.
“The crazy thing is that I’m 60 and she’s 22, but we have the same influences,” Roxie said. “That might have something to do with the way she plays – old-school influences. It reflects in her playing.”
Cara’s path to the Alice Cooper stage is as unlikely as her sound is seasoned. Her backstory helps explain why bandmates like Roxie have been so taken with her from the start.
Cara hails from Newcastle, England. She was still a teenager when her career took its unexpected turn. In 2022, at just 19 years old, she was discovered through the guitar videos she posted on Instagram and YouTube. Those clips showcased the kind of tone and technique Roxie described as sounding decades beyond her years.
That online presence caught the attention of Tommy Henriksen, another Alice Cooper guitarist who also fronts the band Crossbone Skully. When Strauss stepped away for maternity leave, Henriksen thought of Cara. He passed her videos along, setting in motion her improbable entry into one of rock’s most storied touring bands.
The gig itself carries no shortage of pressure. The material Cara now performs was originally shaped by a lineage of respected guitarists, including Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter, Kane Roberts, Vinnie Moore, Orianthi and Strauss herself. That legacy makes her assignment as daunting as it is high-profile for a player still early in her career.
Cara’s stint is expected to be temporary. Strauss is anticipated to return to the band around September. In the meantime, Cara continues to build her profile both on stage with Cooper and through her ongoing work with Henriksen’s Crossbone Skully.
Source: Guitar World
