Alice Cooper’s Nita Strauss Recalls How She Starts To Play Guitar
One of the powerful guitarists in the rock and roll community, Nita Strauss, who also known for her work with Iron Maiden all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens, has recently sent a new post through her social media account and revealed how she started to play guitar and who was her inspiration.
“I started playing guitar after seeing Steve Vai in the movie Crossroads when I was 13,” she said. “I immediately fell in love with the world of instrumental guitar, and although it took me years to attempt to write it myself, I listened to instrumental music nonstop. Vai, Satriani, Yngwie, Paul Gilbert, Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Tony MacAlpine… I could go on and on!
“The thing that pushed me to finally take that plunge was meeting my hero Steve Vai for the first time. During that conversation, Steve said that he was putting together a compilation of instrumental songs by female guitar players and asked if I would be interested in having a song on it. Of course I immediately said YES!!! Without stopping to consider that I had no song to contribute.”
Nita also mentioned her first single and how she wrote it.
“I went home, sat down at my kitchen table the next day and wrote my first single, Pandemonium, which in turn sparked the creative process for the songs that would become Controlled Chaos.”
She thanked Steve Vai for his inspiration.
“So thank you to my hero, Steve Vai!! For being a big part of my musical development in many more ways than you know!!! Without that push, I might not ever have gotten up the courage to do it! We have shared the stage a couple times since and I have come away from each one so inspired.”
Also, on the comments of the post, Nita Strauss replied to a fan’s story featuring Steel Panther member Satchel and talked about one of her rare-known moment with Satchel.
A fan named Rakiyah Roulette picked her guitar god as Satchel and told Nita that he is her inspiration.
“My hero is Satchel from Steel Panther,” Rakiyah wrote. “I remember when I first met him I told him he was my guitar hero and he said it means a lot to him. He’s given me so much helpful advice over the years. I plan on challenging him to a guitar solo this year if I don’t get to nervous.”
Nita replied: “He’s amazing. The first time I met him was backstage at the Metal Hammer awards probably 10 years ago. I went up to him and said ‘Hey, I just wanted to say that I loved your playing on Fight War of Words’. He laughed and said ‘Who told you to say that?’”
