Nita Strauss - A Force to Be Reckoned With

by Marissa Bergen

You can’t think of today’s top female guitar players without thinking of Nita Strauss. In fact, she is one of the best modern guitar players, period.

She has toured with Alice Cooper and is currently touring with Demi Lovato. She also boasts an impressive solo career.

Nita has appeared on the cover of magazines such as Guitar World and Guitar Player. She was ranked as number 1 on Guitar World’s list of ’10 Female Guitar Players You Should Know.”

Read on to find out more about her impressive career. 

Nita Strauss - Waken Open Air 2017
Photo by Frank Schwichtenberg - Own Work

History

Strauss, who claims to be a descendant of Johann Strauss, was born in Los Angeles in 1986. She started her musical career as a teenager playing in a band called Lia-Fail alongside future champion boxer Mikaela Mayer. She left high school in her junior year to pursue music full time.

The guitarist began getting noticed as the guitar player for The Iron Maidens, an all-female tribute to Iron Maiden. However, she also played with other projects including Consume the Fire, Femme Fatale and the video game supergroup, Critical Hit.

2014 was a big year for Nita. She was made the official in-house guitarist for L.A. Kiss, an arena football team owned by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. The house band would play the national anthem and provide live music throughout the game.

She was hired to replace Orianthi in Alice Cooper’s touring band that same year. She finished out the 2014 tour dates with Cooper and continued playing with him through 2022. She eventually announced her departure from the band and is currently touring with Demi Lovato.

"The past eight years together has been the experience of a lifetime, and I could not be more grateful to Alice and Sheryl Cooper, Shep Gordon, the amazing band, crew and fans for welcoming me to all of your nightmare," she concluded. "I don't know what the future will hold after this, but I am forever thankful."

"The past eight years together has been the experience of a lifetime, and I could not be more grateful to Alice and Sheryl Cooper, Shep Gordon, the amazing band, crew and fans for welcoming me to all of your nightmare," she concluded. "I don't know what the future will hold after this, but I am forever thankful."

Read More: Alice Cooper Guitarist Nita Strauss Announces Exit From Band | https://ultimateclassicrock.com/nita-strauss-leaving-alice-cooper-band/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral

Accomplishments

Nita has played with many well-known artists, but she has also racked up several accomplishments in her own right. For example, she was named the first ever female Ibanez signature artist with her own model guitar, the Ibanez JIVA10. She also released her own signature pickups, the DiMarzio Pandemonium.

She has been featured on the cover of countless magazines and has played on dozens of album trailers and soundtracks. Her discography includes Heroes of the Storm (Blizzard) and Grammy-nominated Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (Konami/Platinum Games), as well as a solo album.

The guitarist was honored at the 7th Annual She Rocks Award with the Inspire Award which was presented to her by Nick Bowcott (Grim Reaper guitarist), and her personal hero, guitarist Steve Vai (Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, and countless others).

In 2022, she became the first female rock solo artist to rank as number one on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart with her hit song, “Dead Inside” featuring Disturbed’s David Draiman on vocals.

Solo Career

After establishing a name for herself, Nita decided to branch out with a solo album. She started a Kickstarter Campaign to fund her record, “Controlled Chaos”. The campaign was wildly successful and reached its goal in just two hours.

The funds doubled within the first day and tripled within 48 hours. The album ended up 800% funded by the time the campaign ended. Nita produced the instrumental album herself and played all the guitar and bass tracks.

Once the album was released, it was picked up by Sumerian Records. The company distributed it worldwide. The first single, “Our Most Desperate Hour” came out in 2018.

The album was highly successful. The vinyl editions completely sold out before the album was even released. It ranked on the Billboard charts at #1 for Top New Artist, #3 for Label Independent, #4 for Top Hard Music, #8 for Top Rock, #8 for Top Internet, #20 for Top Albums, and #7 on the iTunes Rock chart.

It’s subsequent single, ‘Mariana Trench’ was chosen by the WWE as the official theme for NXT Takeover: War Games.

Teacher and Mentor

Nita has done clinic tours across multiple continents establishing herself as a highly sought-after clinician. She is also the author of the Guitar World column, “Like a Hurricane”. She has written and recorded teaching materials that appeared in Guitar World and Premier Guitar magazines.

She was selected as a celebrity judge alongside fellow musicians Rabea Massaad and Plini on the U.K. reality show “2019 Young Guitarist of the Year”.

Health and Fitness

Strauss is passionate about health and fitness. She uses her social media reach to educate other musicians about staying healthy on the road. In 2019, she came out with the “Nita Strauss Body Shred” fitness challenge and its companion book “Body Shred: Your Guide to Feeling and Looking Like a Rock Star”.

She practices strength training, Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. She has been featured in Muscle and Fitness and Bodybuilding.com magazines.

WWE Connection

Strauss was introduced to the WWE by her boyfriend Josh Villalta. She began

watching to support his interests, but eventually became a fan herself.

The connection proved to be beneficial to her career. She began performing live at WWE Pay-Per-View events in 2018. She also played Shinsuke Nakamura’s entrance music at WrestleMania 34 in front of 78,000 fans and millions of others who watched her live streaming. Later that year, she would perform alongside Lzzy Hale at WWE Evolution.

Other special sports related appearances include a performance of the Star-Spangled Banner at Rock on the Range in Columbus, OH in 2017 and another Star-Spangled Banner performance for the 2022 WISE Power 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

Fun Facts

Strauss’s sister, Varsha Strauss, is married to Panji Adhikumoro, grandson of Suharto, the 2nd President of Indonesia.

Strauss is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Rams and can often be found at Sofi Stadium performing interludes or playing riffs throughout the team’s games. She was honored to play ‘America the Beautiful’ at the Rams’ Salute to Service game in 2018.

Nita Strauss has made waves as a female rock guitarist and established herself as a force to be reckoned with. She knew what she wanted to do at a young age and made sacrifices that paid off in a big way. We are confident she will have great things in store in the future. 

Marissa Bergen is a freelance writer living in Los Angeles, CA. She is passionate about health, fashion, and music. When she is not writing, she enjoys playing music with her son, daughter, and husband in their family band The CheeseBergens.