Report: Greg Phillips. Photos: Jason Rosewarne and Nicole Nighthawk
After slaying audiences on stage with Alice Cooper this month in Australia, guitar gun Nita Strauss certainly made a name for herself downunder. During the Firefight bushfire benefit gig in Sydney which also featured Queen, KD Lang, Michael Buble and some of Australia’s biggest names, it was Nita who was the talk of Twitter. With her boundless energy, lightning fast licks and long, blonde rock star locks, it’s no wonder the LA-based guitarist and recording artist charmed our hearts.
Audiences in Perth, Melbourne and Sydney had the opportunity to get up close and personal with Nita in a series of Masterclasses for Ibanez Guitars and Boss Effects, in which she also proved to be an inspiring storyteller. We attended the Melbourne masterclass at Mannys Music in Fitzroy, where pre-clinic Australian Musician’s Nic Nighthawk had the opportunity to interview Nita. The fabulous video interview will be online early next week.
During the two hour long masterclass Nita took the time to recount her journey from frequent battle of the bands participant to playing with the Iron Maidens and now owning her slice of the Alice Cooper stage. While being appreciative of the rock icon as a young girl, she didn’t count herself as a massive Alice fan back then, however she was definitely a huge devotee of the incredible guitarists who have played with Alice over the years (which have included Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner, Davey Johnstone, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Orianthi, Reb Beach and Slash) and now she is proudly one of them.
Nita told of the trials and tribulations starting out with a young band on their first tour of America in the shittiest of conditions yet learning so much along the way. The year 2020 has illustrated just how far Nita’s career has come. It was only a couple of months ago that she shared the stage with Steve Via, Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert in the Ibanez PIA jam at NAMM, all of which she grew up idolising. Then at the Firefight bushfire benefit in Sydney she got to meet and chat with Queen’s Brian May, another hero. There was only one cover on Nita’s solo album Controlled Chaos and it was a Queen song. The theme throughout the masterclass which Nita kept coming back to was that if you are determined and work hard, you really can achieve your dreams.
It was thanks to the fine folks at Ibanez and Boss Australia who made the masterclass events possible and that’s what the night was all about. Nita took us through the journey of her signature Ibanez JIVA guitar and of course thrilled us with some slick licks including a dynamic performance of Iron Maiden’s Ace’s High. Also getting a good work out on the night was the amazing Boss GT-1000 guitar effects processor, which Nita used to show us the versatility and sound quality of the unit, switching instantly from distorted rock riffs to gorgeous symphonic sounds.
After an uplifting version of Alice Cooper’s Poison, it was time for Nita to meet her fans, many of which had purchased JIVA guitars and Boss effects units for her to sign. Another hot item on the night was a special Australian version of Nita’s signature Levy’s guitar strap, of which she was kindly donating sales to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. The older fans in the audience had been absolutely enthralled by Nita’s entertaining session and for many of the younger fans in the crowd, their flames had been lit by this inspirational artist. The next day Nita was due to fly up to Sydney for her final masterclass before enjoying a well earned vacation. Whether Alice Cooper returns or not, I’m sure it won’t be long before we see Nita Strauss back in Australia and as tonight’s crowd would agree, she’s always welcome.
We were fortunate to have two amazing photographers shoot for us on the night, Jason Rosewarne and Nicole Nighthawk. Check out some of their photos below
JASON ROSEWARNE’S PICS
NIC NIGHTHAWK’S PICS
