“I’m pretty much going to do it my way”: Orianthi on her differences to Nita Strauss as she rejoins Alice Cooper’s band
“I bring something really different to the band than Nita does. She brings rock and metal – which is awesome. She’s an incredible player… I play more classic blues rock, so it’s a different dynamic.”
Image credits: Gary Miller (L) and Jeff Hahne (R) / Getty
Orianthi is once again returning to Alice Cooper’s band, and she plans to bring her own blues-rock flair to the stage.
Nita Strauss had taken on guitar duties for Cooper after Orianthi’s original stint with the band between 2011 and 2014. Strauss, who temporarily left the group in 2022 to play with Demi Lovato but later rejoined, will again be taking leave due to pre-existing solo tour commitments.
Orianthi, who’s played with the likes of Michael Jackson and Carrie Underwood, now tells Guitar World that working with Cooper during her first stint was “a blast” and “an honour”. She adds, “Alice is a legend. I know the shows are going to be really fun. It’s going to be just a whole different dynamic and sort of a change from Nita.
“[The email invite] basically said, ‘Hey, Alice would love for you to join him because Nita [Strauss] is busy.’ I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ Well, actually, at first, I said, ‘I’m not sure because I have my own stuff going on right now with my tour.’ But we moved things around and made it work.”
She later adds, “I bring something really different to the band than Nita does. She brings rock and metal – which is awesome. She’s an incredible player, like, the way she plays is different from me. 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.”
In a statement from Cooper shared in November, he said, “When Orianthi moved on to pursue her own career in 2014, we were lucky to find Nita. Over the past decade, Nita, Chuck [Garric, bassist], and Tommy [Henriksen, guitarist] 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. 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.”
Oranthi released a new single, Some Kind Of Feeling, back in November. The track hails from her forthcoming album of the same name, which is due for release in 2025. Alice Cooper commences his Too Close For Comfort tour in January.
Rachel began writing for Guitar.com in 2021 while finishing up her degree. A proud DIY guitarist, she has been playing for over 10 years and has written for the likes of Kerrang!, The Forty-Five, and MusicTech. An enjoyer of all things heavy, you’ll find her at a festival or downtuning her guitars when away from her desk.