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“There’s feel in what he comes out with because he plays from the heart not the head”: Nita Strauss on Jimmy Page’s playing style
“I almost think if a modern player delivered a Jimmy Page solo, they’d get crucified,” Strauss says.
Image: Photo Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images and Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Nita Strauss has shared her thoughts on Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page, and his ability to always make a solo work no matter what he does.
In an interview in Guitar World, the Alice Cooper and Demi Lovato guitarist is asked about one of her influences, Jimmy Page, and the “free and fluid” way that he plays.
The interviewer then asks whether Strauss gets the impression that he is making it all up as he goes along, instead of “premeditating every note”.
“For sure,” she replies. “I almost think if a modern player delivered a Jimmy Page solo, they’d get crucified. People would be saying the bends are out of key or this note doesn’t fit in or blah, blah, blah. But whatever he comes out with, Jimmy always makes it work.
“He’s showed us what we play doesn’t always have to be perfectly time-coded or on the grid,” she continues, “the bends can go a little sharp, the vibrato can be a little erratic and that can work even better than perfectly executed and punched-in stuff. He’s organic and real… there’s all that feel in what he comes out with because he plays from the heart not the head.”
The conversation then moves on to how Page is able to distance himself from the guitar when looking at the music as a songwriter.
“Definitely,” Strauss explains. “It’s not out of the normal for guitar players to think, ‘How can I make this song more about me?!’ and turn everything they play into a solo project. Jimmy Page is all about the song.”
In more Nita Strauss news, back in September she revealed what it was like to audition for Alice Cooper.
She discussed how the audition process went down, explaining, “It was kind of an education process. When I got the confirmation that I was going to be on the Alice Cooper tour, I wound up taking my first actual guitar lesson.”
According to longtime Alice Cooper producer Bob Ezrin, Cooper didn’t need a shred guitar player, but a rock player. With just two weeks left before the start of the Alice Cooper-Mötley Crüe tour, the virtuoso soon found a teacher to coach her on just what it means to be a “rock guitar player”.