Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, spoke to "Heather & Wickett" of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3 about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for her follow-up to 2018's "Controlled Chaos" solo debut. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's really cool for me to step out of what I was comfortable doing as a guitar player. I was really happily in this instrumental guitar role and I sort of just got pushed into the deep end of the pool kicking and screaming. And we couldn't be happier. The song with David Draiman [DISTURBED] is everything that we could have hoped for. We are, I believe, currently the highest-charting single by a female solo artist ever at rock radio, which is crazy to think about. "It's just been a crazy journey," she added. "And some of the collaborations we have coming up for the album will really surprise you guys, some will be maybe people that you would expect, but all of it is, I think, just gonna be a really cool next step for me as an artist." Last month, Nita told the 105.5 WDHA radio station that her next solo LP would be split "half and half" between instrumental and non-instrumental cuts, "so six instrumental tracks and six tracks with guest vocalists," she said. In early December, Nita told "The Mistress Carrie Podcast" about her decision to make the upcoming LP half vocal songs and half instrumental: "I did feel, and the label and everybody agreed, it's still important for me to keep my identity as a guitar player and not just branch off too much and go, 'Okay, well, now it's just guests.' Let me still have a little of what makes me me, which is the instrumental shred stuff. And the instrumental pieces that I've written on this record are, I think, better than anything I did on the first one — definitely more… I don't know if it could be more emotional but they're very emotional pieces of music and I think a little better crafted this time around. So I think all the songs in general are more well thought out, better put together this time around. And I do have some of my absolute favorite [singers guesting on it]. I have three amazing powerhouse female vocalists on this album so far. And there are still a couple of things T.B.D. [to be determined]. And then we should be ready to release next spring." In October, Nita shared "Dead Inside", her first new music since the release of her critically acclaimed debut solo album "Controlled Chaos" in 2018. The track is her first-ever solo collaboration with a vocalist, the aforementioned David Draiman, frontman of Grammy-nominated rock icons DISTURBED. Strauss has been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Australian musician and former Michael Jackson player Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker's former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger. Nita released "Controlled Chaos" to mass acclaim from fans and media alike, with Metal Injection calling it "a great debut that — as its creator intended — leaves no doubt", and Guitar World stating "'Controlled Chaos' is a panoramic view of Nita Strauss's many strengths". To date the album has clocked up 6.7 million streams worldwide, with music videos for singles "Our Most Desperate Hour", "Pandemonium", "Alegria" and "Mariana Trench" generating over 3 million YouTube views. As well as performing with Cooper, Nita has also played with R&B star Jermaine Jackson, early MTV darlings FEMME FATALE, video game supergroup CRITICAL HIT and popular tribute band THE IRON MAIDENS. In April 2020, Nita launched "Rock Guitar Fundamentals" — a three-module online guitar teaching program suitable for learners of all levels. The course is available at www.iwanttoplayguitar.com. Nita's live show is mostly instrumental in nature, combining originals with covers.
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