Nita Strauss Answers the Call of the Wild

The Critically Acclaimed Guitar Guru Releases Her New Solo Album, Gets Engaged, Hits the Road with Alice Cooper and with Her Own Band and Shares a Beautiful Bond with Her Three Adorable Rescue Pets

As a descendant of legendary Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, and an integral member of rock legend Alice Cooper’s touring band, guitarist Nita Strauss is herself a definitive legend in the world of music. The intelligent, charming and gorgeous guitar virtuoso enthralls about a million people across the globe yearly onstage, eliciting an emotional, nuanced sound all her own while heavily shredding on her beloved axe. Strauss has been recognized for her six-string savvy with accolades such as being named #1 on Guitar World Magazine’s “10 Female Guitar Players You Should Know” list in 2011 and #4 on their “20 Best Guitarists of the Decade” list in 2021, and she is the first woman to have her very own signature guitar model, the Ibanez JIVA. Strauss is hitting the road hard this fall both with Cooper and with her solo band to support her new album, The Call of the Void. And if this superwoman has a kryptonite, it must be saying no to rescue animals, and the proof of her inability to resist them is evidenced by the ways her two dogs, Bentley and Motley, and her cat, Pantera, came into her life.

“They’re not related by blood obviously, but they definitely look like they could be little siblings,” says Strauss of her three pretty girls, all who have lovely black coats. “They squabble and cuddle like little sisters and everyone gets along so well.”

Strauss had plenty of pets during her childhood. “I was always surrounded by animals and nature growing up,” says Strauss. “We had dogs, rabbits, indoor and outdoor cats. We had a Golden Labrador named River; oh, he was so friendly, so sweet!” At age 18 when Strauss had her own place, she heard about the runt of a litter that could quite possibly be smashed by her mother. “The person fostering her couldn’t keep her and I didn’t want her to go to the pound because in L.A. the kill rate in shelters is so high, so I said bring her to my house and I’ll keep her for a few days until we can find some place for her.” When Strauss and the German/Australian Shepherd mix puppy met, the dynamic could not have been more “love at first sight.” “She pulled her leash out of the arms of the person who brought her to the house and just ran to me and jumped into my arms and I was like well, ‘Harley is my dog now!’ (Laughs.) You feel it immediately when you have that connection. I’ve actually never successfully fostered, I’ve always failed!”

Bentley, Strauss’ Pomchi mix who’ll be 13 this year, was also part of a litter that was going to be brought to the shelter so Strauss got involved. “I went to the house of the person that had the puppies and there was four black ones and a little brown bear cub one, and I thought maybe I’ll get this little bear cub,” says Strauss. “I was sitting cross-legged on the floor and Bentley, one of the cute black puppies, was three weeks old and just waddled up to me and plopped herself down! I had this connection and ended up taking both puppies and the little brown one became my sister’s dog, Mickey, and I kept Bentley. Unfortunately, Mickey has passed on, but for many years her and Bentley got to see each other and hang out when we were in town.”

Motley—who is possibly a terrier/Chihuahua mix—turned 9 this year, rocks a bit of a skunky mohawk hairdo and was also in need of a loving home when she and Strauss crossed paths. “What a little punk, she is hilarious!” says Strauss. “I named her Motley because I got her from Motley Zoo, a cool organization that brings dogs to concerts in the Seattle area to meet the bands hoping they’ll share them on social media and help push adoptions. Someone said, ‘Oh, there’s puppies in the parking lot’; I’m like, ‘PUPPIES!’ and I headed out to see them. Motley was in a little box with her three siblings; I picked her up, she put her paws around my hand and snuggled right into my arms and I was like, ‘Whoops! She’s my dog now!’”

Like dogs, cats are also irresistible to Strauss. “My plan originally was to foster our cat, Pantera, from Kitten Rescue L.A., an awesome organization in Los Angeles,” says Strauss. “My boyfriend Josh [Villalta] had a beautiful cat, Sabu, for 18 years. Sadly, she passed away a few years ago, so at the start of the pandemic we fostered Pantera. In L.A. there are so many cats needing homes and on a personal note I hoped it would help Josh heal, although that pain will never go away from losing one of your fur kids. So, we took her in and we foster failed immediately! My older dog Bentley actually started to nurse Pantera, which is crazy because she’s never even had puppies, but her instincts kicked in. Bentley was licking Pantera to help her go to the bathroom and it was beautiful to see nature happening right there in our house!” Pantera, who is actually toilet trained, has even used a bathroom stall at the New Orleans Airport like a proper lady would. Considering how serious Strauss was about playing guitar—at age 13 she walked away from her alternate position on the Junior Olympic gymnastics team the day after seeing innovative guitarist Steve Vai’s epic performance in the 1986 film Crossroads to take up the instrument—it’s no surprise she’s forged a stellar reputation as an in-demand guitarist in the music industry. Strauss nurtured her calling and kept her nose to the grindstone practicing morning, noon and night, and embarked on a musical journey that reaches new vistas daily. She took every opportunity that came her way to hone her guitar chops, whether playing in the all-female Iron Maiden tribute band, The Iron Maidens, or touring with R&B star Jermaine Jackson. She eventually got the exciting call to join Alice Cooper’s band for a large tour with Mötley Crüe in 2014 and has been a member in Cooper’s touring band ever since, taking a slight diversion last year to tour in pop star Demi Lovato’s band.

The force also known as “Hurricane Nita” or “The Hurricane” continues her upward trajectory at lightning speed. The Los Angeles native is the official guitarist for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, where she and her cherished guitar get the crowds cranked up at the home games; she was even presented with a Super Bowl ring after the Rams’ win. A health and fitness devotee, Strauss launched the fitness challenge Body Shred that couples a love for music with the desire to get healthier. “You have to take care of the machine or the machine won’t take care of you!” says Strauss, who also credits sobriety with helping her reach goals. Sage advice from Strauss is highly sought by guitar players of all ages and genders, and she teaches seminars, clinics, and an online course, Rock Guitar Fundamentals, and Strauss stresses staying true to one’s vision and one’s self, no matter the gig. And Strauss’ touring schedule is as busy as it gets: in August she played with Alice Cooper who was the special guest on the Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard tour, and she’s got shows this fall with Cooper and co-headliner Rob Zombie. On Sunday, Oct. 15, Strauss will play at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette, LA on Cooper’s Too Close for Comfort Tour, where Cooper will showcase material from his new album Road, which saw Cooper’s touring band get involved in its creation and recording. “We’ve been Alice’s band for a long time so to get to create with him and bring an Alice Cooper record to life and be a part of that vision was really an honor.” And in November and December, Strauss and her solo band will open for Wolfgang Van Halen’s band, Mammoth WVH.

Touring with Alice Cooper has afforded Strauss the chance to share the stage with animals that epitomize the wild lure of rock and roll: the boa constrictors that have draped Cooper’s neck that add an extra layer of fiendish delight to the shock-rocker’s thrilling shows. “The snakes have all been very friendly,” says Strauss of the scaly serpent showstoppers. “On my first tour with Alice we had a very friendly snake named Julius Squeezer. Our current snake is named Scary Underwood. I was like, ‘Oh it’s a girl!’ Nope! Scary Underwood is a boy. He’s younger and more energetic and animated than Squeezer was and he wants to move around a lot more onstage. Anyone seeing a show on this tour will see him stretching out, going off of Alice’s shoulder and going towards us, and he always has his tongue out tasting things. Alice says Scary’s a teenager, and I’m not sure how old that is in snake years! On tour overseas we use loaner snakes and have a different snake in each country in Europe because you can’t transport those types of animals across the borders. Some snakes are older or more sedentary and will sort of lay there on your shoulders and not do a whole lot, but Scary Underwood is always ready to go and he knows there’s an audience there.”

Strauss’ sophomore solo album The Call of the Void dropped on July 7, and the fan reaction to it has been incredible. “It’s amazing to see the response and to have people like it as much as I do,” says Strauss, who included some of her favorite guest vocalists on the album, like her boss, mentor, and good friend Alice Cooper on the song “Winner Takes All.” “We wanted to write something that Alice could really sink his teeth into.” The single “Dead Inside,” featuring David Draiman of Disturbed, made history for becoming the first song by a female solo artist to make it to No. 1 at mainstream rock radio, and it stayed at the top for three consecutive weeks. “This album was much more of a collaborative effort because on my first album it was really just me.” Strauss played all guitars and bass and produced and almost entirely engineered her first album Controlled Chaos, which was released in 2018 and consists of all instrumentals—Strauss lets her guitar do the singing—and it debuted on Billboard at No. 1 in the Top New Artist category.

During the album release party on July 6 for The Call of the Void at the Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles, Villalta—Strauss’ drummer in her solo band, manager and longtime boyfriend—proposed onstage to her and she answered ‘Yes!’ “Josh is a Louisiana boy and his family flew out to L.A. and my family was there so it was pretty special,” says Strauss. Villalta is from the New Orleans area and Strauss has spent quality time in the city and its surrounds, including performing at WrestleMania 34 and recently doing a solo show in July at The Parish at House of Blues. “I’ve made some great memories in New Orleans and Louisiana. We’ve done pop-up shows in Covington, we’ve played Baton Rouge and Lafayette and I’ll be playing Lafayette with Alice Cooper on Oct. 15. I’ve been in New Orleans with Alice, I was at the Fillmore with Demi Lovato last year, and had a lot of fun doing New Orleans shows in the last several years. I am a total Halloween girl and we love to dress up; it’s been so fun actually experiencing Halloween in New Orleans—it’s so special and different.”

That unconditional love Strauss gets from her pets when she walks in the door means the world to her. “It’s one of the best feelings!” says Strauss. “And it makes it really special taking them on tour, too. I’m on the road away from them usually 10 to 11 months out of the year and most of the time they aren’t able to come with us, so when we’re with my solo band and we get to bring the dogs on the tour bus—it’s so fun. They have that calming energy around the band members. Touring is stressful and there’s always a lot going on, and they go from person to person and bunk to bunk and everybody loves on them so they love being on the road. All of our animals, even Pantera, are very experienced fliers. They’re used to being in the carrier under the seat on planes, they’ve been back and forth on cross country road trips and flights, but with Pantera we have to sneak the carrier then sneak her into the bathroom because when she sees that carrier come out, she’s like ‘NOPE!’ (Laughs.) ‘Forget it!’” Speaking of traveling animals, Strauss supports Wings of Rescue, a charitable organization that flies dogs and cats from overcrowded shelters to cities with a need for adoptable animals. “I’ve done charity things with Wings of Rescue. Rick Rowdy, the owner, is a music guy. I’ve actually been on the plane with them to do a transport flight and it was absolutely amazing!”

Life is an exciting whirlwind for Strauss music-wise, and she’s looking forward to turning her fiancé into a groom. “I feel blessed, stressed and very happy,” says Strauss. Since her pets are family, they will play a role in her upcoming nuptials. “Josh said, ‘They’re going to be the ringbearers, right?’ and unless we end up eloping or doing a destination wedding then they’ll have to be there,” says Strauss. Undoubtedly, there will be photographic evidence of her pups all sharp dressed to celebrate the occasion, but Strauss may have to accept the old adage that “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” for her four-legged wedding party. “We love to dress the dogs up and they dress up quite well. They’re fine in their Halloween outfits, their Christmas dresses, their Fourth of July outfits. Our cat Pantera, however, does not dress up—we found that out the hard way!”

For more information, please see nitastrauss.com, @hurricanenita, nitastraussbodyshred.com, iwanttoplayguitar.com, alicecooper.com, motleyzooanimalrescue.org, kittenrescue.org, facebook.com/WingsofRescue