Nita Strauss On Why She Doesn’t Do Her Own Vocals: “Because I Want People to Enjoy It”
We’re stupidly supportive of Nita Strauss. Not only is she Alice Cooper’s lead guitarist and the first female solo artist to top Mainstream Rock Radio with her song “Dead Inside” featuring David Draiman, but she’s also the descendent of Austrian classical composer Johan Strauss, which is just cool! And given her talents and striking appearance, one might wonder why Nita is only playing guitar and not in front of the mic — but in a new interview, she explains that it’s really for our benefit.
Speaking to Metal Edge Magazine’s “Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley,” Nita was asked if we’d ever hear her fronting her band vocally. Her response is classic (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“Absolutely not. Because I want people to like it. I’m not a very good singer. Why am I gonna sing when I know I’m not that good? I’m a reasonably okay guitar player, and I really enjoy playing guitar. And I know I’m not a great singer. And if I put out something [with me] singing just for people to then tell me I’m not any good, that’s just gonna be frustrating. Why am I gonna do something that I don’t particularly enjoy, that I’m not particularly good at when I have this amazing opportunity to work with so many different vocalists? I play in a band with one of the greatest frontmen and vocalists of all time [Alice Cooper]. As a solo artist without a singer, I kind of have my pick and choose of what great singers I can work with. I have several other guest vocalists that are not announced yet collaborating with me on this upcoming record. Why am I gonna step in front of all of that and say, ‘You know what? My ego needs me to do all the things.’? I don’t need to do all the things. I’ll play the guitar.”
Man, do we find this refreshing. So many musicians are unable to step out of the spotlight, and take a real Let me play the lion, too! attitude with their material. Good on Nita for knowing where her talents lie.
Check out the full interview below, followed by “Dead Inside:”
