Ask Nita Strauss....

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  • joeyowenjoeyowen Frets: 4025
    If she had to chose, would she rather fight a horse sized duck, or 100 duck sized horses
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    DLM said:
    Could someone perhaps do me a favour and link up some really great playing of hers? I've watched a fair few clips over the years, but I'm just not sold at all, musically...
    Have you seen the Jason Becker video?

    https://youtu.be/3Ti5rWHOkZ0
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  • olafgartenolafgarten Frets: 1648
    joeyowen said:
    If she had to chose, would she rather fight a horse sized duck, or 100 duck sized horses

    Asking the important questions. 
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  • sweepysweepy Frets: 4158
    edited June 2018
    I’m with @DLM  on this one, swept arpeggios and lines are just tedious, I’d be more inclined to ask if it’s actually easier to get gigs because she is a woman ? Let’s face it, there are a lot better guitar players out there than Orianthe and Nita etc but if a big name wants the stage image of a woman on set etc,  is it a case of Sex Sells ? I do think it’s an interesting angle, it goes across genders as well with someone not fitting into the bands image etc, ie Coverdales Whitesnake  going all poodle rock and obviously not a “fit” for Bernie and Mickey
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  • DrCorneliusDrCornelius Frets: 7069
    Not my sort of music but theres no doubt shes got talent, it's one thing to pull off sweep arpeggios etc in private but getting the timing right in a band context in front of a huge crowd must be bloody hard. Seems like a nice person too and it's not her fault she lucked out in the looks dept !
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26453
    sweepy said:
    I’m with @DLM  on this one, swept arpeggios and lines are just tedious, I’d be more inclined to ask if it’s actually easier to get gigs because she is a woman ? Let’s face it, there are a lot better guitar players out there than Orianthe and Nita etc but if a big name wants the stage image of a woman on set etc,  is it a case of Sex Sells ? I do think it’s an interesting angle, it goes across genders as well with someone not fitting into the bands image etc, ie Coverdales Whitesnake  going all poodle rock and obviously not a “fit” for Bernie and Mickey
    I'd say Orianthi and Nita Strauss are totally different propositions. Orianthi's pretty good at what she does, but she's a solo artist. Nita is a hired gun, who can play pretty much anything she's asked to. She also puts on a damn good show on a big stage (which is more than any of us can, I'd say) and we know she works bloody hard at it. Sure, the fact that she's not fugly can't hurt, but it strikes me that's far from the reason she's always got a gig lined up; she's not the main attraction at the gigs she plays.
    <space for hire>
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  • JalapenoJalapeno Frets: 6378
    DLM said:
    Could someone perhaps do me a favour and link up some really great playing of hers? I've watched a fair few clips over the years, but I'm just not sold at all, musically...
    Have you seen the Jason Becker video?

    https://youtu.be/3Ti5rWHOkZ0
    She looks nice without all the slap on (she looks hot with it too)
    Imagine something sharp and witty here ......

    Feedback
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  • GarthyGarthy Frets: 2268
    sweepy said:
    I’m with @DLM  on this one, swept arpeggios and lines are just tedious, I’d be more inclined to ask if it’s actually easier to get gigs because she is a woman ? Let’s face it, there are a lot better guitar players out there than Orianthe and Nita etc but if a big name wants the stage image of a woman on set etc,  is it a case of Sex Sells ? I do think it’s an interesting angle, it goes across genders as well with someone not fitting into the bands image etc, ie Coverdales Whitesnake  going all poodle rock and obviously not a “fit” for Bernie and Mickey
    I'd say Orianthi and Nita Strauss are totally different propositions. Orianthi's pretty good at what she does, but she's a solo artist. Nita is a hired gun, who can play pretty much anything she's asked to. She also puts on a damn good show on a big stage (which is more than any of us can, I'd say) and we know she works bloody hard at it. Sure, the fact that she's not fugly can't hurt, but it strikes me that's far from the reason she's always got a gig lined up; she's not the main attraction at the gigs she plays.
    I agree, she's no song writer which in itself is a hell of a talent that makes or breaks artists but she's learns other people's songs at a sickening rate.
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  • digitalscreamdigitalscream Frets: 26453
    Garthy said:
    sweepy said:
    I’m with @DLM  on this one, swept arpeggios and lines are just tedious, I’d be more inclined to ask if it’s actually easier to get gigs because she is a woman ? Let’s face it, there are a lot better guitar players out there than Orianthe and Nita etc but if a big name wants the stage image of a woman on set etc,  is it a case of Sex Sells ? I do think it’s an interesting angle, it goes across genders as well with someone not fitting into the bands image etc, ie Coverdales Whitesnake  going all poodle rock and obviously not a “fit” for Bernie and Mickey
    I'd say Orianthi and Nita Strauss are totally different propositions. Orianthi's pretty good at what she does, but she's a solo artist. Nita is a hired gun, who can play pretty much anything she's asked to. She also puts on a damn good show on a big stage (which is more than any of us can, I'd say) and we know she works bloody hard at it. Sure, the fact that she's not fugly can't hurt, but it strikes me that's far from the reason she's always got a gig lined up; she's not the main attraction at the gigs she plays.
    I agree, she's no song writer which in itself is a hell of a talent that makes or breaks artists but she's learns other people's songs at a sickening rate.
    Well, that's kind of the point of this Kickstarter thing - we'll get to find out :)
    <space for hire>
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  • prowlaprowla Frets: 4896
    Who is Nita Strauss?
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  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11670
    edited June 2018
    prowla said:
    Who is Nita Strauss?

    Edit: sorry, couldn't resist an internet classic...

    Said search leads to....

    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
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  • EricTheWearyEricTheWeary Frets: 16253
    prowla said:
    Who is Nita Strauss?
    Who is Anita Strauss?
    Get me Nita Strauss.
    Get me a young Nita Strauss. 

    [ Dave Mattacks’ three stages of being a musician]
    Tipton is a small fishing village in the borough of Sandwell. 
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    Schnozz said:
    That looks like the long-lost prototype of an Ibanez Ace Frehley signature model.
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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    These probably aren't the most amazing questions but if you don't get any better ones:

    Nita did say something about having to change her style when she got the Cooper gig, what kind of things did she have to work on and how did she approach them? 

    I read an interview, probably in Guitar World, where she said she actually took some lessons when she joined Alice Cooper because she knew virtually nothing about playing classic rock or blues-based stuff - she just knew how to sweep and shred.

    I found that amazing, I thought she doesn't know stuff I know, and yet she's a million times better than me.

    I bet she picked it up bloody quick though....
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  • SchnozzSchnozz Frets: 1926
    Philly_Q said:
    Schnozz said:
    That looks like the long-lost prototype of an Ibanez Ace Frehley signature model.
    Absolutely! Exactly what Grover Jackson set out to do - Blend the Strat/Les Paul looks and make something uber playable and very versatile.

    She got my hopes up with that, as it would have made for a great 30th birthday present...To myself  :3
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  • DLMDLM Frets: 2513
    @guitarfishbay Yes, around when it came out. I'm a huge fan of Becker. I'm afraid I cannot hear her guitar parts clearly on that at all. She's playing along to the track and the sound is pretty bad. Jeff Loomis' cover didn't sound like Becker, but he tore into it and made good-sounding notes, despite the quantity of them.

    I've seen a lot of videos of Strauss playing pretty basic parts and licks and just not making them sound good. Anyone can have a bad day, but a good number of my heroes still sound amazing on the crappiest kit in front of a shabby little mic. And I'm not just talking shredders. The Thomann "Gear University" video with the "Music Is Win" geezer being the latest case in point. Where are the swing and the sleaze that can bring the simplest moves to life? As Paul Gilbert says "Don't forget to bash some A chords!" Unlike @sweepy, I don't find sweeps and lines necessarily tedious, but if she's a self-professed shred kid, where is the precision?

    @Garthy has some good ideas, but @EricTheWeary asks the one question that matters. Sadly, as it's easier to buy an assault rifle than decent cheese in most US states, I doubt she will be enlightened as to why the milk might need to be unpasteurised for a true taste explosion. 


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  • english_bobenglish_bob Frets: 5128
    sweepy said:
    I’d be more inclined to ask if it’s actually easier to get gigs because she is a woman ? Let’s face it, there are a lot better guitar players out there than Orianthi and Nita etc but if a big name wants the stage image of a woman on set etc,  is it a case of Sex Sells ? 

    I don't imagine there's quite as much competition if an artist is looking specifically for a not-unattractive female guitarist, but unless an artist is looking specifically for a not-unattractive female guitarist she's got all the same competition that a male guitarist has, and her gender might even work against her if the artist is concerned that the rest of the band will want to have sex with the new guitar player, or that the tour bus will be full of lipsticks and tampons, and nobody will be allowed to swear or fart any more.  

    I think guitar playing skill is likely to be a long way down the list of things an artist looks for in an essentially interchangeable band member. Plenty of people can play Alice Cooper songs- they're not exactly Aristocrats-level complexity- and nobody who was planning to see Alice Cooper is going to not come if it's not Nita Strauss on guitar.

    I'm guessing she gets gigs on the strength of her ability to rub along with the rest of the band on a bus for weeks, to put on a good show, cope with all the pyrotechnics, theatre and choreography and play off Alice well (and not get pissy about getting fake blood all over her and her gear), and to generally behave herself on and off stage. 

    All that said, I'd be interested to hear her take on life in the music industry as someone who quite conceivably gets reduced to being "A Hot Chick" by cockwombles.

    Don't talk politics and don't throw stones. Your royal highnesses.

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  • Flanging_FredFlanging_Fred Frets: 3008
    I have a question...

    If you had the opportunity/desire to augment your rock/shred playing by learning a totally different style, which direction would you take and why?  Eg Jazz, country, flamenco etc etc.


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  • I'd like to ask "What picks do you use?" and see what she replies, based on this - http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/comment/1850281/. Eh, @chrishill901 :)
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  • rsvmarkrsvmark Frets: 1373
    sweepy said:
    I’d be more inclined to ask if it’s actually easier to get gigs because she is a woman ? Let’s face it, there are a lot better guitar players out there than Orianthi and Nita etc but if a big name wants the stage image of a woman on set etc,  is it a case of Sex Sells ? 

    I don't imagine there's quite as much competition if an artist is looking specifically for a not-unattractive female guitarist, but unless an artist is looking specifically for a not-unattractive female guitarist she's got all the same competition that a male guitarist has, and her gender might even work against her if the artist is concerned that the rest of the band will want to have sex with the new guitar player, or that the tour bus will be full of lipsticks and tampons, and nobody will be allowed to swear or fart any more.  

    I think guitar playing skill is likely to be a long way down the list of things an artist looks for in an essentially interchangeable band member. Plenty of people can play Alice Cooper songs- they're not exactly Aristocrats-level complexity- and nobody who was planning to see Alice Cooper is going to not come if it's not Nita Strauss on guitar.

    I'm guessing she gets gigs on the strength of her ability to rub along with the rest of the band on a bus for weeks, to put on a good show, cope with all the pyrotechnics, theatre and choreography and play off Alice well (and not get pissy about getting fake blood all over her and her gear), and to generally behave herself on and off stage. 

    All that said, I'd be interested to hear her take on life in the music industry as someone who quite conceivably gets reduced to being "A Hot Chick" by cockwombles.
    Watch ‘Hired gun’ on Netflix- the ability not to be a knob and simply get along with the rest of the group appears to be high on the list of priorities- not how fast you can shred or how big your norks are.
    An official Foo liked guitarist since 2024
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