In early July, Nita Strauss announced that she was leaving Alice Cooper‘s band to pursue a new adventure, which we found out soon after was joining Demi Lovato‘s touring band. The guitarist opened up about the transition during a new interview with Loudwire Nights host Toni Gonzalez, and shared how Cooper reacted when she gave him the news.
Lovato just released her brand new, pop-punk album Holy Fvck last week (Aug. 19), and has really been embracing her love for rock and heavy music. Strauss explained that Lovato had been looking to recruit an all-women band for the tour in support of the record, which is how she landed the gig.
“Demi is a powerhouse. The new record is so cool, so riffy and so heavy compared to anything that she’s done in the past. I was really excited for the opportunity,” the guitarist enthused. “I went to Alice, I did it face-to-face. We were just started the U.K. leg of the last Alice tour, and I went to his hotel room and talked to him and his wife Sheryl.”
Embarking on Lovato’s tour didn’t affect the run that Strauss was on with Cooper at the time, but it would inhibit her from participating in his fall tour.
“They hugged me and were so happy and gave their absolute blessing. Alice said, ‘We’re so proud of you. Go out, shine your light, have a great time and we’ll see what happens for next year.’ There was never a, ‘Hey, I quit, goodbye, thanks for everything.’ It was just, ‘I’m gonna take a step back, try something different for a few months and we’ll regroup and see what happens,'” she continued.
Alas, Strauss shot down any theories that she was kicked out of the band or left because of drama — it was simply an opportunity she wanted to take to switch things up in her career a bit.
“I was with Alice for eight years, I think as an artist it’s important to take different opportunities and try different things, and I wanted to do that.”
As a result, Cooper brought former guitarist Kane Roberts back into the band after 24 years. He’d played on 1986’s Constrictor and 1987’s Raise Your Fist and Yell.
Lovato and Strauss will hit the road in North America starting Sept. 22. Get tickets through this link.
Loudwire Nights with Toni Gonzalez airs nightly starting at 7PM ET. You can tune in anytime, from anywhere right here or by downloading the Loudwire app.
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