Alice Cooper Guitarists Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen Explain How Anna Cara Replaced Nita Strauss
Alice Cooper guitarists Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen have detailed how 22-year-old English guitarist Anna Cara came to replace Nita Strauss in Cooper’s touring band. Cara, who is from Newcastle, England, stepped into the role after Strauss gave Cooper notice that she would be stepping away from the group for a period.
- Ryan Roxie has played guitar with Alice Cooper since 1996.
- Tommy Henriksen joined Cooper’s band in 2012.
- Anna Cara was discovered by Henriksen in 2022, when she was 19 years old.
How Tommy Henriksen Discovered Anna Cara
Henriksen found Cara through her guitar videos on Instagram and YouTube while he was assembling his own band, Crossbone Skully. Her early videos did not show her face, only her playing, which is what first caught his attention.
Henriksen contacted Cara and her parents over FaceTime before eventually flying her to Los Angeles to join Crossbone Skully. He first took her to a studio at Johnny Depp’s house, where Depp let her play his guitars.
Henriksen compares Cara’s tone, vibrato and versatility to those of guitarist Gary Moore.
What Ryan Roxie Says About Anna Cara’s Playing
Ryan Roxie says Cara can play mechanical, shredder-style guitar with ease while also slipping into classic-rock mode, calling her “cut from a different cloth.”
Anna Cara’s History With Alice Cooper’s Music
Cara says she used to play along to videos of former Alice Cooper guitarists Orianthi and Nita Strauss as a child, and that she began watching Alice Cooper’s live videos at age 14. The music she now performs with Cooper was originally written and played by a lineage of past Cooper guitarists, including Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter, Kane Roberts, Vinnie Moore, Orianthi and Nita Strauss.
More Info
- “When I heard Anna play, I thought, ‘How the hell is that sound coming out of a 22-year-old’s fingers?’” Alice Cooper’s guitar trio on how a wunderkind from England replaced Nita Strauss – and tackled the Godfather of Shock Rock’s most challenging tracks | Guitar World
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