Nita Strauss Reveals The Movie That Inspired Her to Play Guitar
Most guitar players picked up their instrument inspired by a particular song or record. Nita Strauss was inspired by a scene in a movie.
"The real turning point for me, when I said, 'I have to do this,' was the movie Crossroads," she said in an interview with Gear Factor host Squiggy. The scene at the end of Crossroads - for those who haven't seen it, I'm not going to spoil it - but I still can't play that [part]."
RELATED: Check out Nita’s Gear Here- http://bit.ly/GearNitaPlays
(If you don't mind spoilers, or you love the film and you want to re-live the epic guitar battle between Steve Vai and Ralph Macchio, here's the scene she's referring to.)
"I do remember being a kid and hearing Van Halen. My dad was always playing Van Halen in the car" -- she launches into the "Unchained" riff on her ..... "Those classic Van Halen riffs really struck a chord in me. No pun intended!"
When she started playing guitar, her first riff came from one of the biggest albums of the '90s. "The first riff that I totally mastered was 'Come As You Are' by Nirvana. I remember sitting there, plunking along, I remember thinking 'How do they even do this?' I was definitely not one of those kids prodigy guitar players. I remember sobbing myself to sleep because I couldn't play an open G chord."
Mastering barre chords led to being able to play more songs. "Then I learned 'One Step Closer to the Edge" by Linkin Park and that was another of those 'Aha!' moments where I was like, 'I'm the greatest guitar player in the world!'"
Catch Nita on the road with Alice Cooper; get the tour dates here. Nita's gear includes her signature Ibanez guitar, a Marshall JVM410HJS Joe Satriani Signature Guitar Amplifier Head and a Marshall 4x12 Cab.