“I bring something really different to the band than Nita does”: Orianthi on returning to Alice Cooper – and why she'll take a different approach to Nita Strauss

Orianthi knows a thing or two about playing with Alice Cooper. She had previously joined The Godfather of Shock Rock's camp between 2011 and 2014, before passing the baton to Nita Strauss.

Now, just over a decade later, she’s returning to the fold to fill in for Strauss on next year’s Too Close For Comfort tour – a decision she sums up simply: “Alice is like family.”

“Working with him was such a blast, and it's such an honor. Alice is a legend,” she tells Guitar World. “I know the shows are going to be really fun. It's going to be just a whole different dynamic and sort of a change from Nita.”

The invitation came via an email that cut straight to the chase. “It basically said, ‘Hey, Alice would love for you to join him because Nita [Strauss] is busy.’

Alice Cooper Orianthi He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask) live 2012 - YouTube

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“I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ Well, actually, at first, I said, ‘I'm not sure because I have my own stuff going on right now with my tour.’ But we moved things around and made it work.”

With Orianthi on board, Alice Cooper fans can expect her to bring her blues-inflected playing to the table.

“I bring something really different to the band than Nita does. She brings rock and metal – which is awesome. She's an incredible player, like, the way she plays is different from me. I play more classic blues rock, so it's a different dynamic,” she explains.

“I'm pretty much going to do it my way. I'm just going to play the songs the way I played them before, and then, obviously, Alice adds the new stuff he wants me to add. Because I'm an artist, I don't copy anything.”

In other news, Orianthi recently revealed how her new signature Orange amp drew inspiration from her meeting with Alexander Dumble.

Guitar World's full interview with Orianthi will be published in the next few weeks.