NITA STRAUSS On WE START WARS: 'I've Been Trying To Put This Band Together Since I Started Playing Guitar'

WE START WARS, the new all-female group led by Nita Strauss, the Los Angeles-based guitar shredder for the ALICE COOPER band, will make its live debut on May 25 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.

The band's lineup is as follows:

Nita Strauss (ALICE COOPER) - Guitar
Alicia Vigil (VIGIL OF WAR) - Bass
Seana (a.k.a. Shauna Lisse) - Vocals
Nicole Papastavrou - Guitar
Katt Scarlett (FEMME FATALE) - Keyboards
Lindsay Martin - Drums

Asked how WE START WARS came together, Strauss told Guitar World: "I've been trying to put this band together since I started playing guitar. I've always felt that female musicians were under-represented in the music scene. It's not that they weren't out there, it's just that there wasn't a lot of all-female bands getting notoriety, especially ones with good technique and musicianship. I started out looking for great musicians and great performers that cold elevate the status of the female musician. I met Nicole at a NAMM show a few years ago and after we started talking we realized we had very similar views. It was an instant connection and it's cool that we've finally gotten a chance to work together."

Regarding the band's sound, Papastavrou said: "I'd say it's super-melodic metal but also has a little bit of something for everyone. We wanted to broaden our audience — not do anything too aggressive, but there's still a little bit of heaviness in there." Strauss concurred, adding: "There's a lot of crossover appeal. Nicole and I probably have the heaviest influences in the band, but when it comes down to it, we make music a lot of people can enjoy."

WE START WARS' first single, "The Animal Inside", can be streamed below.

Strauss said of the band's name: "A phrase I heard years ago has always stuck with me: 'Some of the greatest wars in history were fought over a beautiful woman.'

"I've always been fascinated by the idea of the female warrior, someone who fights her own battles and doesn't take shit from anyone, and equally fascinated with the concept that a woman's love or defending her honor would be worth so much that people would actually put their own lives and the lives of others at risk over it. The most famous story everyone thinks of first is, of course, 'The face that launched a thousand ships,' Helen of Troy. But there was also Cleopatra and Marc Antony, Attila the Hun's invasion of Rome, Richard the Lionheart rescuing his sister Joan of England during the crusades, General Wu Sangui's betrayal, which led to the downfall of the Ming Dynasty in the 1600s, and the Celts uprising against the Roman Empire in AD 60. The list goes on and on.

"So that's the story behind the name — WE START WARS represents not only the battles that women face in daily life, but also the battles that have followed them throughout history.”

Strauss recently released a brand new solo single titled "Pandemonium". Written, recorded and produced by Nita, the song features the axewoman on all guitar and bass, alongside her boyfriend and manager Josh Villalta on drums and Katt Scarlett on keyboards.

Strauss is a longtime Ibanez signature series endorsee who made her name with THE IRON MAIDENS, FEMME FATALE and LA Kiss.