Spartanburg, SC (12/3/21) -Many know of Nita Strauss as being a member of the band for the shock rocker legend Alice Cooper. However, Strauss was also a member of The Iron Maiden’s, a popular all girl tribute band, she’s been featured on many recordings with other artists and has also been featured on many top listings for guitarists while gracing the covers of numerous music publications. Nita has one solo album, “Controlled Chaos,” under her belt released in 2018 and another on the way. The first single, “Dead Inside,” from the upcoming album features Disturbed frontman David Draiman on vocals. The song has landed her the honor of being the first female solo artist in 26 years to earn a top 10 spot on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay charts.
Tonight finds Strauss along with drummer Josh Villalta and bassist Christopher Dean in Spartanburg, SC. Powering through a set list of energetic instrumental compositions the 3 piece thrilled fans in attendance. Songs such as “Mariana Trench” and “The Quest” were featured from the debut album. What’s nice to see is how Nita engages with the crowd, especially the young kids who were in attendance. Taking a bit of an abnormal twist Larissa Vale of tonight’s support act Black Satellite joined in mid set to lend vocal duties to a rendition of the Alice Cooper classic “Feed My Frankenstein.” A little later the band would showcase the latest single playing along with a track of David Draiman singing for “Dead Inside.” Nita spoke with the crowd about the hardships of the last year or so and how it was nice to finally be back in the road in front of real people staying “The Show Must Go On” as the band performed their version of the Queen classic.
The Black Satellite’s, one of the evenings support acts, hail from New York. Dressed in an abundance of spiked leather and face paint the group introduced the crowd to their brand of metal. Vale’s raspy, snarling vocals powered over the precision guitar work of Kyle Hawken. Bassist Mark C and Joe Koza on drums provided the heartbeat of the band. Fans pumped their fists in the air throughout a 30min set that featured the bands latest single “Void.”
Marc Rizzo is also on the tour as a support act. Many know of him as a founding member of Ill Niño and also 18yrs spent with Soulfly. Taking the stage as a solo act Rizzo blazed through a set of songs showcasing various skills. Backed by some pretty intense musical tracks Marc mesmerized the crowd with his technical abilities with his 7 string Washburn guitar.
Each show on the tour features one local band as the show opener. An area favorite, Black River Rebels, would be the rockers to kick things off for what was one amazing night of musical talent.
Originally only scheduled to go through mid December the Winter Wasteland Tour now has dates scheduled through late January of 2022.
