Quotes from Nita Strauss

I really hope that with my album, because I have a bit more of a mainstream crossover following, I really hope that I can introduce some new listeners to this world of instrumental music.

During those years with the Iron Maidens, I felt I had to be great and really prove myself at every single show.

I'm a total tomboy at heart. If I don't have to be on stage or doing anything that day, I'm always in band t-shirt and yoga pants and sneakers.

I think as long as you're going out and treating everything with respect - you're not going in there acting like a helpless girl - as long as you don't go in there demanding special treatment, I think you won't receive any special treatment.

So, to see the response to the Kickstarter, and to see people actually really want to see, hear what I'm doing, hear what comes out of my own mind, is really an incredible experience.

You see opportunity... Opportunity is like a window: every once in a while, it opens, if you're ready for that opportunity. So be prepared, work hard, and follow your dreams.

Three of my heroes that have gotten clean and sober that I got to ask for advice were Alice Cooper, Nikki Sixx and Zakk Wylde.

The thing that drove me, and the thing that still drives me today to stay sober is all the blessings that have come into my life since this happened.

I saw Jennifer Batten do a cool guitar solo before I ever saw any other girl do a cool guitar solo.

The solo album is really my way of branching out and doing my own thing. I'm mostly known for playing other people's music, so this is a way to just do something that is purely from my heart and my creativity. So it's really exciting.

The guitar player that I'm doing my solo tour with, Angel Vivaldi, he's been releasing incredible guitar albums and people just don't really know about them because instrumental guitar isn't really at the forefront of music these days.

The biggest challenge was the whole learning curve of being solo artist. I've been in bands for so long that being a solo artist was completely new thing.

To put my name on a track as a solo artist was a big deal to me. There was no band to act as a buffer.

There are no apologies for being a female in heavy metal and especially not in 2019.

And I was a kid from L.A. and I just wanted to play thrash metal.

The thing that I don't like is the selfie when people turn their back to the stage. I'm playing my heart out, I put everything that I have into my performance. If someone turns their back to me like a zoo animal... that drives me absolutely bananas.

All of these really strong females making names for themselves in what were traditionally male-dominated spaces. And I'm not usually one to get too hung up on the male-vs.-female side of things, but it is interesting to see the dynamic shifting and it's happening across the board. It's cool to be a part of that.

There were always people in the audience that judged me on the way I looked. They just assumed, because I was a girl, that I wasn't going to be any good, and it motivated me to improve and nail it every night.

And I would say that the main thing that I faced as a female in this industry was being underestimated. But being underestimated isn't always a bad thing. It's nice to get out there and blow people's minds when they think you're not gonna be any good.

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?'

And for it to make the statement the way that it did, for 'Controlled Chaos' to debut in the Top 10 of the iTunes rock chart... We debuted behind Queen and Chris Cornell, so it's not like we were just hidden away in the back of the instrumental metal category.

I was always listening to the records that made shredding sound fun - Steve Vai, Satriani, Cacophony, Paul Gilbert. I think that's what's missing from modern shred guitar; so many people are playing so many amazing notes, but a lot of it doesn't really sound all that fun.

I started playing guitar because of seeing Steve Vai.

When it's your own name that is the business, the business never stops.