Orianthi spoke to Guitar World magazine about Alice Cooper‘s recent announcement that she will be rejoining his band for shows January 31 through February 16, filling in for Nita Strauss, who, unfortunately, has conflicting obligations of her own.
Orianthi toured with Alice from 2011 to 2014, along with longtime band members Chuck Garric, Glen Sobel, Tommy Henriksen and Ryan Roxie.
She said: “Alice is like family. Working with him was such a blast, and it’s such an honor. Alice is a legend. 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.”
Orianthi said that she was approached about doing the January/February tour via e-mail. “I was like, ‘Absolutely,'” she said. “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.”
Orianthi went on to say that she will inject her own style into Alice‘s performances.
“I bring something really different to the band than Nita does,” she explained. “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.”
When Orianthi‘s return to Cooper‘s band was first announced in late November, Alice said in a statement: “When Orianthi moved on to pursue her own career in 2014, we were lucky to find Nita. Over the past decade, Nita, Chuck and Tommy have also launched their own projects, and we always try to coordinate our schedule so we can keep the band together, but these shows came up after Nita had already committed to another tour. So I reached out to Orianthi, and thankfully she was available to jump back in, so we’re all really looking forward to doing these shows with her. I’m so fortunate to always have such great musicians to work with.”
Alice Cooper tour dates with Orianthi on guitar:
Jan. 31 – Augusta, GA – Bell Auditorium
Feb. 01 – Cherokee, NC – Harrah’s Casino Resort Event Center
Feb. 02 – Greensboro, NC – Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts
Feb. 04 – Mobile, AL – Saenger Theatre
Feb. 06 – Orlando, FL – Hard Rock
Feb. 07 – Ft Myers, FL – Barbara Mann Performing Arts Hall
Feb. 08 – Clearwater, FL – Coachmen Park
Feb. 11 – St. Augustine, FL – Amphitheatre
Feb. 13-Feb. 17 – Miami, FL – Rock Legends Cruise
Alice Cooper will be announcing further 2025 tour dates, with Strauss back in the fold, having already confirmed a May 9 appearance at the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Ohio and an August 15 show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at Lincoln Financial Field with MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE.
Orianthi (Orianthi Panagaris) looks as much like a rock star as she does a supermodel. But it’s her extraordinary guitar chops that turn the most heads. She began playing professionally when she was thirteen years old before going on to perform and/or tour with Carlos Santana, Steve Vai, Alice Cooper, Richie Sambora and Dave Stewart. She was hired by Michael Jackson for his “This Is It” tour before his untimely death and performed with the supergroup HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES (Cooper, Joe Perry, Johnny Depp and Tommy Henriksen). Orianthi‘s debut album, “Violet Journey”, was released in 2005 and she has issued five solo albums to date. She was featured accompanying Carrie Underwood during a Grammy Awards telecast, performed on “American Idol” and appears in Jackson‘s documentary concert film “This Is It”. Elle magazine named Orianthi one of the “12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists” and she won the 2010 “Breakthrough Guitarist Of The Year” award from Guitar International magazine.
Strauss has been playing with Cooper since 2014 when she replaced Orianthi. She joined Alice in time for a mammoth MÖTLEY CRÜE tour. She was recommended to Cooper by the legendary rocker’s former bass player and WINGER frontman Kip Winger.