For Anna Cara, a 22-year-old guitarist from Newcastle, England, replacing Nita Strauss in the Alice Cooper Band is daunting. The music Cara covers with Cooper was laid down by greats like Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter, Kane Roberts, Vinnie Moore, Orianthi and, of course, Strauss, making the gig even weightier.
But Cara isn’t alone. She has help in the form of guitarists Ryan Roxie – who has played with Cooper since 1996 – and Tommy Henriksen, who joined Cooper’s ranks in 2012. That experience, along with their collective forays beside the likes of Slash and Joe Perry, makes them the perfect partners in guitar-related crime for Cara, who has watched the band’s antics all her life.
“I really loved Orianthi and Nita,” Cara says. “I used to play along to their videos as a kid, so I can’t even describe the feeling of this. It’s so crazy.”
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“You’ve got to be adept at learning a whole spectrum of music,” Roxie says. “When I heard Anna play, I knew right from the get-go that she’s cut from a different cloth. She can play mechanical shredder stuff with ease but also can slip into classic-rock mode at the drop of a hat.”
Henriksen, who discovered Cara and likens her tone, vibrato and versatility to that of Gary Moore, agrees. “I kept telling Ryan, ‘You’ve got to see this kid play, man,’” he says. “She’s got that thing. I can’t explain it. There’s not many people who have it, but she’s got it.”
Humble as Cara is, when pressed, she’s able to describe what that thing is. “I like playing with feel and emotion,” she says. “I enjoy shredding, but the main thing for me is feel and emotion. That’s what I enjoy, and that’s what’s kept me playing.”
Cara is on tour with Cooper, a place where there are no tricks, gimmicks or safety nets. “Nothing you hear is on tape,” Roxie says. “If it’s a bad night, you’ll hear it. That’s rock ’n’ roll. Real guitars, scratchy voices. It’s the real deal.”
“There’s a lot to learn,” Cara says. “I never think I’ve done it, or that this is my level of guitar. I don’t think that way. I think about how I can get to the next level and push myself to be better. But it’s hard to put into words. I couldn’t ask for more from life because this is one of my biggest dreams. I’m still processing it. I look over at Alice, and he’ll point to me during these songs, and it’s just unreal.”
But Roxie, who has been around the merry-go-round many times, advises Cara to embrace her new reality. “If you stick with it, you’ll get your shot. Tommy and me got our shot years ago, and we’re still trying to make the most of it. Now Anna has her shot, and the world is her oyster.”
Tommy, Anna came into Alice Cooper’s orbit through you, right?
Tommy Henriksen: I found Anna for [my band] Crossbone Skully. I’m always looking on Instagram and YouTube for musicians, and when I was putting Skully together, I was like, “I wanna put a bunch of [bedroom guitarists] together and get them out there.”
What appealed to you about Anna’s guitar playing?
Henriksen: She never showed her face, just her playing guitar. She wasn’t doing all that stupid stuff – not posing or anything. I sent her a message and said, “I love what you’re doing. You’ve got great vibrato and feel. Can I call you and your parents?”
I didn’t know how old she was. [Laughs] I FaceTimed with them and said, “I like your daughter’s playing. She’s a natural. She plays like Gary Moore. She’s got the vibrato of a 55-year-old man.” I’d never heard a girl – and don’t take that the wrong way! – play with that type of vibrato other than Orianthi. I asked who showed her that, and she said, “My dad!”
Eventually, Anna joined Crossbone Skully. What led to that?
Henriksen: I said, “I’m putting together a band. I’m going to call you. Be show-ready. You’re going to be going on a plane to L.A.” Months later, I called her and said, “Are you ready to come to L.A.? We’re going to make a few videos. I’ll pick you up at the airport.”
I picked her up, and the first place I drove her to was Johnny Depp’s house, where the studio is. This kid has never been out of Newcastle, and now she’s at Johnny Depp’s house. Johnny goes, “Let her play any guitar she wants,” so I handed her Johnny’s guitar. That’s how she wound up working with me.
Eventually, Nita gave Alice notice that she’d be leaving the band for a bit, leading to Anna taking her place. Anna, this all must have been a whirlwind.
Anna Cara: When I was discovered by Tommy in 2022, I was 19. Since then, there have been years of development, and I’ve become a better musician and live player. I’m still in disbelief because I used to watch Alice Cooper’s live videos when I was 14 and play along with them.
Ryan, you’ve been with Alice the longest and have been in the band with a lot of great guitarists. What did you think of Anna after first hearing her, and did you get the sense she’d be a good cultural fit?
Ryan Roxie: Absolutely. Fitting into any gig is just as important, if not more so, than musicianship. You have to have a high level of musicianship, but in this band you wear a lot of hats and share a lot of things. You have to be adept at learning a whole spectrum of music.
When I heard Anna play, I thought, “How the hell is that sound coming out of a 22-year-old’s fingers?” Usually, to get a tone like that, it comes from years of playing. You’ve heard the stories about smokey bars and how you get experience, but she got it from many years of woodshedding in her room and putting out videos.
Tommy, was it you who first presented the idea of Anna taking Nita’s place to Alice?
Henriksen: Alice was looking for a guitar player, and I said, “Do you want a girl or a guy? I’ve got either/or.” But the first thing I did was send Anna’s stuff to Ryan because I wanted him to see her. Ryan heard her play and said, “I see it. I hear it.” And that was it. Alice was into it, too. Next thing you know, he’s like, “Let’s bring her to Vegas to watch the show and get her familiar with everything.”
Anna, can you put your finger on that thing that Tommy is alluding to? Is it inherent to you, or is it learned?
Cara: When I started, I learned a few things from my dad. We used to play together, but it was more of a hobby to him. When he showed me songs, the things he always focused on were vibrato and rhythm. He said, “Nail that before trying to do any fast shred stuff.” From there, I was watching Tony Iommi, Eddie Van Halen and Gary Moore. I liked players with the right feel and tone.
Roxie: The crazy thing is that I’m 60 and she’s 22, but we have the same influences. That might have something to do with the way she plays – old-school influences. It reflects in her playing.
What’s the division of guitar-related labor like, and has it changed compared to when Nita was in the band?
Roxie: Alice loves lead guitar, so there’s usually a minimum of two, if not three, solos per song. Everybody gets to get their ya-ya’s out. [Laughs]
Most of the time, I prefer playing rhythm. I can do a solo, but I’m Malcolm Young, bro
Tommy Henriksen
The catalog sort of dictates itself, where, depending on the genre, you can tell who is going to be featured for the solo. If it’s an ’80s Kane Roberts thing, Anna is going to take that. If it’s more classic rock and chunky, Tommy’s got that. If it’s somewhere in the middle, I kind of float around in all those areas. We’re trying to carry the spirit of the original songs.
Henriksen: Most of the time, I prefer playing rhythm. I can do a solo, but I’m Malcolm Young, bro. [Laughs] If I’ve got a solo, I have a couple of licks, like three of them, and I just put them in a different order.
Roxie: Yeah, but I’ve said this to Tommy many times; he’s the most-improved guitar player I’ve ever played with in the history of this band. He was a bass player by trade, but he started taking guitar seriously when he joined. He’s progressed every year and has taken it seriously.
Cara: It comes down to the trio thing; everyone has a certain thing they’re good at. When we’re rehearsing, we’ll come up with really cool harmonies and things like that.
Can you pick out a favorite Alice Cooper song to tackle on guitar?
Henriksen: Caught in a Dream because of the rhythm. It’s not easy like everybody thinks. Also Cold Machines because we’ve never played it before. It’s in drop D and has that industrial metal vibe.
Cara: Feed My Frankenstein. The rhythm and solo, the duo-solo Ryan and I do, is just so much fun. Poison, too. I love the harmony solos.
Roxie: The challenging stuff is the fun part. We’re doing a song called Chasing Rainbows, which is from the ’40s, I think [Ed. note: Harry Carroll’s I’m Always Chasing Rainbows was first published in 1917], but Alice covered it on 1976’s Goes to Hell. There’s piano on that, and one of the funnest things I’ve ever done is transposing that into a piece for us to play live with the whole band.
What gear are you using these days?
Henriksen: I’m pretty much playing B.C. Rich stuff. One day, I was on a hunt, and really, because Joe Perry is the coolest guy to ever be in a band and has the coolest guitars, and I remembered seeing him with his B.C. Rich on Live! Bootleg, I thought, “I want to get a B.C. Rich.”
I got a Bich and a Mockingbird from a guy from my old neighborhood. I paid five grand for both, and it was from the original owner, who got them in 1980. After that, I said, “I’m just playing B.C. Rich right now.” Then I went out and found an ’80s Warlock. Aside from that, I use whatever built-in effects we have.
I grew up on Gibsons, and I’ve always tried to represent those classic, iconic shapes.
Ryan Roxie
Roxie: I grew up on Gibsons, and I’ve always tried to represent those classic, iconic shapes. It’s not just for tones, but I’ll play a Flying V for ’80s stuff, an Explorer for industrial stuff and a Les Paul for ’70s songs.
But I’m not working with Gibson anymore as a clinician, so now I get to play whatever I want, and I’m kind of like a kid in a candy store. [Laughs] What I’ve grabbed onto lately is Rock N Roll Relics, Billy Rowe’s company. It’s a great boutique company, and he has a bunch of killer shapes.
Beyond that, I have a custom effect coming out with Citadel. We’re calling it the Pin Sound. It’s a cool, sort of Van Halen boost, like a micro amp with a noise gate. Look for that to come out by the end of the year. Oh, and for acoustic stuff, Alvarez has been very gracious to us, and they sound great.
Cara: We’re all using Kempers live. I’ve got to give Tommy credit for the tones on that. For guitars, I’m using Ibanez’s X Series. I’m thankful to Ibanez for sorting that out because they feel amazing.
With the X Series, Tommy sent me a picture and was like, “Check this one out!” I have this nickname, Blackthorn, and when we saw the guitar, we were like, “Oh! It looks like a thorn,” so it made perfect sense to have that guitar.
But I’ve also got a Les Paul because I grew up playing Gibson. I love SGs too, but I got my Les Paul from Alice’s son, Dash Cooper. He’s letting me use it for this run, and it’s been fun to have that classic sound.
What’s the key to locking in together within a three-guitar band?
Roxie: It’s easy in this band. We know whose name is on the marquee, and it ain’t mine, it ain’t Tommy’s and it ain’t Anna’s. [Laughs] That keeps us in check. But we’re lucky to have a boss who, although it’s called the Alice Cooper Band, wants everybody to shine, have their moment and make the most of it. Alice is confident and secure with his iconic status, and his ego is in check. That makes us all aware of our own egos, too.
Henriksen: The whole thing is about rhythm. It’s about timing and feel. When you lock it in, dude, it just sounds like a wall of guitars. It’s cool to have that. We’re all playing something different – and on different parts of the neck – so that makes it fun.
Cara: The music is timeless. It’s such a range of genres. I don’t just gravitate toward one type of music, and I don’t listen to modern stuff because I love the ’70s and ’80s. With the guitar playing, along with what Ryan and Tommy said, I just get into it. That type of playing is big for me.
It seems being a guitarist with Alice is all about balancing individuality with the needs of the collective.
Henriksen: I’m always on Instagram, watching every kid, and they’re just amazing. I’m trying to learn new licks all the time, dude. But everyone has a different approach, and I’m just out there trying to figure shit out. [Laughs] But it’s so cool when you see stuff that inspires you, because I’m always trying to get better.
Roxie: Anna’s journey is just beginning, but for Tommy and me, we don’t want our journey to end. It’s that simple. Once you’re in this game, if you’re good at it and still love doing it, why quit? As long as the wheels are going, we want to keep going. We are individuals, but that doesn’t mean shit unless the collective comes across as something sincere.
Night after night, our performance speaks for itself. It’s not perfect, and no one ever claims it is, but that’s rock ’n’ roll. It ain’t supposed to be perfect. We all miss notes, but the collective is so strong that we cover for each other.
Tommy and Ryan are well established. But for you, Anna, joining Alice represents being recognized on a large scale for the first time. What do you want the guitar world to understand about you, first and foremost?
Cara: One thing that was really nice for me, and I can’t recall his name, so apologies, but he said, “It’s so inspiring to see someone your age up there doing it.” And, you know, it’s hard work, so you’ve just got to keep trying. I kept posting on social media all the time. I’d do that because I wanted to be seen. I could have just stopped; I could have not uploaded the blues cover that Tommy saw.
I could have given up and said, “You know what? Not today. I’m not going to put anything out today.” That would’ve had a butterfly effect. If I’d done that, I wouldn’t have been seen by Tommy and none of this would have happened.
Just keep trying. Work hard and do it because you love it. A lot of people just want to learn the next lick or scale and enjoy it. Enjoy the feel of the music. That’s the main thing for me: enjoy playing every day.
