Alice Cooper fans are no strangers to surprises. But earlier this year, the shock rocker still managed to raise eyebrows by hiring an unknown 22-year-old guitarist for his band.
It’s no exaggeration to say Anna Cara’s life has been turned upside down since the Newcastle, England-born shredder stepped into Nita Strauss’ studded boots while the guitarist takes time away to welcome her first child. Introduced in March with Strauss’ blessing, Cara has quickly impressed Cooper fans with her blazing playing on a collection of X-shaped Ibanez Xiphos electric guitars.
But it was Cooper guitarist Tommy Henriksen who spotted her first — on social media.
“I kept telling Ryan [Roxie, Cooper’s other guitarist], ‘You’ve got to see this kid play, man. She’s got that thing,’” Henriksen tells Guitar World. “I can’t explain it. There aren’t many people who have it, but she’s got it.”
At the time, Henriksen was looking for talent for his own band, Crossbone Skully, and the then-19-year-old Cara jumped at the chance to tour with them. It gave Henriksen the opportunity to see whether her ability extended beyond polished social media clips.
“She wasn’t doing all that stupid stuff,” he says. “I sent her a message and said, ‘I love what you’re doing. You’ve got a great vibrato and feel. Can I call you and your parents?’
“I FaceTimed 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.’”
Before long, Cara — who has also toured with Krokus frontman Marc Storace — had left Newcastle for the first time and found herself auditioning at the home of three-time Oscar nominee and Jeff Beck collaborator Johnny Depp. She nailed it.
So when Strauss announced she was stepping away from Cooper’s band to focus on motherhood, Cara found herself firmly on Alice Cooper’s radar.
“Next thing you know, he’s like, ‘Let’s bring her to Vegas to watch the show and get her familiar with everything,’” Henriksen recalls.
“Anna Cara is a beautiful, dynamic shredder in the vein of Nita, but with a style of her own,” Cooper said when introducing her to fans.
Now 23 — she celebrated her birthday on the road — Cara shows no sign of being overawed by the opportunity. Reflecting on Cooper’s recent European tour, she described it on Instagram as “an unforgettable experience” and “the chance of a lifetime.”
The whirlwind isn’t slowing down anytime soon. She returns to Cooper’s band in September while continuing to tour with Storace throughout the summer and into December.
In related news, Guitar Player recently caught up with Kane Roberts, the bodybuilder guitarist who helped revive Alice Cooper’s career in the 1980s despite having virtually no musical experience.
