5 Things Learned From Chris Jericho's Podcast With Nita Strauss

Best known these days as one of Alice Cooper's guitarists, Los Angeles native Nita Strauss was ranked at number one on Guitar World's list of "10 Female Guitar Players You Should Know." Prior to landing the gig with Cooper -- in which she had replaced Orianthi -- Strauss had been a member of Femme Fatale, Jermaine Jackson and the all-female tribute to Iron Maiden known as Iron Maiden.

Strauss is on the road more often than not these days, and her recent appearance at WrestleMania 34 as part of Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance definitely exposed her to a lot of people that may not have been familiar with her.

Shortly after WrestleMania, Strauss was a featured guest on Chris Jericho's Talk Is Jericho podcast. Within Jericho's in-person chat with Strauss, the guitarist opened up all facets of her career -- including what it is like being on tour with Cooper -- but also spoke about how wrestling has played into her life both personally and professionally. Strauss pulled no punches, yet also kept it positive, and told some interesting stories. Below are five things one may learn from listening to this episode of Talk Is Jericho.

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#1: Her boyfriend Josh is to credit for her getting into wrestling

Nita Strauss is a subscriber of the WWE Network

One may wonder how a serious schooled musician became a fan of professional wrestling, or as WWE calls it, sports entertainment. In the case of Ms. Strauss, it was her boyfriend (also her manager and sometimes-drummer) Josh Villalta who hipped her to wrestling. Prior to Villata's introduction, she told Chris Jericho that she had never watched it.

Having extended her fandom, Strauss these days is a WWE Network subscriber. Going beyond the land of the McMahons, Strauss has also been in attendance of both independent and WWE shows. The PCW wrestling promotion came up several times during this episode of Talk Is Jericho.

When asked later in the episode about who her favorite wrestlers are, Strauss first mentioned The Ultimate Warrior. This was until she realized some of Warrior's in-ring limitations. Later on, she cited Rob Van Dam as another favorite.

#2: Wrestlemania is not the only wrestling-related live performance Strauss has been a part of

Alice Cooper guitarist Nita Strauss

As stated earlier, when playing during Shinsuke Nakamura's entrance at WrestleMania 34 alongside a host of drummers, a lot of people took notice of guitarist Nita Strauss for the first time.

As it turns out, WrestleMania 34 was not Strauss' first performance at a live wrestling event. In fact, several months ago at a PCW show, Strauss helped played on Japanese legend The Great Muta before he entered the ring.

Based on Strauss' estimated touring schedule of eight months per year, it sounds like more performances at live wrestling events would be done if time and logistics permitted such.

But taking things a step further, Strauss had live sporting experience before PCW or WWE came into the future. While Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS had their Los Angeles-based arena football team, the L.A. KISS, Strauss was part of the house band for home games.

She played the national anthem before games, and it was those performances that helped land her gig with Alice Cooper. Within her chat with Jericho, Strauss shared an anecdote about meeting Stanley after her last performance with the L.A. KISS, showing her appreciation for the members of KISS, both as performers and as human beings.

#3: Some facets of Alice Cooper touring life were revealed

Alice Cooper waiving the American flag during a performance

As discussed with Nita Strauss' podcast conversation with Chris Jericho, the Alice Cooper band and crew resemble a family. Cooper, when not in character, plays a paternal role within the touring organization. .

It is well-documented that he has been sober for decades, and married to wife Sheryl Goddard -- who still dances as part of Cooper's live show -- for over 40 years. In turn, things are not as stereotypically "rock and roll" as one may think.

Cooper is known to be a golf enthusiast, and he literally golfs every day when he is on the road. During off-days, when not performing a concert, Cooper will play 18 holes. On show days, he will play a shortened round of nine holes.

Also as part of his unwinding when there is a show to do, Cooper is known to watch kung-fu movies in his dressing room. While is known to be approachable and is generous with fans when it comes to meet and greet events, it is best not to bother him for a photo or autograph while he is getting into character right before going onstage to perform.

#4: Nita Strauss chose an interesting time to get sober

Rock band Motley Crue

As a Los Angeles-based guitarist playing with Alice Cooper, it is not surprising that Nita Strauss is a fan of Motley Crue. When the Crue had announced its farewell tour, she was about to buy tickets to a show at the Hollywood Bowl.

Coincidentally, within three hours of intending to purchase those tickets, she told Jericho that she had successfully auditioned for and been accepted into Alice Cooper's band. As luck would have it, Alice Cooper was on the road with Motley Crue for about two and a half years as part of that farewell tour.

While on tour with the Crue, Strauss realized that it was time for a change in lifestyle. She quit drinking and began to make healthier choices when eating. The Crue may be thought as one of the more dangerous bands in the rock history, yet those lifestyle choices are behind some of the band's members.

As it turns out, Crue bassist Nikki Sixx is one of the people who Strauss credits for helping her change her ways, as he gave her a reading list during the tour. Strauss remains on the wagon to this day and is understandably very proud of that.

#5: Diamond Dallas Page may have changed more lives than you realize

Diamond Dallas Page is the founder of DDP YOGA

When people think of WCW legend (and WWE Hall Of Famer) Diamond Dallas Page, they probably think of DDP YOGA. With hundreds of thousands of followers, DDPY is an innovative exercise program. It aims to increase flexibility and provide a challenging, sweat-inducing workout, but going well beyond that, DDPY also incorporates nutrition, philosophy and other lifestyle-oriented aspects.

Famous followers of DDPY include Chris Jericho, A.J. Styles, singer Darius Rucker, and comedian Gabriel Iglesias. During her chat with Jericho, Strauss admitted to being a regular user of the DDPY app, doing the workouts in her hotel room.

Speaking of philosophies, Strauss shared a personal philosophy during her chat with Jericho, which the aforementioned Alice Cooper manager Shep Gordon often recites. That philosophy is: "If you're early, you're on time. If you're on-time, you're late. If you're late, you're fired."

Such is not far off from one of DDP's often-said quotes: "Work ethic equals dreams. That to me is that no one gets a free ride. You have to work for it and it doesn't get handed to you." In turn, beyond her skills as a guitarist, there is undeniable work ethic, motivation, emotional intelligence and positivity behind Nita Strauss' approach to earning a living as a touring musician.