NITA STRAUSS: ‘I liked to Drink; I Have Always Liked to Drink. That’s How I Survived Being a Young Female in the World of Rock and Roll’

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The first step to do to solve a problem it to acknowledge you have one. Nita Strauss did, fought, and won. And she is a winner in the male world of Metal and rock. Take a look:

 

“Oh, no. The great thing about Alice is he’s so inclusive. He doesn’t judge anybody. We could drink a beer or have a cocktail in front of him – his wife Sheryl will have a glass of wine here and there at dinner – and he doesn’t mind; he will never say a word.”

“The only time that he would ever get on anyone – which, thankfully, never happened to me – is if it started to affect your job. If I was going on stage sloppy, wasted, falling down, missing notes, forgetting parts, I’m sure I would have had a talk from Alice.”

“But I was a really functioning alcoholic. I liked to drink; I have always liked to drink. I’ve been touring since I was a young teenager, and the only way to fit in, I thought, at that time, the way to fit in with this older crowd, was to have a beer with them.”

“And that just sort of became my crutch. That’s how I survived being a young female in the world of rock and roll. I’d be, like, ‘Hey, let’s have a beer together,’ and that’s kind of the equalizer.”

“And it wasn’t until [later that] I realized it’s actually not all that important. I have never met somebody since I got sober that offered me a drink and I said, ‘No, thank you. I don’t drink,’ and they judged me for it. And I always thought that would happen.”

“I always thought it would be some kind of weakness or something if I don’t drink. And as soon as I got sober and I started saying, ‘Oh, no, thank you. I don’t drink,’ it was never like, ‘What? Oh, that’s crazy!’ They go, ‘Oh, okay.’ No big deal. And it’s even more common for musicians to be sober than to be wild partiers now.”