A big congratulations goes out to Nita Strauss. The Alice Cooper guitarist got engaged to her drummer and longtime boyfriend Josh Villalta, known as Josh V., during her record release show for her new solo album, The Call of the Void. The gig took place Thursday night (July 6th) in Los Angeles.
Josh dropped to one knee to ask Strauss for her hand in marriage onstage in front of the packed crowd at Whisky A Go Go, and received an enthusiastic “Yes” from the guitar virtuoso. The whole thing was captured in photos and videos, as Mike Jakubow of Sumerian Records shared some clips on social media (see below). He posted, “Nita Strauss Record Release Party …. more than that … it turned into an engagement party! Congrats @hurricanenita and @thejoshv on everything. Such an honor to share in your amazing moments. Truly.”
Jakubow also hashtagged the post with #nitastrauss #thecallofthevoid #recordreleaseparty #engagementparty #sumerianrecords #thewhiskyagogo @thewhiskyagogo @sumerianrecords. View the post, as well as video and photos from the event, below.
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Strauss has been vocal about her love for Josh over the years. On their January 12th anniversary date in 2021, she shared a social media post professing her love for Josh.
“Yes- he’s strong, brilliant, creative, brave, and he makes me laugh, which are all qualities that I cherish in him,” she wrote. “But maybe more importantly- he protects me and our little family at all costs. He pushes me even when I don’t want to be pushed, and every time it makes me better. I love to watch his amazing ideas come to life, whether I’m the one executing them or he is. I can’t wait until you guys get to hear the music he’s working on. It’s truly something else to watch these songs come to life. We’ve made some big moves lately, and our journey isn’t the easiest one, but there’s no one I’d rather be on it with. Us against the world. I love you baby! Happy anniversary!”
In a 2019 interview with Audio Ink Radio, Strauss commented, “Josh has been my boyfriend, my manager, my drummer– he does just about everything in the Nita Srauss world expect for the actual guitar playing! It’s amazing, because nobody will have my best interest at heart more than somebody that actually really cares about me. There are a lot of managers that do a great job for their clients, but at the end of the day, they don’t share their future hopes and dreams, so the person managing my career has those things at heart, not just what’s going to make me money right now. It’s a great relationship.”
The Call of the Void arrived today (July 7th). To go along with its release, Strauss unveiled an animated music video for the new single “Digital Bullets” featuring Motionless in White’s Chris Motionless (watch below).
Fans can also catch Strauss rocking with Alice Cooper during his extensive summer tour dates, including US shows supporting Motley Crue and Def Leppard, as well as a co-headlining North American outing with Rob Zombie. Pick up tickets here.