Viva! Pomona creator Rene Contreras talks about the evolution of the DIY fest

• July 11, 2023

For more than a decade, Rene Contreras has had his finger on the pulse of rising musical talent in Southern California and beyond.

As a teenager, he spent countless nights staying up until the early hours of the morning, cycling his way through every music platform available. He was searching for something that gave him the goosebumps and artists he could reach out to in hopes of booking them for a show in his hometown of Pomona. Contreras’ ability to hear something that he knew would one day make it big is what has made the Viva! Pomona Festival so successful.

The independent music fest — where now superstar acts like Chicano Batman, The Marias, Omar Apollo, The Garden, Cuco and DannyLux were exposed to audiences early on — is returning for its eleventh year at The Glass House in Pomona on July 15-16. El Monte indie rock trio The Red Pears will headline on Saturday, July 15 and Atlanta, Georgia-based pop duo Coco & Clair Clair will close out the event on Sunday, July 16.

“I never thought we’d even make it this far,” Contreras said of the festival with a cold brew coffee in hand, sitting on a bench in front of The Glass House concert hall. “It’s surreal, to be honest. And every year that passes it’s new artists, new generations and new projects people might not know about. And it’s great because we get to put that on the map for so many people here.”

Contreras, a first-generation Chicano, began his career by booking bands in backyards and charging $3 for local teens to catch rising punk, rock or indie bands in the Inland Empire. It didn’t seem like much back then, but Contreras knew he was onto something as he watched the scene grow.

He wanted to go bigger, but he didn’t know how.

Through a chance encounter, Contreras ended up connecting with Los Angeles-based music promoter Paul Tollett, who grew up in Pomona and attended Cal Poly Pomona before becoming president and CEO of Goldenvoice, the company responsible for festivals like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Tollett, along with his brother Perry, opened The Glass House in 1996.

The pair clicked and in 2013, with Tollett’s blessing, Contreras launched Viva! Pomona at the venue.

Since the inception of Viva!, it’s been vital for Contreras to book independent artists throughout Southern California. Still, a key ingredient is incorporating Latin artists, he said, noting that many Latinos who grew up in the surrounding areas listened to Spanish and English music and he wanted to create a similar vibe. Latin artists account for more than half of the 2023 lineup, with a little more than 40 acts in all playing this weekend.

“With any movie or book you read, there’s always a theme, and I really try to stay true to ours,” Contreras said. “If you’re from the Inland Empire, you know it’s heavily dominated by people who speak Spanish, so a lot of us grew up speaking Spanish in our households then going out into society speaking English, so it’s a representation of that 50-50 split. Every language and every person is welcome, of course, but the theme of it is to have that energy.”

Acts from Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina and Spain have taken part in Viva!, and for some acts, coming to the festival marked their very first shows in the U.S. This year, Contreras shared that he booked several bands from Latin America and the Caribbean, including Indie Anthony, an artist based in Jamaica who will be making his California debut at the festival.

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“It’s funny because (Indie Anthony) told me that when people think of Jamaica, they don’t normally think of post-punk coming out of there,” he said. “So it’s cool to have different styles take part in this and join the backyard community.”

Though Viva! is now presented on a larger scale, there’s still that backyard DIY spirit, Contreras said. The festival has created a space where the artists feel more at home and he’s been able to foster lasting friendships and working relationships with them. The acts also connect with one another. Past performers like Palm Springs native DannyLux and Inglewood-based singer-songwriter Cuco were introduced through Viva! and the encounter led to the pair collaborating on “Decir Adios,” a track off Cuco’s 2022 record “Fantasy Gateway.”

“I asked Danny who his music inspiration was, and he said Cuco, and I told him he actually headlined a few years back and was so excited, so I knew I had to make that connection,” Contreras said.

Putting together Viva! ultimately led to Contreras landing a job with Goldenvoice in 2017. He curates the Sonora Tent at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where he’s become known to mix alternative and indie rock genres with Latin artists. In 2023, the stage included DannyLux, The Breeders, Bratty, Los Bitchos, Conexion Divina, Momma, Destroy Boys and many more. Using his platform, Contreras hopes to help artists develop their careers — from playing a more intimate fest like Viva!, to being a part of Coachella, one of the largest music festivals in the world.

“I was so nervous when I started,” Contreras said. “But in the end, it really is the same method I use for finding artists for Viva! You know athletes always have to be in shape and I’m not an athlete or anything, but its the same deal, you always have to be at the forefront when it comes to music because it moves so fast.”

Though his official job title is talent buyer and promoter, Contreras said it’s much more than that.

“Sure, my job title is talent buying, but I really don’t see it that way,” he said. “I like to see it as talent believing. Every artist in this world is different, and their creative process and how they want to express themselves is different. People ask me if I ever have days off and, honestly, not really. I’m always hunting and searching for new music, but I would have it any other way.”

Viva! Pomona

When: 3-11:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15-Sunday, July 16

Where: 200 W. 2nd Street, Pomona

Tickets: Two-day passes are $50; single-day tickets are $30 at theglasshouse.us.

​ Orange County Register 

Customs officers at California border find nearly 900,000 fentanyl pills hidden in shipment of sinks, authorities say

• July 11, 2023

US Customs and Border Protection officers in California say they stopped the attempted smuggling of fentanyl pills with an estimated street value of more than $2.5 million.

The bust happened at the cargo facility at the Otay Mesa border crossing in San Diego after authorities noticed “anomalies” within a shipment of sinks, CBP said in a news release Thursday.

A 45-year-old man, who was driving a white cargo van, presented border officials with a valid border crossing card on June 26, along with a shipping manifest for two porcelain sinks, CBP said in the release.

“While screening the vehicle using a port imaging system, CBP officers discovered anomalies within the shipment,” the release says.

US Customs and Border Protection officers seized nearly 900,000 fentanyl pills at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry’s cargo facility, according to CBP.(US Customs and Border Protection)

Authorities inspected the shipment with a canine detection team and found about 858,000 blue pills were hidden in the two sinks, CBP said.

The 12 packages, weighing about 189 pounds, tested positive for fentanyl, authorities said.

Officers seized the synthetic opioids and the cargo van. The driver was transferred to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations.

The agency did not provide further information about the suspect.

“Narcotics traffickers will try new and innovative ways to smuggle dangerous drugs across our borders, but CBP officers are always on their toes,” Rosa Hernandez, port director for the Otay Mesa port of entry, said in the release.

US border protection officers have seized over 19,800 pounds of fentanyl so far in 2023, CBP data shows.

The-CNN-Wire & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

​ Orange County Register 

How to get free or cheap fries on National French Fry Day 2023

• July 11, 2023

There is disagreement in the fast food world over when National French Fry Day should be. Some chains are going with July 13, which falls on Thursday this year, and some think it should always be on a Friday.

Either way, here are three fast food chains that are offering french fry deals this week.

McDonald’s: App users can get a free order of fries, any size, at participating locations on July 13, according to a news release. www.mcdonalds.com

Rally’s: Rewards members can get a free order of seasoned Fry Lovers XL fries from “Fry-day,” July 14, through Sunday, July 16, according to a news release. rallys.com

Smashburger: The chain is offering a free order of Smashfries, which are tossed with rosemary, garlic and olive oil, with any purchase on July 13, according to a news release. smashburger.com

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​ Orange County Register 

Another major insurance company limits new homeowners insurance in California

• July 11, 2023

New York — Farmers Insurance has limited new homeowners insurance policies in California, joining other major national insurance providers.

Farmers, the second-largest provider of homeowners insurance in the state, said it placed the cap on the number of policies in California effective July 3. The company cited high costs and wildfire risks.

RELATED: California home insurance: What’s more important, coverage or cost?

“With record-breaking inflation, severe weather events, and reconstruction costs continuing to climb, we are focused on serving our customers while effectively managing our business,” Farmers Insurance said in a statement, adding it will limit the new policies “to a level consistent with the volume we projected to write each month before recent market changes.”

It’s getting harder and harder to find homeowners insurance in the states that are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Farmers’ shift follows decisions by State Farm and Allstate, two of America’s largest insurers. The companies said they will no longer write new homeowners policies in the state. Both cited wildfire risk as a reason for the move and blamed limits placed on insurance premiums in states like California. Insurance companies also say rising costs for labor and building costs make replacing homes costly.

“The cost to insure new home customers in California is far higher than the price they would pay for policies due to wildfires, higher costs for repairing homes, and higher reinsurance premiums,” said a statement from Allstate explaining its decision to stop writing new policies last fall.

RELATED: Does homeowners insurance cover landslides? That’s a key question after Southern California landslide

Rising temperatures could increase the risk of extreme wildfires worldwide in the coming years, according to an analysis by the UN Environment Programme.

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​ Orange County Register 

Short athletes to compete in 26th Wiener Nationals in Los Alamitos

• July 11, 2023

More than a hundred dachshunds from all over the West will be running as quickly as they can on their little legs toward the title of Fastest Wiener in the West.

The Los Alamitos Race Course will be holding the 26th annual Wiener Nationals on Saturday to raise money for the Seal Beach Animal Care Center, a non-kill animal shelter and partner for the event. The spectacle has raised more than $25,000 over the years for the shelter, said Orlando Gutierrez, the marketing director at the race course.

“We love dachshunds, we think they’re amazing, and also it’s for a good cause so it’s kind of a win-win,” said Chelsey Engerran-Singh, a Van Nuys resident who entered her dachshund, Leona, into the Diaper Dash, a race for wiener dogs that are a year old or younger.

More than half of the dachshunds competing have never raced before, said Gutierrez, and many of the newcomers were encouraged to enter after they visited and saw the fun at the race.

On Monday, several of the pups were getting acquainted with the track during a preview day.

“We hold these couple of practice events just to get them used to what happens, get them used to the starting gate, get them used to the finish line, get them used to running against other dogs,” Gutierrez said.

Jasmine and Evelyn Melgar drove for more than an hour from San Fernando Valley to enter their dachshund Snoopy into the races. After receiving encouragement from a friend and noticing Snoopy’s nighttime hyperactivity, they decided the race would be the perfect opportunity to show off his speed.

Jasmine Melgar placed Snoopy in the cage at the starting line and as the gate lifted, screamed “Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!” as he raced toward her sister at the finish line, getting distracted by the other dogs in the homestretch and veering slightly off course.

“It’d be cool if he did win, but if he doesn’t, I don’t mind, as long as he has fun,” Melgar said.

The first place prize is $1,000 in cash, a trophy and a new yellow-and-red doghouse, themed for Wienerschnitzel’s involvement in the event. Like the Melgar sisters, many of the owners prioritized fun over prizes.

Danielle Presson and Delilah are in from Boise, Idaho, for their second year racing.

Presson said she and Delilah didn’t do too well in last year’s race, but she is hoping for better results this year.

For Patti Negri, a TV personality from Hollywood, this is her 16th year at the race track. She raced Dora the first 14 years and now partners with Willow, who is fast, but has had a habit of turning around halfway through the race, which they are working on.

Willow almost came in second place at last year’s race, but she turned around at the last minute, losing her chance to place, Negri said.

“I would love for her to win the race, because I know she’s fast enough to win it, if we could just figure out that not-turning-around when she’s almost to the finish line,” Negri said.

Victory is not unfamiliar to Lois and Luis Hernandez from Newbury Park. Their dog, Mr. Schnitzel, was a two-time winner of the race before passing away earlier this year. Now, 6-year-old Kirby is carrying on the tradition for her owners while wearing Mr. Schnitzel’s winning silks.

The couple said that they had fun Monday meeting all the different dogs and seeing all of the variety and spontaneity brought by the little athletes. They also said they loved that their participation would support the Seal Beach shelter.

“I also think it’s important for people to take time and do fun things with their dog, not just have them locked in the house or locked in the backyard,” Luis Hernandez said. “To make them a part of their life, to enjoy them every day of their life.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Westminster plans to discuss city manager’s contract this week

• July 11, 2023

When Christine Cordon took over the role of Westminster’s city manager in a time of political turmoil in the city, she was lauded for providing a calming presence in often contentious meetings.

Residents even voted for her to be recognized in the Register’s list of 125 most influential people along with Assistant City Manager Adolfo Ozaeta for sparking changes in Westminster. The duo brought back public events, implemented the city’s first strategic plan and, according to the nominator, introduced the city to topics that were considered taboo before.

Now, as Westminster’s city leaders prepare to discuss Cordon’s contract and employee evaluation in Wednesday’s upcoming regularly scheduled meeting, they have added to the closed session discussion “Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release,” according to the agenda.

It is unclear if Cordon will be dismissed of her duties on Wednesday or if a clause for dismissal will be added to her contract.

Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, Councilmember Amy Phan West said periodic evaluations are needed so “the City Council can establish clear expectations for the city manager and ensure that her actions align with the goals of the council.”

“It also provides an opportunity for constructive dialogue and feedback, allowing the city manager to address any concerns raised by the council members,” she said.

But the hint of potential change to Cordon’s contract has been met with uproar among Westminster residents as well as with some members of the City Council.

“Her unwarranted dismissal would be devastating to the future of our city,” said Councilmember Carlos Manzo. “Since her appointment, she has conducted herself with the utmost professionalism. She has moved us in a positive direction and (is) doing more with minimal resources.”

Westminster, Manzo said, does not need a “yes person” who just appeases councilmembers’ ideas and suggestions, but rather the city manager should provide “honest” answers to councilmembers’ questions and ideas. He said Cordon has done just that.

“We don’t know everything and depend on professional guidance,” Manzo said. “We should not be at odds with our city manager if we don’t get the answers we want to hear.”

Terry Rains, who runs the popular social media platform Westminster Buzz and is a council observer, said she has observed that the greater community is outraged and fearful of what Cordon’s potential dismissal could mean for the city.

“The community wholeheartedly trusts Christine and her ability to run our city. She is a straight shooter, honest and respectful of everyone,” Rains said. “Residents and business leaders know Christine will never cross legal or ethical lines for anyone.”

If Cordon is let go, Rains said, it would be for political reasons. She speculated that Cordon would be replaced by someone willing to cross lines she is not.

“If she is fired, any hope of this city surviving and eventually thriving will be lost. Westminster will likely become the most corrupt city ever,” Rains said.

In 2021, Cordon was elevated to the role of city manager from her role as city clerk after City Manager Marwan Youssef retired following outrage over his decision to hire former Westminster Councilmember Tyler Diep as a city consultant.

Diep was earning $6,400 a month for connecting councilmembers to elected officials. But the contract was short-lived: because of the outrage, Diep canceled his contract a little over a month into signing it, pocketing $13,400 for the short time he served as a consultant.

Since taking the city’s top job, Cordon was instrumental in pushing for city leaders to put a 1% sales tax measure on the ballot. Without the sales tax measure, Westminster would have been forced to eliminate more than 30 senior management positions, cut its police force by 33% and disband all commissions not required by law.

“We’re already running thin,” Cordon said at the time.

Earlier this year, she was recognized by Rep. Michelle Steel, R-Seal Beach, and State Sen. Janet Nguyen, R-Huntington Beach, for her work in Westminster.

While Cordon is usually calm during council meetings, in a late May meeting, what was an innocuous staff presentation soon turned tense. Staffers had just presented to the council a plan to install billboards on the 405 Freeway to bring in some much-needed cash to the city. They also shared a potential company to contract with.

“I find it insulting,” said Cordon as the council majority — which includes Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen and Councilmembers NamQuan Nguyen and Phan West — questioned how staffers went through the RFP process to select the billboard company and how they determined what is best for the city.

“There is a transparent, clear process and how you issue RFPs in a general law city. This is exactly what we’ve done,” Cordon said. “If you would like to be behind the scenes, with the process, writing the process, picking out the consultants, please by all means we have plenty of city jobs available.”

Ultimately, the council voted to go ahead with staff recommendations at the June 28 meeting, praising staff for their work.

Cordon and NamQuan Nguyen declined to comment for the story while Chi Charlie Nguyen did not respond to a request for comment.

The City Council is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 12 at 8200 Westminster Blvd.

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​ Orange County Register 

Around $10 on tolls? OCTA’s decision on 405 toll costs coming soon

• July 11, 2023

Around $10 for tolls on the 405 Freeway? That could soon be the reality for some drivers.

With the almost $2.2 billion improvement project on the 405 nearing completion by the end of the year, the Orange County Transportation Authority is preparing for the 405 Express Lanes (a single lane in each direction) to become operational and start collecting tolls.

On Wednesday, July 12, those on OCTA’s Finance and Administration Committee will discuss the toll policy. According to documents released ahead of the meeting, the 405 Express Lanes — to be located in the middle of the freeway like the 91 Express Lanes — will give solo drivers the choice to speed up their commutes for a fee.

Carpoolers can travel for free if there are three or more individuals in their vehicle with a valid account and transponder.

During the first three and a half years after the opening of the 405 Express Lanes, carpoolers with two individuals can travel for free during non-peak hours with a valid account and transponder.

Drivers with a designated veterans or a disabled person license plate will always ride the Express Lanes for free. Clean air vehicles, as designated by the state, will receive a 15% discount. The toll road will be free for motorcycles.

Once the Finance and Administration Committee approves the toll policy, the entire OCTA board will then take it up for consideration at its regularly scheduled board meeting on Monday, July 24.

“The toll policy basically lowers and raises tolls based on congestion,” said Joel Zlotnik, OCTA’s strategic communications manager.

With multiple entry and exit points on the Express Lanes, the toll amount will depend on the stretch of freeway a driver is traveling and the time of day too. The most expensive toll amount planned, $9.95, is for commuters traveling the whole length of the 405 Express Lanes in the northbound direction between 3-5 p.m. on a Friday while southbound drivers can expect to pay up to $6.20 in tolls.

OCTA’s toll rates are less expensive than others in the region. The maximum toll cost per mile on the 405 Express Lanes is $0.73. The comparative toll cost per mile on the 10 Express Lanes and 110 Express Lanes is $2.40.

Once the Express Lanes open at the end of the year, Zlotnik said, there will be an adjustment period when commuters and OCTA adapt to the new normal of a toll road on the 405.

“That adjustment period gives us the opportunity to lower or raise tolls to ensure we’re best meeting the policy goals of the Express Lanes,” Zlotnik said.

Some of the goals of implementing toll roads on the 405 include keeping traffic freely flowing and encouraging commuters to carpool.

Peak hours have been designated as Monday through Friday from 6-10 a.m. and 2-7 p.m. as well as on weekends from 1-7 p.m. However, this could change once the 405 Express Lanes open. For the first 12 weeks, staffers will monitor the traffic on the freeway and will adjust peak hours accordingly.

After that initial period of adjustment, toll rates will be reviewed and adjusted on a quarterly basis, Zlotnik said.

Money collected from the tolls will go toward paying back the $629 million federal loan — through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act passed by Congress in 1980 — OCTA received that went toward the construction of the 405 Express Lanes, Zlotnik said.

OCTA will also create an expenditure plan on where excess toll revenues will go, he said. Under California law, toll revenue needs to be spent within the freeway project area. OCTA also manages some of the express lanes on the 91, and Zlotnik said around $750 million in excess toll revenue from that freeway has been spent on projects within the corridor.

Like on other toll roads in California, those using the 405 Express Lanes will need the FasTrak transponder, he said. However, the FasTrak transponder has to be the adjustable one (not the sticker) to account for how many people are riding the toll roads, Zlotnik said.

The 405 Express Lanes are just one component of the 405 Improvement Project, a voter-approved Measure M project which is also the largest highway project currently under construction in the state.

The improvement plan extends 16 miles from Costa Mesa to the Orange County-Los Angeles County border and includes adding a regular lane in each direction of 405 between Euclid Street and the 605, adding a second lane that will become part of the 405 Express Lanes between SR-73 to the 605, reconstructing 18 bridges that span the freeway, improving local streets and freeway on- and off-ramps and sidewalk and bus lane additions.

The improvement project is 90% complete.

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​ Orange County Register 

Rock guitarist Nita Strauss has a new solo album and a Rams Super Bowl ring

• July 11, 2023

Though guitarist Nita Strauss is best known for touring with shock rock legend Alice Cooper and more recently pop and rock songstress Demi Lovato, football fans may recognize her from shredding in between plays and at halftime at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood as the official in-house guitarist for the Los Angeles Rams.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Strauss has been a lifelong Rams fan and had been asked to play several times during games since the team returned to the area in 2016. After the Rams’ new home at SoFi Stadium was complete in 2020, she became the guitarist of the NFL team and rocked the Rams through a Super Bowl victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in 2022.

That winning season seems like a blur to Strauss now, she admits, noting that she was extremely busy in 2021. In all of 2022, she said she was only home for a total of 18 days — most of which she spent doing laundry — due to a jam-packed touring schedule with Cooper, Lovato, her own solo gigs and countless red-eye flights to LAX after late night shows to perform at the Rams home games. However, her dedication to her craft and her favorite football team paid off in the form of a giant, custom, bling-filled Super Bowl LVI ring.

“I would play a gig, sleep at the airport hotel until 3:30 in the morning, fly to (LAX) and head straight to the stadium, play the game and get right back to the airport to play a show in the next city,” Strauss said during a recent phone interview, adding that a steady football stadium job is a dream scenario for a guitar player. “It was a grueling season for me — and the team! So, it was cool to get this sort of bucket list accolade at the end of all of that. I got a ring and I got some frequent flyer miles. It was all worth it.”

During our call earlier this month, Strauss was preparing to live out another dream: finally releasing her sophomore solo album, “The Call of the Void” on Sumerian Records, with a special show at the Whisky a Go-Go in West Hollywood. The now-36-year-old said she remembers playing the iconic venue as a teenager with her metal band Lia-Fail, which also featured now Olympian and world champion boxer Mikaela Mayer on bass.

It’s the perfect spot, she said, to live debut her new songs, which include several instrumentals as well as collaborations with vocalists like Motionless in White’s Chris Motionless on “Digital Bullets,” Halestorm’s Lzzy Hale on “Through the Noise,” L.A.-based singer-songwriter Dorothy on “Victorious,” Disturbed’s David Draiman with “Dead Inside” and she brought in Cooper for “Winner Takes All.”

“I’ve had the crazy opportunity to work with Alice now on two records — on my record and his upcoming ‘Road’ record — and it was cool getting to know someone I’ve known musically for a long time in this new sense, because people in the studio are very different creatively,” she said. “He was super receptive for the ideas I had for his record and, obviously, he knocked his performance out of the park on my record because he’s a pro’s pro. It was really cool sharing this new chapter of the journey with him in that way.”

Working on her second album was much different than her first, 2018’s fully instrumental “Controlled Chaos.” With that initial effort, Strauss said she felt unsure if fans would even want to hear her own music or just wanted her to stick to the stuff she played with Cooper or parts from her time in the all-female Iron Maiden cover band, The Iron Maidens. She sought funding to support the album through a Kickstarter crowdfunding page to gauge interest. The initial pledge was for $20,000 to get the recording going, but by the end of the campaign, her fans had gifted her more than $165,000 to create her solo debut.

“It was very intimidating,” she said when the numbers were tallied. “It might not have been for others, but for me it was a life-changing amount of money. I was like ‘Oh my God’ and it was a lot of pressure because I had to deliver. It was no longer about me at that point, it was for all the people who put their money where their mouths were and said ‘We believe in you and we want this record.’ I had to make it happen at that point.”

Strauss said that knowing that supportive audience was there was also the confidence boost she needed heading into “The Call of the Void.”

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“This record was an amazing experience,” she said. “With the first record, I didn’t really collaborate with anyone. It was my boyfriend and my best friend playing with me and they knew and understood me better than anyone and knew what my vision was and when we were done, we put the album out and that was it, that was the process. On this route, there was a lot more to learn in working with these incredible artists who have their own careers and labels and management, which made things a lot more complicated, but in terms of the artistic part of it, that was such a great experience for me.”

On the album, Strauss said she’s perfectly fine just shredding on guitar and letting the pro vocalists do their thing.

“The more amazing singers I work with, the less I want to get on the microphone,” she said with a laugh. “I’m working with these absolutely phenomenal vocalists and I can sing a little and anyone that comes and sees me will see me do some backups here and there. I’ll do what I love, which is to play guitar and let these wonderful vocalists do what they love and I think it’s better that way.”

While she’s graced the cover of countless guitar and rock-focused magazines and has been named on several best guitarist lists, she’s also accomplished many other impressive feats. “Dead Inside” off of the new record, topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Airplay chart earlier this year, making her the first female solo artist in more then three decades to top that chart. The last time was Alannah Myles’ “Black Velvet,” according to Billboard.

Of course, there have been been other female-fronted bands that have topped that chart including The Pretty Reckless and Halestorm.

“I definitely think it’s long overdue,” Strauss said of being the first solo artist to achieve that honor in so long. “That’s not to say that women aren’t out there doing it. There are a lot of female-fronted bands that have done it, so it’s not as dire as it may sound at first. That being said, there were a lot of women who blazed the trail for me to get to this point today and I hope what I’m doing is continuing to move the needle in the right direction.”

Strauss was also the first female to create a signature guitar with Japanese instrument makers Ibanez.

“I got to design my dream guitar and not only play it myself, but have other people play it, too,” she said of the collaboration. “I see people at meet-and-greets and on social media making my guitar their new favorite guitar and that is one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever experienced.”

She has no idea how many days she’ll end up being able to spend at home in 2023. She hasn’t had many days off work so far and will be out this month for a few more solo dates, then the Rams return to SoFi for preseason games in August. She’ll be back on the road in the late summer and early fall with Alice Cooper as that band teams up with Rob Zombie to launch the Freaks on Parade Tour, which comes to Honda Center in Anaheim on Saturday, Sept. 23.

“Last year was a lot; it was crazy,” she said. “But honestly, it’s a year every guitar player dreams of. Getting to play some of the biggest stadiums and festivals all over the world, working with a NFL team, working with a rock legend and a more mainstream, younger legend-in-the-making with Demi, touring with my own band and doing my own music with my friends. I don’t know what more I could have asked for.

“Except for maybe a few more days to do laundry,” she swiftly added.

Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper: Freaks on Parade Tour

With: Ministry and Filter

When: 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 23

Where: Honda Center, 2695 East Katella Ave., Anaheim

Tickets: Starting at $39.50 at Ticketmaster.com 

​ Orange County Register