guitarguitar Exclusive: Interview with Anna Cara!
Published on 07 April 2025
If you haven’t heard her name yet, it’s time you took note: Anna Cara is one of the fastest rising female guitarists to emerge from the UK recently!
Following in the steps of other trailblazing female guitarists, such as Sophie Lloyd and Sophie Burrell, the Newcastle native Anna Cara smartly embraced the possibilities modern technology offers nowadays and steered her career through her social media channels to great success. Aside from amassing over 2.5 million views on YouTube on her impeccable guitar covers, Anna Cara has also navigated her networking in a way that landed her the lead guitarist position in not one but two happening rock bands. Her incredible guitar skills landed her a spot in a Hollywood based multi-media rock & roll ensemble, Crossbone Skully, led by Tommy Henriksen (Alice Cooper, Hollywood Vampires) and just last month Anna Cara has also joined Swiss rock formation Storace.
I have recently featured Anna Cara in my blog Top Up-and-Coming Female Guitarists which you can read here. Anna was kind enough to take some time off her busy schedule to answer some questions about herself & her career. Embark on a rock tale of success with Anna Cara and her first ever interview - exclusively for guitarguitar!
The guitarguitar Exclusive Interview with Anna Cara
guitarguitar: Tell us about your beginnings - what inspired you to pick up a guitar and decided that you wanted to become a professional musician?
Anna Cara: I started playing guitar when I was around 14 or 15 years old. My dad, who used to play guitar, had put his guitars in storage for about 10 years. He brought a few down from the attic as he was going to start selling them. I saw them and immediately wanted to learn to play! My dad started teaching me a few songs, including Summer of ’69 by Bryan Adams and many Black Sabbath tracks.
I began taking guitar more seriously around the age of 17 or 18, and from that point on, I dreamed of joining a touring band. Not long after, I started posting guitar covers online and I was discovered by Jamie Humphries, about a project with Gibson. Jamie encouraged me to continue sharing my covers and gave me a lot of direction. He also got me the opportunity to work with Lick Library.
"The moment I joined the band, my life truly changed—it was everything I had always dreamed of!"
gg: You’re originally from Newcastle but you’ve been headhunted by Alice Cooper’s guitarist Tommy Henriksen to join his new project Crossbone Skully based in LA. How did that come about?
AC: In 2022, I was posting a lot of guitar covers on my social media, and that’s how Tommy first found me. He messaged me on Instagram around October 2022, and we FaceTimed a few days later. Tommy sent me the Evil World Machine record (which I loved immediately!), and I auditioned for a few weeks, sending him videos of me playing each song. On November 20th, 2022, he told me I was in! Coincidentally, that was the same date as the debut live Crossbone Skully show, which took place two years later.
The moment I joined the band, my life truly changed—it was everything I had always dreamed of! Tommy is an incredible guy who does so much for everyone around him, and he made that dream a reality for me.
gg: Rumour has it you’ve played Johnny Depp’s very own Gibson SG on one of the first rehearsals with Crossbone Skully. How did that happen?
AC: In April 2023, when we shot the first music video with Crossbone Skully, it was the first time I played the SG, which I believe is a 1961 Gibson SG Custom. Tommy had asked Johnny Depp if I could use it for the Skully music videos, and he was kind enough to let me use any of his guitars. He’s an awesome guy! I also got to play the SG in the most recent Skully music videos, as well as his Fender Strat. Thank you Tommy and Johnny, I’m very grateful.
gg: Social media played important role in your career’s development. What advice would you give to anyone trying to build a platform?
AC: Stay consistent and post regularly but also remember to enjoy creating videos and posts!
Photo by Kim Moran
gg: You have also recently joined another band, Storace. Tell us more about it! Also - how do you find handling being in two bands simultaneously?
AC: I joined at the end of February! The Storace band was looking for a lead guitarist, and Tommy recommended me. Tommy recently produced their new record, Crossfire, and I played guitar on four tracks, so I was already familiar with the songs and the band. I recently flew over to Geneva to audition/rehearse for a few days with the band and then I was in! I’m really looking forward to the upcoming shows—great people and great music! I can’t thank Tommy Henriksen, Marc Storace, Pat Aeby, and Alessandro Del Vecchio enough.
Being part of both Crossbone Skully and Storace, I’m fortunate to be surrounded by such cool people. I’m learning a lot and feel incredibly grateful.
"If I can inspire young girls the way guitarists like Nita Strauss & Orianthi inspired me to pick up the guitar, I’ll truly feel like I’ve made it!"
gg: What is your favourite artist to listen to currently?
AC: Gary Moore, I truly never get bored of listening to his music. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Krokus and Alice Cooper lately!
gg: Let’s talk about guitars! You’re an avid Gibson player, what is your go-to rig when it comes to live shows?
AC: Yes! I love Gibson guitars, especially the Gibson SG. For the live shows with Crossbone Skully at The Viper Room, I was using 2 of Tommy's guitars. The White SG is a custom shop Gibson SG Jr made by Robert Schalch, and the Burgundy SG was also made by Robert, which was built for Ernie Boch! I looove these guitars!
I use a Kemper Profiler, it’s consistent and has amazing tones every time. I’m also either using the Kemper Remote or the Kemper Stage.
With Crossbone Skully, we also used Laney LFR-412 cabs on stage—huge thanks to Ian Aguado-Bush and Simon Fraser Clark at Laney! They sound incredible, and it’s especially cool because one of my guitar idols, Tony Iommi, also uses Laney.
gg: Dream signature guitar?
AC: A custom Gibson SG or Les Paul 100%
gg: When it comes to the technique, is there one you could say is your signature sound or preferred way of working the fretboard?
AC: I feel like my vibrato has always been key. From the moment I picked up the guitar, the first thing my dad wanted me to master was rhythm and to perfect my vibrato. He always told me to make the guitar sing!
"Always focus on mastering rhythm, vibrato, and bending first. And most importantly, never forget to truly enjoy and love playing guitar!"
gg: Can you describe your creative process - i.e. how do you start your session: warm ups (what they are), going through some covers to get in the zone, scales, etc
AC: I always warm up by running through songs, focusing especially on rhythm. I’ll either use a backing track or play riffs along with a metronome. When I’m recording guitars, I listen to tracks from guitarists I look up to for inspiration, like Gary Moore, Tony Iommi, and Zakk Wylde.
gg: We’ve recently featured you in our top-up-and-coming female guitarists blog for IWD. Your profile is becoming more and more visible not only on social media but also across live music venues you perform at, which are both a tremendous testament to your hard work. How do you feel about being a role model for young girls aspiring to be guitarists?
AC: It’s an honour. If I can inspire young girls the way guitarists like Nita Strauss and Orianthi inspired me to pick up the guitar, I’ll truly feel like I’ve made it!
gg: I believe we all hold the power to help each other out. And by supporting one another we can build a beautiful community of incredible female guitarists that will continue on inspiring future generations.
If you were to give a shout out to another up-and-coming female guitarist, who would it be?
AC: Three come to mind right away:
• Colby KL
These young ladies are incredibly talented, and everyone should keep an eye on them in the future!
gg: If you were to give advice to someone who is just starting to learn their first chords what would you say?
AC: I’d say always focus on mastering rhythm, vibrato, and bending first. And most importantly, never forget to truly enjoy and love playing guitar.
gg: Thanks for joining us for a chat Anna & best of luck in your career!
I hope this interview was a great starting point of introducing the young British guitarist - Anna Cara - to you, our fantastic guitarguitar community!
Check out Anna Cara’s profile on social media and keep an eye out for any future UK shows - you don’t want to miss her live shows.
