John 5 should be a name you are all aware of if even it is only for his recent recruitment to Motley Crue to fill the shoes of Mick Mars. Hopefully though you know a little more about the career of this wonderful guitarist who has played with some of the greats as well as releasing 10 stunning solo records.
John was heading our way a couple of years back but got delayed playing Stadiums with L.A.’s bad boys. Worry not though as he’s headed Down Under now to support Steel Panther on their Australian Tour. With so much to talk about we thought that we’d run through what is already a stellar career!
Mark: Thank you for talking to The Rockpit today John. You were heading down to see us a few years back but Motley Crue got in the way, so it was wonderful to see you added to the Steel Panther tour. Do you know the guys at all?
John 5: Yes, I have been going to Steel Panther ever since they were called Metal Skool. I love their records and their shows so much. It’s going to be such a pleasure to listen to them every night.
Mark: I always love to get to where it all began, and Tommy Sommers our U.S. photographer and reviewer asked me to ask you about Hee-Haw and Buck Owens – what was it about that show that sparked that interest in music?
John 5: Growing up, I loved television. I was getting introduced to music while watching Hee-Haw, as well. That was the first time I saw someone play an electric guitar. The telecaster was burned in my brain from the moment I saw it. I still love that show today so much. for nostalgic reasons.
Mark: Your first band in L.A. was Alligator Soup, which led to you meeting Rudy Sarzo of Whitesnake who got you onboard for his band ‘Sun King’ how important were those early years and connections to driving your career forward?
John 5: It was SO important. I have learned so much from Rudy Sarzo. Probably more so than any other musician. Seriously, I have learned so much from him and cherish him. I am still in contact with Rudy and all of those guys even to this day. Oh and Bob Marlette! Bob has been so important to my life.
Mark: I was going to ask you about Bob, you met him in those early days and he seems to have been a great guide, and you worked on a lot of projects with him from soundtracks to playing with Lita Ford and opening for Kiss?
John 5: Bob has been my Mr. Miyagi. My Yoda. The person who taught me about the music business and recording and making records and everything I know today. I owe a lot to Bob Marlette.
Mark: You’ve played with and befriended members of Kiss – meeting Paul Stanley and playing on his solo record and you’ve also played with Ace. Where did the love of Kiss start?
John 5: The love of KISS started before I even played music. When I was young, I had a fascination with monsters, just like any other boy growing up at that time. I remember walking through Sears in June 1977 and seeing a HUGE album display of KISS for “Love Gun”. What a moment that was. They were monsters with guitars and I was instantly sold. That moment changed my life forever.
Mark: What was it like working with David Lee Roth on the ‘DLR Band’ album and later providing the only non-cover on the ‘Diamond Dave’ record, any cool Dave anecdotes?
John 5: Working with David Lee Roth, that’s the one artist I was most nervous about working with. He had such a history of working with great guitar players and I wanted to give him my all. He wanted it done in no more than two takes and that’s exactly what I gave him. I am glad and beyond thankful that I can still call him a friend almost 30 years later.
Mark: Are you still in touch?
John 5: Oh yes.
Mark: In 1998 you left Dave Lee Roth’s solo band to join Marilyn Manson (gaining the name John 5) – they must have been interesting years?
John 5: That was an exciting time. Right off the bat, we did incredible shows together which produced an amazing live record, “The Last Tour on Earth”. Then when we went into the studio, we collaborated so well together and made some incredible music which he still plays today.
Mark: Tell us about the LOSER project and the decision to split to play live with Rob Zombie? Which incidentally is the first time I saw you play one year at Rocklahoma.
John 5: Oh really?? That’s awesome! For the LOSER project…I wanted to start a band and Bob Marlette was producing and we had these great songs and we had a great band and we got signed to Island by none other than Jay-Z. He was a huge advocate for the project. Right before it got released, I was with Rob Zombie, and Andy Gould (Rob’s manager at the time) told me I needed to make a decision on what I wanted to do. So I did. I am very happy with the decision I made by going with Rob. We had 17 amazing years together that I will never forget.
Mark: In 2021, you, along with Rob Zombie, Nikki Sixx, and Tommy Clufetos, formed the supergroup L.A. Rats. I have two questions the first is, is the band still ongoing? And secondly those connections seemed to be working as it seemed like only moments later you had joined Motley Crue?
John 5: The band is not ongoing. We just needed a band name for a movie with Liam Neeson called “The Ice Road”, so Nikki came up with the name. I am very proud of the song because it kicks ass. It’s just incredible. Me and Nikki have worked on so many successful songs for different projects together – Meat Loaf, Sixx AM, L.A. Rats. So Nikki and I have worked really well on music together over the years.
Mark: How do you approach playing the songs created by another guitarist with a distinctive style, how much leeway do you have in replicating those songs?
John 5: When I learn a song, I like to learn the song how it was written and recorded. The reason why is because there is a massive amount of people that have listened to that song and used it. I’ve always chosen to play songs exactly how they are written and recorded. Plus, that’s what the fans want to hear and I want to make them happy.
Mark: How involved are you with the new music coming from the band?
John 5: When we go into the studio, we all go in together and we create together. It’s incredible because we all collaborator together and have a blast doing it.
Mark: You might be best know for the bands you’ve played with but you now have ten solo albums under your belt starting in 2004 with ‘Vertigo’, what does playing instrumentally give you that band projects perhaps don’t?
John 5: It is such a challenge to do the instrumental songs. It’s like juggling chainsaws. Hopefully, you won’t drop one. It is very good for my brain and it occupies my mind so much because it’s so complicated. I have loved instrumental guitar before instrumental guitar was ever a thing.
Mark: You’ve packed so much into your career to date – you played in ‘2wo’ with Rob Halford another Rock and Metal Icon, you’ve worked with Meat Loaf, Scorpions, Slash, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Steve Perry – it must be a guitarists dream to work with people like that? What do you get from working on projects like those?
John 5: You get to be a part of that artist’s or band’s history and/or catalog. I have only worked with people that I love and respect. It is so wonderful to be a part of the Lynyrd Skynrd catalogue or Mötley Crüe or Slash. I am a part of their history and that is truly a dream come true.
Mark: What inspires you? You seem to be very driven, is there an ethos you live by?
John 5: I am always looking for inspiration. I am always going after perfection. I am always looking to improve. But I think inspiration is the most important thing you can have in your life. From that little kid walking through Sears in 1977…it changed my life dramatically. You never know when inspiration will hit, but when it does, take advantage of it.
Mark: What can we expect from the setlist down under?
John 5: I will be playing songs from my past records and maybe some things that are unreleased. We will also be recording the shows, so that’s exciting!
Mark: Take us all the way back to the moment when you knew that music was not going to just be important to you, but that it would become your life?
John 5: I always wanted to play guitar for a living. I remember as a small kid, I even had that dream. Not necessarily playing concerts or being a rock star – I never thought that was remotely possible. I thought being a touring musician was like being the President of the United States. I wanted to be a session musician or a teacher. Anything that had to do with guitar I would have been happy to do and that is still true to this day. I have exceeded my own expectations though.
Mark: If you could have been a ‘fly on the wall’ for the creation of one iconic album from the history of Rock and Roll – what would you like to have witnessed, just to see how the magic happened?
John 5: Van Halen I. I really think they captured something that was so iconic, aggressive, electric and alive. I don’t know if something like that can ever be done again or reproduced. That would have been something else to witness.
Mark: We always close with an easy one first time we talk – what is the meaning of life?
John 5: To me it’s one of the most difficult questions to answer, but it is also the easiest to answer. The meaning of life is do what you love.
Mark: Many thanks for your time – see you soon.
John 5: Thank you! I am looking forward to coming to Australia.
Presented by TEG MJR
STEEL PANTHER – AUSTRALIA TOUR 2024
with JOHN 5
Friday 18 October– Metro City, Perth
Monday21 October– AEC Theatre, Adelaide
Wednesday 23October–Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Thursday 24 October– Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
Saturday 26 October– Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne
