Matt Wilson Guitar virtuoso John 5 has carved a legendary path in the world of rock, captivating audiences with his unparalleled technical mastery and electrifying performances. From his early beginnings as a young prodigy in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, to his rise as one of the most sought-after guitarists in the industry, John 5’s journey is a true Hollywood story, as depicted in his new song and video “A Hollywood Story”
Considered a technical master at guitar, John lives and breathes his craft. “I play as much as I can throughout the day, and I don’t do anything else but play. It’s such a wonderful life to be able to do what you love. I love to learn and I love to try to reach for perfection and beyond perfection, as Steely Dan would say.”
John’s dedication to his instrument shines through in his social media presence, where he showcases his raw talent without relying on backing tracks. “When I do my Instagram things, you can hear the hum of the amp. There’s no backing track or anything. It’s just me playing to a metronome and I think that is what makes it so pure and so primitive and honest.”
One of John’s earliest influences came from watching the TV show Hee Haw as a kid. The guitar picking of Roy Clark inspired him to learn guitar. “He was wonderful. I just loved Hee Haw and I still watch it today. I was so little and it was so fun. I loved the jokes and the music and everything about it…. I just had so much fun with it. But they had the best pickers in the world on that show so it was such a massive influence for me.”
John appears to float his fingers over the fretboard making it look so effortless, but his music is anything but easy to play. I wondered where this style came from. “That comes from watching classical musicians. I watch these classical competitions and there’s a category where it has to have a certain elegance and flow to it. If you’re playing something fast, it shouldn’t even sound difficult, but it is very difficult. There’s an art of having that gracefulness, and hearing just these flow of notes and I think that’s really important.”
John 5 has had a remarkable journey to his career and has worked with everyone from David Lee Roth to K.D. Lang to Ricky Martin, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and even Dolly Parton. “I absolutely pinch myself every day and I’m so fortunate and so lucky. I just got a gold record in the mail on July 31st from Dolly Parton. When we were kids, we would dream of what we were going to do and I never dreamt this at all. My dreams didn’t go this far. I am so appreciative and so lucky and so happy. We’re here for a short time and I guess it’s hard work and being a good person and just trying to do the right thing and keep your head on straight.”
One of the most versatile and technically proficient guitarists of our time, John 5 is in high demand for his playing skills “I try to play songs how they were written, and with my instrumental work, that is a challenge because there’s a gazillion notes. It’s really good for your mind to remember all those notes and try to make them as perfect as possible. I’ve done a lot of instrumental shows and it is such a fun game to see how perfect you can get it, and that’s why I never get tired of playing live.”
“There are certain people who aren’t like that at all and don’t care. They just want to have a great time and do a great show. But, like Steely Dan, they would have a level of perfection that was beyond the pinnacle,… and I have that same kind of mindset.”
I asked John about working with David Lee Roth and what kind of atmosphere there was in the studio with him. I think it wasn’t about the perfection with Dave. I think he just wanted to get it in the first two takes to make it sound as live as possible. He didn’t want to do a bunch of takes. I think he just wanted to do a couple of takes and then, move on, which I thought was really cool because he was like, “If you can’t do it in two takes you can’t do it.” It was such a fun attitude, you know, to have in the studio.
“We’d be in A&M Studios, which is called Henson Studios now, which was originally Charlie Chaplin studio. He’d have palm trees in the studio and a huge catering table and beach stuff in the live room just to make it a really fun atmosphere. There’s some downtime in the studio where you’re just hanging out and doing whatever and he was an EMT and he knows how to save lives.”
“This one time he said, “Let me show you how to pull someone out of a burning building.” So, he had this strap and he told my guitar tech to lay down on the floor and he put this strap thing around him and pulled him around with not a lot of effort. It was so interesting, cool things like that, which stick in your brain about recording with him.”
When I think of unique guitarists like John 5 I also think of someone like Les Claypool who is a master of the four strings and who often plays a funky twangy country style. I wondered if the two had ever worked together. “No we haven’t but I’m such a massive Les Claypool fan. I loved when he did that Primus and the Chocolate Factory tour. Ohh My God, I was blown away! I’m always so excited to see less play, it’s just such a pleasure with his solo thing or the Rush or Primus or anything. I’m always there. But when he did this Primus and the Chocolate Factory thing, I couldn’t believe it. I just absolutely loved it. I’ll still watch it on YouTube just to for something to watch.”
I also asked if he’d ever been approached to join one of Joe Satriani’s G3 tours…. He certainly qualifies as one of the greatest guitar players out there today. “You know what’s weird is I know Joe and I know Steve so well, but they’ve never asked me, and I would love to do it, but they’ve never asked me. It’s so strange.”
“They were my biggest influences. I love Joe. I love Steve, I love Yngwie. I love Paul Gilbert. I love Eric Johnson. I just really love guitar players and it’s because you can get this beautiful inspiration from all these different guitar players.”
Recently John left Rob Zombie’s band after almost 20 years to join Motley Crue and fill the empty spot left by the departure of Mick Mars. “Well. Technically. I’m not a member, but I am hired to play these shows and all that stuff, but these guys have been doing it since 1981. But I’m so proud to be up on that stage with them and in the studio and in pictures and videos with them. It’s wonderful because we’re all really close. We were already great friends, and now to be in a band with your great friends and it being Mötley Crüe is crazy ridiculous. Before I was in the band, I would forget they were in Mötley Crüe because we talked about music a little bit but not much. You kind of forget all the great things they did, but now being in the band with them and playing this great music is beyond a pleasure and an honor.”
Some bands, when they hire a replacement for an original band member, will have certain expectations in terms of how they want that player to perform their music. I wondered if this was the case for John filling the shoes of someone as iconic as Mick Mars. “I said to the guys, “Listen, I’m going to play the songs how they were written and how they were recorded because people have heard those songs a zillion times, and speaking for myself, when I go see a concert, I want to see the band play those songs how they were written and recorded, and I think that goes with the audience too. So when I approached it, I think it would be disrespectful to change those songs, because I have such a fondness for them. Then they said go crazy during your solo and that’s what I do.”
“You see these bands and wonder if they’re as good as friends as they look in pictures and videos, and we really are. If I wasn’t in the band, we’d still be such good friends. It is a rare thing, I think for bands to be so close. When I was with Rob, Rob and I were very close and we were super good friends with the other guys as well.”
I asked how difficult the decision to leave Rob Zombie’s band and join Motley Crue was after such a long time in his band and having a close personal relationship. “It was absolutely difficult. Life is short and I’m so hungry. I just want to do and experience as much as I can. It’s like a different chapter, if you will. And nothing against Rob. I love the guy and everything, but I just wanted to see more, do more.”
“I got offers all the time when I was in Zombie, all the time, but this one I just was like, I want to experience this. I even told Rob I could do both.”
When I spoke with John he was in his “KISS room”. John is a collector of all things related to KISS and has one of the largest KISS collections around. I asked him if a lot of these items come to him through word of mouth and people’s knowledge of his passion for collecting KISS memorabilia. “That’s exactly what happens, and it’s great because I have this Instagram and anybody can DM me and say “I have this” or “I have that”, and it’s wonderful because all this stuff one day will be put up for auction. Who knows when, not for many decades, but I love doing this. It’s a great hobby and it’s a lot of fun. I’m going to have a museum showing the 1st of next year and people will be able to come six people at a time for two hours at a time.”
“They can touch the outfits and play the pinball machines. They can thumb through the records and look at the merchandise. Everything is from 73 to 83 and it’s something special because everybody has gotten to enjoy a Kiss concert, but now you’re going to be able to touch Gene’s outfit from 1974. You’re going to be able to look at all this merchandise they had from all over the world and I’m gonna be here and talk to everybody about it…. It’s gonna be a very limited golden ticket type of thing.”
Don’t miss your chance to witness John 5’s incredible talent as he brings his Strung Out Tour to Toronto, ON on September 6, Cadillac, MI on September 7, and Westland, MI on September 8. The shows will feature support from Strutter, America’s premier KISS tribute band, and Turning Jane. “We’re going to play new songs and we’re going to film the show. And then we’re going to also have that great Kiss tribute band. I’m super excited!”
