John 5 Always Prepared

Written by Chrissy Mauck  

In addition to his work with other artists, John 5 is currently working on his sixth solo album. His fifth album, Remixploitation (a remix album) was released in February 2009.  "I love to be inspired and that's why I listen to so  much music now," he says. "I want to pick up little bits and pieces from people that might jump out. That's why I play how I play; I too want to inspire people to listen to different styles on my records because I think it is important for people to really be educated about different styles of music."  Photo Credit: Ana Gibert

With a massive resume that lists working with Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Meat Loaf, David Lee Roth, K.D. Lang, Robin Zander, Rick Springfield, Filter and so forth, one can only imagine the countless unforgettable moments that guitarist John 5 has experienced in his professional career.

“I’ve been everywhere, played the most beautiful venues in the world, and played with the most incredible people in the world,” he says. “I would have never dreamt that I would have played and performed and recorded with so many of my heroes in my life; people who have turned into my friends. To pick one or two certain things as highlights, it’s really tough.”

But one such memorable event took place during his six-year stint with Manson, just after wrapping a set at Ozzfest in New York. 

“I had just gotten off stage when I heard that Les Paul was playing in the city so I wanted to get over there,” recalls John 5. “I was still weird-looking from the show, but I walked into this jazz club and met Les Paul backstage. There were all of these amazing musicians getting onstage, playing all of these songs that I did not know. These were jazz standards and everybody knew them except for me. I thought it was so cool, but Les Paul would kind of go, ‘Keep practicing kid,’ to these other people getting up on stage. So he invited me up and I was like, ‘Oh no! I don’t know any of these songs.’”

John 5 opted to go with blues in E, took a deep breath to settle his nerves and gave it everything he had.

“Everybody was clapping, the crowd was roaring, and I bent down and kissed his foot,” says John 5. “I’ll never forget this—he said, ‘Son, I’ve played with a lot of people and you impress me.’ It was one of the greatest nights of my life.”

But those few moments of not knowing how to perform a certain musical genre is John 5’s worst fear. Although his last two stints have been with rock and heavy metal bands, John 5 prides himself in being well versed in many genres.

“I hated it when I was in school and someone would ask me a question that I didn’t know the answer to,” he says. “I never wanted to feel that way with guitar. I always wanted to know that if someone asked me to play a certain kind of music, I could do it.”

Whether it be heavy metal, rock, western swing, country or classical music, John 5 loves the challenge of mastering a new style.

“Flamenco guitar is something I’d like to try next,” he says. “It’s a beautiful, beautiful sound, and such a unique way of playing guitar. With rock guitar, 90 percent of the time you play with a pick; with country you use your right hand with fingerpicking, but with flamenco, it’s a different kind of playing altogether.”

Those attending upcoming Rob Zombie shows — the band returns to the stage after a two-year hiatus this fall for the “Hellbilly Deluxe 2” tour — will bear witness to John 5’s masterful technique, whether it be paying homage to Jimi Hendrix by playing with his teeth or by doing a little chicken picking.

“I love chicken picking,” John 5 says. “I try to incorporate that into rock music whenever I can because I think it’s important to do. A lot of rock musicians, a lot of rock fans, aren’t fans of country music, but the guitar playing of country music is so incredible. I love to fit that in whenever I can. It’s always a crowd pleaser because it’s something you don’t hear all the time and when you throw in country licks and chicken picking at a Rob Zombie show, it really makes your head turn.”

John 5’s affinity for chicken picking dates back to age seven when he first watched television variety show Hee-Haw, hosted by musicians Buck Owens and Roy Clark.

“I loved Hee-Haw because there were these silly little skits and silly little jokes, girls scantily clad and great music,” recalls John 5, who back then went by his birth name John Lowery. “I remember seeing this little boy, probably around my age, playing the banjo. He was just ripping and I was like, ‘Oh, that’s what I want to do.’”

Not knowing anyone in Gross Pointe, Mich., who played the banjo, John 5 convinced his parents he needed a guitar… and thus the beginning of an instantaneous love affair.

Some kids require a blanket to fall asleep at night; others may need a light left on. John 5 just needed his guitar around.

“I was so young when I started playing guitar, and that’s really all I did,” he recalls. “I never would put it down. It was kind of like my comfort zone, and that’s how it is still. It’s so comforting to have my guitar around me or near it. It’s my sanity, and I think that’s why I play and practice so much.”

John 5’s left hand is about an inch larger than his right, a testament to the hours logged on his guitar.

“My hands were so small but I wanted to do the chords so bad that I would just make myself reach the chords that I couldn’t, and I made my hand kind of stretch,” he explains. “It’s really weird.”

John 5 boasts a massive collection of Fender guitars. As well as his own Fender and Squier signature models, he owns a Fender Telecaster from almost every year, save for 1960, 1958 and 1957. His favorite? "I have a a Broadcaster which is from 1950. It's one of my favorite guitars. I've always wanted one — it’s the first solid body electric guitar  that Fender made, which was the first solid body   electric guitar ever. They only made around 250 of them so it was just incredible to finally get to own one. It was worth every penny. I'm such a fan of Fender guitars, even the brochures and catalogs and the old polishes, everything that had to do with Fender back in the day. I have a very collective soul. Everybody has something they like to collect — trinkets or guns. I love  collecting old Fender merchandise and guitars."  Photo Credit: Ana Gibert

Since he got started, no more than two days have passed without him strumming his guitar — usually a Fender Telecaster^®. He owns a massive guitar collection that includes a Telecaster from almost every year since 1950.

“Even on my honeymoon, I took my guitar,” he says. “I tried to talk my wife into taking my guitar tech too, but she wouldn’t go for it.”

Because of his masterful playing, John 5’s guitars have likewise taken him around the world — from shows in Korea to the Opera House in Sydney, Australia to Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden in New York. His most recent big adventure took him to Japan for the Loud Park Festival in mid-October. Ironically, he detests flying.

“I hate it; I’d rather be kicked in the balls,” John 5 states. “If someone said, ‘You know what? We’ll give you a choice to be kicked in the balls with an iron boot or you can fly,’ I’d rather take the kick in the balls. I’ve flown all over the world so many times, but I just can’t get used to it.”

If at all possible, John 5 opts to drive to his gigs, which is exactly what he did after taking part in the Slash & Friends concert (featuring Joe Perry of Aerosmith, Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick, Tommy Lee of Motley Crew, and Courtney Love) at the Mirage on Oct. 5, leaving Las Vegas around 1 a.m. and driving through the night back to Los Angeles to make a Saturday-morning rehearsal with Rob Zombie.

It was the end of a productive week that also included the release of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s latest album God & Guns. John 5 spent about a year collaborating on the album with the Southern rock band, further proof of his versatility and the respect he demands in various music circles.

“I love the versatility,” says John 5. “It’s like anything — you don’t want to eat the same type of food every day; you don’t want to always see a comedy; sometimes you want to see a horror mo vie. I think versatility is important. It keeps it fresh and exciting, and it’s fun to work with these different artists — especially people you’ve respected most of your life. It’s really a great, great time and I’m so lucky to be where I am at in my career right now.”

But when word first spread that this “heavy metal shredder” was going to write with the band so well known for “Sweet Home Alabama,” alarm bells rang among Skynyrd devotees.

Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Rickey Medlocke was happy to quiet any doubters, telling Billboard.com, “Everybody thought, ‘My god, you are going to write with this guy? How is that ever going to work?’ But this guy came in and is really multitalented in all genres.”

It’s not the first time that John 5 has surprised people. With his bleached blond hair and devilish goatee, sleeve tattoos, black eye makeup streaming down his cheeks like tears and freakishly painted Joker lips­, he looks like the kind of deviant every parent hopes their daughter never brings home.

But his onstage persona is in total polarity to the extremely well-spoken off-duty John 5. He doesn’t booze or engage in any type of drug use, and while in Vegas, he skipped the usual debauchery associated with Sin City to hang out with his wife at the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.

“That stuff is just entertainment; people want to be entertained,” John 5 says. “When you put on that makeup and get ready to go onstage, it’s a great release. It’s kind of behind the mask. It’s not really who you are. It’s kind of like serial killers – they look like these nice men but at night they go and strangle someone, or men who are happily married and have affairs. You never know what these people do. I like to put that makeup on and go crazy onstage–spit at people and just go nuts.”

So get ready for the show — Rob Zombie and the “Hellbilly Deluxe 2” tour are probably coming to a city near you soon. 

Also, don't miss this Fender Vision video featuring John 5 at rehearsal!