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New Interview: John 5 takes on DJs, computer music

Musicradar.com sits down with John 5 again for another interview in the run- up to the new album God Told Me T

Musicradar.com sits down with John 5 again for another interview in the run- up to the new album God Told Me To:

Interview: BossoIf anybody embodies the spirit of the saying, ‘Dare To Be Different,’ it’s John 5. With his horror movie makeup, a resume that boasts names as disparate as k.d. lang, Ricky Martin, Lynyrd Skynrd and Rob Zombie, and a unique playing style that’s more than a little bit country and a whole lot rock ‘n’ roll, the Telecaster-toting Mr. 5 is certainly his own man.

5 takes a typically broad approach on his new album, Gold Told Me To (due out on 8 May), which artfully mixes various shades of genres (industrial metal, dance rock, Spanish-style flamenco) in a strikingly bold manner: half of the record is acoustic, half is electric.

True to form, 5 is promoting his solo album, due out on 8 May, not with his own tour but by hitting the road with Rob Zombie three days later. “I just love to get out there,” 5 says nonchalantly. “I like to shake people’s hands and get their opinions about my record. Any way I can meet the fans, I’ll do it. And I’ll get in front of a lot of people playing with Rob.”

MusicRadar sat down with John 5 recently to talk about God Told Me To, his thoughts on the current state of music, why he chose to cover Michael Jackson’s Beat It and what new gear is rocking his world.

How do you challenge yourself conceptually these days?

“I do try to challenge myself and try new things. It’s like that saying: ‘If you’re not busy living, you’re busy dying.’ Just recently, I got a chance to write a song for Rod Stewart’s new record. I know his music very well, of course, but the idea of writing something for him was a big challenge. But I did it, it turned out great, and it’s going on the record. That’s pretty thrilling.

“Next, I’m doing the score to Rob Zombie’s new movie, and that’s something I’ve never done before – a film score. So that’s something different for me. The idea is to never get stuck in a rut, but I don’t think I ever have, really – it’s not in me.”

Is rock or metal guitar stuck in a rut these days? What bothers you about what you’re hearing?

“I look at it a different way. I don’t really get bothered by anything. What I do is, I look at rock guitar players and I say to myself, ‘What is this guy doing? What does he have that can inspire me?’ I try to see what other people are doing and take what they have and turn it and twist it into my own thing.

“So, no, I don’t see a rut out there; in fact, I see tons of great guitar players. We probably had a lull a while ago, but people are playing guitar now more than ever, and they’re putting down the DJ stuff. A few years ago, it seemed as though everybody was a DJ, but now they’re buying guitars again.”

Read the FULL interview here: http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/interview-john-5-takes-on-djs-computer-music-534731