John 5 sat down with Premier Guitars to chat to them about the new album ‘God Told Me To’ and more.
Interview: John 5 on “God Told Me To” by:Joe Charupakorn
The metal-meets-chicken’-pickin’ veteran discusses his new Spanish-influenced half-acoustic solo album and we try to get him to buy Eddie Van Halen’s guitar.
Like many guitarists, John 5 moved to L.A. to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional player. But unlike the countless others who were quickly chewed up and spit out by the music industry, John 5 became one of the most successful rock guitarists of the last two decades, achieving a level of success unimaginable for most. He’s an in-demand guitarist and songwriter for some of the biggest names in the business—Ricky Martin, Salt-N-Pepa, David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Zombie—and also maintains an illustrious career as a solo artist.
With his unique bluegrass-meets-metal style, John 5 is a bona fide guitar god. He developed his prodigious abilities through an unwavering dedication to the instrument and endless hours of rigorous practice. Like the late Randy Rhoads, John 5 would seek out guitar teachers on the road while on tour. “It had to be the right kinds of teachers, not just a rock guy who’s got a Metallica shirt on and is going to show me some licks,” John 5 clarifies. “I looked for the real guys who just know how to play one style of music, whether it’s classical or country.” He’s become extremely articulate in reversing those roles and taking on the duties of the teacher. In 2008, he released the instructional DVD, The Devil Knows My Name, and earlier this year, he released an instructional book, The Book of John, both through Hal Leonard Corporation. “It’s definitely a great book if you want to figure out certain ways that I do things,” says John.
Currently, John is in the midst of a world tour with Rob Zombie (co-headlining with Megadeth). Although the shows are physically demanding and the tours exhausting, he says, “When I’m on the road, instead of just sitting around and doing nothing, I’m writing music and working on stuff. If I have an hour free, I take advantage of that time and work. I learned that from Rob Zombie. He’s always working and he’s very productive in his life.” As a testament to this making-every-minute-count work ethic, John 5’s sixth and latest CD/DVD release, God Told Me To, will be released mid-tour this month, and he’s currently scoring Zombie’s upcoming film, The Lords of Salem. We got the scoop from John 5 on his new album and how to make it as a session player, and then we geeked out on his massive gear collection while trying to nudge him to purchase Eddie Van Halen’s exorbitantly priced 1984 guitar, which recently hit the auction block.
Is God Told Me To an evolution forward from your previous releases?
I think it is because it’s half acoustic and half electric. I’m dabbling in some Spanish style music on this one—some different acoustic types of playing like knocking on the guitar and creating rhythms, and using the violin bow. I’m also using the mandolin and all sorts of crazy stuff.
What inspired this?
I’ve never done it before and I wanted to change it up. I want to make every album special, so people aren’t like, “Oh, here’s another John 5 album. It’s going to be a little country and a little rock.” I want to keep them on their toes so they never know what they’re going to get.
On “Beat It,” you pretty much played Eddie Van Halen’s solo note-for-note. Why did you do choose to do that?
“Beat It” is just an iconic piece of music and the solo is also iconic—it’s incredible. So, I had to pay tribute to how amazing it is. I think it came out great, I’m really proud of it.
After the solo proper, you go into your own solo and it sounds like you made a conscious effort to avoid any signature Eddie Van Halen-isms.
I wanted to put my style into it. Eddie always said, “Have your own style, have your own thing, and do your own thing.” So that’s what I did.
Speaking of which, you’ve played and recorded with David Lee Roth before. Have you checked out the new Van Halen album, A Different Kind of Truth?
Yes. It’s amazing. I love it so much. I think they did a phenomenal job and they’re kicking ass on tour.
“Noche Acosador” features a lot of authentic-sounding, acoustic Spanish-style playing.
I study so many players, so many styles, and the right way to do it. Whenever I do something country or a different style of music, I don’t listen to a rock guy doing it. I listen to the real guys doing it. That’s why, hopefully, it sounds authentic.
Read the rest of the interview here: http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2012/May/Interview_John_5_on_God_Told_Me_To.aspx