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Interview

John 5: ‘”I think I would go crazy if I couldn’t play music. It is so rewarding when someone tells you that they relate to my music.”‘

Mayhem 2013 starts at the end of June, and John 5 has been busy rehearsing with his Rob Zombie bandmates to bring one of the best live shows out there back onto the festival stage. He speaks with Helen M. Orcutt of Tulsa Concert Photography Examiner about playing music, working with RZ on The Lords of Salem score and what he is looking forward to when he hits the road.

john-5-interview

Mayhem 2013 starts at the end of June, and John 5 has been busy rehearsing with his Rob Zombie bandmates to bring one of the best live shows out there back onto the festival stage. He speaks with Helen M. Orcutt of Tulsa Concert Photography Examiner about playing music, working with RZ on The Lords of Salem score and what he is looking forward to when he hits the road.

You can find out more about forthcoming tour dates by going here: john-5.com/main/tour/

To rea the interview in full 

Right off the bat John 5 said his heart poured out to those affected by the tornadoes in Oklahoma and I asked if they had caught the worthless person that broke into his house and stole all of his guitars. When you play a guitar professionally and they steal all of yours, it no only hurts financially, but some of those guitars were his babies. John 5 has been fortunate enough to get two of his guitars back, as of last week. “A guy saw two of them on Craigslist and knew they were mine, so he bought them and I got them back. Hopefully they will start popping up.”

The Lords Of Salem soundtrack was written by John 5 and Griffith Boyd. ” It was a lot of work and a lot of music. This was the first time I wrote all the music for a full length film. With the guidance of Rob Zombie it was easy.” That led me into if this was a Creative Venture or just an extension of who he is with Rob Zombie. John did not hesitate when he said, “It’s a Creative Extension of who I am. Experimental.” I have listened to the soundtrack and I was not sure the right music downloaded, it DID NOT sound like anything that would be associated with Rob Zombie and I pointed that out to John 5. I told him it had the mellow undertones and sounded like The Mamas and The Papas, but I knew that it was not them! John 5 said, “I take that as a compliment. Rob told me he wanted mellow music from the 60’s for a witch scene and that’s what I wrote.” As far as I am concerned, he hit the nail right on the head for a mellow 60’s sound!

[pullquote align=”left”]John 5 has been fortunate enough to get two of his guitars back, as of last week. “A guy saw two of them on Craigslist and knew they were mine, so he bought them and I got them back. Hopefully they will start popping up.”[/pullquote]Mayhem starts in a few weeks and with John 5 being a Seasoned Artist, if there is a pattern or a countdown procedure they do before going on tour. There is a certain sound of excitement in his voice, almost like someone who knows a secret and cannot tell you, no matter had bad they want to. “I love touring with Mayhem, the United States and abroad. I’ve done this most of my life. We are getting all of our wardrobes together, new production and rehearsals. I enjoy it all.” There has been talk about the Alien being retired, but John 5 was unsure at that point. “Not sure until we do the new production.” I cannot wait to see it. John 5 went on to say,” I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Rocklahoma. People there just want to be entertained.”
With all of the work for The Lords Of Salem soundtrack and the new Rob Zombie album and the Mayhem Tour 2013, I wanted to know the status of his solo career.

The show I will be at is the last show of the Mayhem Tour 2013 on August 4, 2013 in Dallas, TX. The first and the last shows are usually the best. The first show, because they are fresh and rested for the tour and the last because of all of the energy that is put into going out with a bang. If you have ever seen Rob Zombie in concert, you know there is plenty of bang in the show.

Music is a major part of or society, culture and our world. It influences us from day one; as to the type of music we like, how it makes us feel when we listen to it and by how react to it and others while we listen to it. John 5 made a bold statement, “I think I would go crazy if I couldn’t play music. It is so rewarding when someone tells you that they relate to my music.”
From the early age of 7, John 5 knew that he wanted to play the guitar, the Telecaster to be exact and that is all that he plays today!

The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival 2013 starts on June 29th in San Bernardino, CA and ends on August 4th in Dallas, TX. Go to the official website to see the list of all the dates and the location of the shows: www.rockstarmayhemfest.com