A few weeks ago, before the John 5 and The Creatures streaming show, John 5 sat down for a long chat with Adam St. James of Guitar.com. In this interview, they cover subjects such as John 5’s first meeting with Lynyrd Skynyrd, how he went from session to being the right hand axe man for acts such as Marilyn Manson and much more more.
Enjoy excerpts from the interview and follow links to the full chat, by clicking >>
John 5 Interview: Shreddin’ Surprises by Adam St. James
Read the interview in full: http://www.guitar.com/articles/john-5-interview-shreddin-surprises
Shock Therapy. They may have outlawed it long ago in the medical profession, but it’s still in use in the music biz to this day. How else can you explain artists like Lady Gaga or Miley Cyrus, or – switching over to the metal genre, and going back a few years — Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie?
Weird, crazy, totally gonzo-insane — maybe so — but if you let that kind of stuff run you off, you’d never realize what an amazing, virtuosic guitarist those two shock-artists have shared in Detroit-born John Lowery, aka, John 5.
On his new solo disc, Careful With That Axe – his sixthin the past decade – the 43-year-old guitarist showcases simply immense fretboard talent. Over 10 cuts on Careful…John tears it up not only over the metal grooves you would expect from a guy who routinely shaves his eyebrows and paints his face like a psychotic clown, but also in a completely authentic, and completely mind-blowing display of hot country pickin’ as well. Yeah, shred-metal, and shred-country. Together. On the same disc. And it ain’t his first time at this rodeo either. You just gotta hear it.
John has spent most of the past decade recording and touring with Zombie, and before that played simultaneously with both Marilyn Manson and David Lee Roth for a five-plus years, and on a couple of albums. But you’ve also heard him on records such as Lynyrd Skynyrd’s God & Guns and Last of a Dyin’ Breed, and songs by Scorpions, Garbage, Ricky Martin, and k.d. lang — to mention just a few. It’s no surprise that a player this good gets a lot of calls for session work, and he takes it all very seriously.
In this exclusive Guitar.com interview we talk all about his country pickin’, his love of Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant, and his sessions with – and hilarious first meeting with – Rock And Roll Hall of Famer’s Lynyrd Skynyrd. John also touches on his movie-soundtrack work with Rob Zombie, his wild collection of Telecasters, and all his favorite gear.
And don’t miss John 5 on his October 18th worldwide streaming concert, produced by the folks from “The Tonight Show.” (See the link below)
Guitar.com: Hey John, how are you today?
John 5: Ahhh… I’m in Paso Robles, California. It’s beautiful; I’m loving it. The weather: amazing. I love playing in California because it’s so close to home. We’re just doing it today.
Guitar.com: That whole area is amazing – Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo, Morro Bay. Have you ever been over to the coast, by Hearst Castle, to see the thousands of elephant seals laying on the beach?
John 5: Yes, I have. How cool is that? And they’re just laying there. They’re like the size of Volkswagens.
Guitar.com: So who are you playing with tonight?
John 5: It’s a Rob Zombie show.
Guitar.com: So this new disc of yours – just amazing guitar playing, as always.
John 5: Thank you very much. I appreciate it.
Guitar.com: I am always amazed, and I was since the first time I heard you do some solo stuff with the Vertigo album back in 2004, at your country picking.
John 5: That’s why I did it. A lot of people enjoy the country picking, because they don’t hear it all the time. Whenever an instrumental thing comes out, we know what it’s going to sound like. But I really enjoy playing like that, and I promised myself when I first did it, “I’m gonna do some country picking on here. I don’t know if anybody will like it, but I’m gonna do it, and see what happens.” And people really enjoy it.
Read the interview in full: http://www.guitar.com/articles/john-5-interview-shreddin-surprises