{"id":101,"date":"2010-04-25T08:49:58","date_gmt":"2010-04-25T15:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/?p=101"},"modified":"2011-01-19T08:54:07","modified_gmt":"2011-01-19T15:54:07","slug":"they-will-rock-you-interviews-john-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/04\/25\/they-will-rock-you-interviews-john-5\/","title":{"rendered":"They Will Rock You interviews John 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"john5cover<\/a><\/p>\n

Theywillrockyou’s<\/a> Mary Ouellette & Antonio Marino Jr. recently sat down to talk to John 5 about his new album, Zombie, and more<\/p>\n

Although most of us familiarize the painted face of John 5 with his time in Marilyn Manson or his current gig with Rob Zombie, John 5\u2019s guitar roots run deep.\u00a0 He picked up the guitar at age seven and rumor has it no one has seen him without a guitar in his hands since. <\/strong><\/p>\n

On May 11th<\/sup> John 5 offers up his new solo album \u201cThe Art of Malice\u201d; \u00a0a diverse yet cohesive collection of songs that depict his versatility and love for genre-bending with his tool of the trade.\u00a0 With sounds spanning from rock to country to flamenco to bluegrass John 5 offers up a technically mind-blowing instrumental cd with deeply personal songs that chronicle his life. <\/strong><\/p>\n

From the song \u201cJW\u201d,\u00a0the nickname that\u00a0his Dad called him growing up to \u201cCan I live Again\u201d a gut-wrenching song\u00a0inspired\u00a0by losing those around us and finding the will to go on to his personal homage to some of his friends and mentors\u00a0 in music, Ace Frehley and David Lee Roth, in \u201cFractured Mirror\u201d and \u201cYa Dig\u201d.\u00a0 Listening to this album from start to finish will give you a very intimate look into who John 5 is not only as a guitar player but as a person, his personality drives the songs while his guitar techniques continue to set new standards.<\/strong><\/p>\n

John 5\u2019s current day job is on stage shredding with Rob Zombie. \u00a0You can catch them live right now on a short co-headlining tour with Alice Cooper followed up by Rob Zombie\u2019s headlining stint on the 2010 Mayhem Fest. We recently caught up with John 5 to talk about his new album, Zombie, Mayhem Fest and more.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Congrats on your new solo album \u201cThe Art of Malice\u201d \u2013 we\u2019re big fans.\u00a0 A lot of times when a guitar player releases a solo album it tends to be more attractive to guitar players rather than music fans in general.\u00a0 I think with your new album what you\u2019ve accomplished is writing an album that draws in all kinds of music fans not just guitar players.\u00a0 Was that something you considered when writing it?<\/strong>
\nWhen I do an autograph session I get such a wide array of people that come to say hello.\u00a0 It\u2019s hard to explain because you get the Goth kids and the shredder guys and then an older demographic and it\u2019s great, people are just appreciating the music.\u00a0 I\u2019m just trying to inspire some people and have people enjoy music.\u00a0 It\u2019s not about making a ton of money, it\u2019s just appreciating music.\u00a0 There\u2019s not some big machine behind me trying to pump every dollar there is out of people, it\u2019s not about that.\u00a0 This is really about music and hopefully people will appreciate.<\/p>\n

Given your versatility and your fondness for many genres of music \u2013how hard was it for you to rein things in and decide what you were going to put on the album given that you are drawn in a lot of different directions stylistically as a player?
\n<\/strong>I put a lot of time and thought and effort into it.\u00a0 I wanted to put a little bit of everything in there \u2013 some slide music that I\u2019ve never done before, a lot of country stuff, a lot of rock stuff, a little Spanish style guitar playing.\u00a0 I really just wanted to have everybody be able to listen to this record and appreciate it.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like when you have your iPod on shuffle, you don\u2019t know what song you\u2019re going to get and that\u2019s the vibe that I wanted for this record.<\/p>\n

Yeah I think you\u2019ve really accomplished that, and even given that diversity, I still think that overall there\u2019s cohesiveness and a definitive flow from song to song, do you agree?<\/strong>
\nOh absolutely.\u00a0 It has to come from the same person \u2013 it\u2019s all still me and my voice and that was the number one thing that I wanted to do.\u00a0 Have my own voice and my own style and not sound like Eddie or Jimmy Page, I just wanted my own voice.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve described the album title \u201cThe Art of Malice\u201d as a take on a good approach to still obtain a dark result.\u00a0 Do you feel that\u2019s the approach you took with this album overall?
\n<\/strong>I think it\u2019s the overall approach \u2013 it\u2019s like \u201ckill them with kindness\u201d.\u00a0 That was my approach.\u00a0 The whole album is going back on my life. \u201cJW\u201d is what my Dad use to call me, \u201cFractured Mirror\u201d is a tribute to Ace Frehley. He really inspired me and that song specifically inspired me to start playing guitar, \u201cThe S Lot\u201d is a place at my old high school, so a lot of the songs and feelings are about my life.\u00a0 This is my fifth record so there\u2019s a lot of meaning behind it.\u00a0 The song \u201cYa Dig\u201d is a tribute to Van Halen, Dave Roth is one of my good friends.\u00a0 In instances where someone might say \u201cum\u201d \u00a0or \u201cya know\u201d he always says \u201cya dig\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking of \u201cFractured Mirror\u201d, have you played that for Ace or do you know if he\u2019s heard it yet?
\n<\/strong>I haven\u2019t played it for Ace but he knows I\u2019m doing the cover.\u00a0 I actually played \u201cFractured Mirror\u201d with him before, we always have guitars in our hands so we jammed a little bit so that was really cool.<\/p>\n

The songs on this album all seem quite personal but one of the standout tracks for me was \u201cJW\u201d which sounds like something that would have fit perfectly on a Danny Gatton or Chet Atkins CD.\u00a0 Where did that song come from?
\n<\/strong>It came from both of those styles \u2013 Danny Gatton and Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, Albert Lee \u2013 so yes it\u2019s that kind of thing, that\u2019s for sure.\u00a0 That\u2019s who inspires me and what I like to play like.\u00a0 I like to put my little spin on it but there\u2019s definitely a lot of Danny Gatton and Chet Atkins on that song.<\/p>\n

I think \u201cCan I Live Again\u201d is my favorite song on the album. It\u2019s a beautiful song that has an almost theatrical feel to it \u2013 what can you tell us about it?
\n<\/strong>That was a song that\u00a0is about a time where I had so\u00a0many deaths in my family and you\u2019re just in this black hole and it really affects your life so dramatically when something like that happen.\u00a0 Things just kept on snowballing in a bad way.\u00a0 Businesswise things have always been good-knock on wood-but my personal life was so bad.\u00a0 It was almost a good vs. bad with the business side and my music career so good but the personal side was always so bad.\u00a0 It was only getting worse and worse and that\u2019s what that song is about, \u201cCan I Live Again\u201d, can I be what I was before.\u00a0 It really was like I don\u2019t think so.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if I can.\u00a0 I\u2019m not all the way there yet, it\u2019s still a question.<\/p>\n

What song on the album was most rewarding for you to write, record, and complete?\"john5live<\/a><\/strong>
\nI like \u201cThe Nightmare Unravels\u201d, that\u2019s the one that\u2019s posted online now.\u00a0 I think it sums me up pretty good.\u00a0 The song \u201cThe Art of Malice\u201d actually was just me checking my clean guitar sound and I did this little solo thing and it worked out really nice.\u00a0 Actually someone was videotaping me doing that, so that\u2019s actually online how I recorded that too, and that was the take that was used for the record.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t really trying to record a song I was just checking my guitar and it sounded so good we just kept it.<\/p>\n

This marks your 5th<\/sup> solo release (not counting the remix CD) I know you have your hands full with Zombie but do you foresee doing something like Satriani\u2019s G3, where you tour exclusively as a solo act for a whole tour ?
\n<\/strong>I do, I think that would be a lot of fun.\u00a0 I was doing these clinics and they were a lot of fun because it was interactive; I got to meet fans and you can\u2019t really do that at a club.\u00a0 I would shake everyone\u2019s hand, listen to what they had to say and take their questions and I really enjoyed that.\u00a0 It was free, it was all ages, and I think it\u2019s really the way to go.\u00a0 I think I\u2019d like to do more of something like that because I was able to perform as well and people really enjoyed it a lot.\u00a0 Where else can you meet the artist, get a performance, shake a hand get an autograph \u2013 I mean if I could go to a Van Halen show like that\u2026<\/p>\n

Yeah that would be pretty special!\u00a0 Two of the bands you looked up to when you were learning how to play guitar were KISS and Van Halen \u2013you\u2019ve now recorded with Paul Stanley and David Lee Roth\u00a0and you got to jam on Ace\u2019s DVD \u2013 given those checks on the bucket list who would you still like to collaborate with?<\/strong>
\nI would love to work with Prince one day.\u00a0 I think that would be fun.\u00a0 He\u2019s amazing.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve always placed an importance on being able to deliver many different styles of guitar playing \u2013 what advice would you give to young guitarists that are still looking to find their niche?
\n<\/strong>I would say that if you\u2019re still learning and starting out then definitely play what you love.\u00a0 If you love Metallica, learn a Metallica song, because that will make you want to play.\u00a0 If your favorite song is \u201cYou Really Got Me\u201d, learn a couple riffs of that song and you\u2019ll always have a guitar in your hand.\u00a0 You\u2019ll learn those few notes and you\u2019ll always have the guitar in your hand and you\u2019ll get more and more comfortable with it.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I did, I loved certain songs and that\u2019s what I learned and I always had a guitar in my hand.\u00a0 That\u2019s the most important thing, you don\u2019t want the teacher to teach you something like \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d.\u00a0 That\u2019s not very inspiring to play.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve always been pretty clear about how influential country music has been to you and how much of a fan you are.\u00a0 Today there seems to be a real defined line between \u201cold country\u201d and \u201cnew country\u201d.\u00a0 Are you a fan of both?<\/strong>
\nI listen to all country, it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s new or old.\u00a0 I love when a story is told because I can\u2019t write lyrics but I always appreciate when a good story is told, it\u2019s so fascinating to me that someone can tell a story in three minutes and forty seconds.\u00a0 I like storytellers \u2013 Hank Williams, Doc Watson, Dwight Yoakam, even The Dixie Chicks, anything like that is just really good stuff.<\/p>\n

I read an interview you did for Fender where you talked about \u201cchicken picking\u201d and how you liked to incorporate it into rock music.\u00a0 And it\u2019s probably no secret that most rock fans in general are not huge country fans so how much fun is it for you to do that and maybe introduce people to something they haven\u2019t heard before but might actually enjoy?
\n<\/strong>That\u2019s the whooooooole point.\u00a0 People\u2019s eyes are so shut about certain kinds of music but if you incorporate it into rock music in a different style people can appreciate it.\u00a0 People always want something different, you always want to evolve, you always want to move ahead and I\u2019m just trying to inspire some people to open their eyes and open their ears to something new.\u00a0 There\u2019s a whole world of music out there and you could learn some country licks and put them into a heavy rock song \u2013 which I\u2019ve done.\u00a0 People enjoy it and that\u2019s all I ever wanted.\u00a0 I\u2019m not doing this to make a ton of money, I\u2019m trying to inspire people \u2013 that\u2019s what these records are about.\u00a0 I want people to expand their minds so I\u2019ll be buying their albums in the future.<\/p>\n

\"zombiejohn<\/a>It was recently revealed that Joey Jordison from Slipknot will be joining the Zombie gang out on tour this summer on drums -\u2013 how did that fall into place?
\n<\/strong>Our drummer quit and we were like \u201cHuh, let\u2019s see, who do we know?\u201d And I mentioned Joey, who\u2019s a friend of mine, to Rob because I knew Slipknot had a little down time while the guys were working on the Stone Sour album.\u00a0 Joey said he was down and it\u2019s great because I\u2019ve known Joey forever, for probably ten years and it\u2019s so much fun to have him up there.\u00a0 He\u2019s a friend, so it\u2019s really great.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t wait, I\u2019m really looking forward to that tour, and it\u2019s going to be a fun summer.
\n<\/strong>I\u2019m looking forward to it too!\u00a0 We haven\u2019t played an actual show yet, we played the Golden Gods show but I\u2019m really looking forward to the tour and the live shows.<\/p>\n

The period immediately following your time in Manson, from a fan stand point, seemed chaotic. I was wondering if there was ever a point in the aftermath of that where you\u00a0considered continuing your career as\u00a0John Lowery and leaving the \u00a0John 5 persona behind?
\n<\/strong>That\u2019s a great question.\u00a0 I wanted to release an instrumental record and in doing that I wanted to keep the name because no one in Russia or Australia knows me as John Lowery, they all know me as John 5. It\u2019s just like when Ace Frehley left KISS, he wasn\u2019t going to go back to being Paul Frehley, he\u2019s going to stay Ace Frehley.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I did, I don\u2019t have any bad blood towards Manson, we\u2019re friends and I was proud of my years with him so I kept the name.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although most of us familiarize the painted face of John 5 with his time in Marilyn Manson or his current gig with Rob Zombie, John 5\u2019s guitar roots run deep. He picked up the guitar at age seven and rumor has it no one has seen him without a guitar in his hands since. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[620,13],"class_list":["post-101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","tag-interview","tag-john-5","tw-post-no-content"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1qFj4-1D","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5188,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2015\/11\/17\/john-5-i-just-really-enjoy-having-a-guitar-around-me-and-being-involved-with-really-good-musicians-who-are-serious-and-who-are-doing-a-great-job\/","url_meta":{"origin":101,"position":0},"title":"John 5: “I just really enjoy having a guitar around me and being involved with really good musicians.”","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"November 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"John 5 talks to Broken Records Online about music, working with Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson and why he picked Doyle as a touring partner, PLUS lots more.","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 and The Creatures fall 2015","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/5-creatures-fall-2015.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/5-creatures-fall-2015.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/5-creatures-fall-2015.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2622,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2012\/09\/10\/john-5-talks-to-yahoo-voices-about-the-upcoming-co-headliner-with-marilyn-manson\/","url_meta":{"origin":101,"position":1},"title":"John 5 talks to Yahoo voices about the upcoming co-headliner with Marilyn Manson","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"September 10, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"With just a few weeks to go, Yahoo Voices caught up with John to talk about the upcoming co-headliner between Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson as well as his new solo album and scoring The Lords of Salem. Enjoy!","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 Photo by Kevin Pyle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/john51-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3687,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/07\/06\/watch-john-5-interviewed-at-mayhem-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":101,"position":2},"title":"[WATCH] John 5 interviewed at Mayhem 2013","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"July 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"The Examiner sat down with John 5 during a break at the Mayhem Festival and conducted this video interview where they cover subjects such as \"the new album \"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor\", what John 5 does when he is not playing guitar, and who is more crazy, Rob Zombie or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 interviewed at Mayhem","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-examiner.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-examiner.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-examiner.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":110,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/06\/16\/manson-fansite-provider-module-interviews-john-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":101,"position":3},"title":"Manson fansite Provider Module interviews John 5","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"June 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"JOHN 5 has enjoyed a twenty-year career playing with some of music's most prolific rock bands, including lead guitar for Marilyn Manson between 1998-2004. He is currently the lead guitarist for Rob Zombie, and continues to add to his impressive back catalogue as a solo artist. John recently took the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.providermodule.com\/5_images\/j5_header.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":583535,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2019\/07\/25\/cryptic-rock-interviews-john-5-i-play-what-i-love-its-from-the-heart-and-people-really-seem-to-enjoy-it\/","url_meta":{"origin":101,"position":4},"title":"Cryptic Rock interviews John 5: “I play what I love, it\u2019s from the heart, and people really seem to enjoy it.”","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"July 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Cryptic Rock speaks to John 5 ahead of the release of his ninth studio album Invasion.","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 Cryptic Rock July 2019","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/john-5-Cyrptic-Rock.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/john-5-Cyrptic-Rock.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/john-5-Cyrptic-Rock.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":724953,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2020\/01\/13\/listen-as-john-5-talks-to-everblack-media-about-australian-tour-new-rob-zombie-album-david-lee-roth-and-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":101,"position":5},"title":"[Listen] 5 talks to Everblack Media about Australian tour, new Rob Zombie album, David Lee Roth and more","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"January 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"John 5 talks to Everblack Media ahead of The Creatures in Australia tour about his return down under for his first solo run of shows, the new Rob Zombie album on it\u2019s way, working with Rob Halford on 2wo and also David Lee Roth and more!","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 Season of the Witch","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/john-5-season-of-the-witch-large.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/john-5-season-of-the-witch-large.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/john-5-season-of-the-witch-large.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/john-5-season-of-the-witch-large.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/john-5-season-of-the-witch-large.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}