{"id":2183,"date":"2012-05-08T14:24:35","date_gmt":"2012-05-08T14:24:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/?p=2183"},"modified":"2012-05-08T14:25:13","modified_gmt":"2012-05-08T14:25:13","slug":"loudwire-interviews-john-5-about-rob-zombie-marilyn-manson-and-his-new-solo-album-god-told-me-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2012\/05\/08\/loudwire-interviews-john-5-about-rob-zombie-marilyn-manson-and-his-new-solo-album-god-told-me-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Loudwire interviews John 5 about Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson and his new solo album God Told Me To"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"photoIn time for the new album release, John 5 sat with Loudiwre<\/a> for this interesting interview.<\/p>\n

Enjoy!<\/p>\n

Guitarist John 5 Talks Solo Disc, Rob Zombie + Marilyn Manson<\/strong> by: Mary Ouellette<\/em><\/p>\n

Guitarist John 5 has just unleashed his new solo disc \u2018God Told Me To.\u2019 The CD\/DVD combo offers up one part acoustic, one part electric, in addition to a behind the scenes DVD, delivered in retro-horror type style with his very own ghoulish host.<\/p>\n

John 5, an integral part of Rob Zombie\u2019s band, has been working on the new Zombie disc, as well, and will spend most of May out on the road as part of their co-headlining tour with Megadeth. One stop includes the Rock on the Range festival at the end of the month where John 5 will play the headlining slot with Rob Zombie while his former bandmate Marilyn Manson plays right before them.<\/p>\n

We recently caught up with John 5 to talk about \u2018God Told Me To,\u2019 life with Rob Zombie, and how he ended up in one of Skid Row\u2019s videos.<\/p>\n

Your solo release \u2018God Told Me To\u2019 is not just a CD, it\u2019s also a DVD. Can you tell us what we can expect from the DVD and how you\u2019ve combined your love for horror movies?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t even know the last time I actually bought a CD because you can just purchase them on iTunes so easily. This isn\u2019t a revolutionary idea but I thought if you\u2019re going to buy a CD why not get a little something more, have a DVD with it, so you\u2019ll buy the physical CD instead of downloading it. I thought I\u2019d put a \u2018Making Of\u2019 DVD with it and then I thought, instead of just a boring \u2018Making Of\u2019 as I got more into it, I thought, let\u2019s put some tour footage, and what goes on in the day to day life of mine.
\n<\/em>
\nWhen I grew up, they would play old, old horror movies like \u2018Frankenstein\u2019 and \u2018Wolfman\u2019 and they would have horror hosts, probably one that most people would remember would be like Elvira. We had really campy horror hosts back in the day like Sir Graves Ghastly, so I thought what kind of horror host could host my DVD and put a theme around it like he was trying to destroy me, to really give the audience a little bit more. I really wanted to put a lot into this and I think it turned out pretty cool. It is really entertaining, you don\u2019t have to be just a guitar player to get into this, you can watch this thing and have a sense of humor behind it and a little fun with it.<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve said the album title \u2018God Told Me To\u2019 kind of comes from a few different ideas; do you want to tell us about that? Does any of that play into the diverse nature of the tunes and all the different styles you\u2019ve covered?<\/strong><\/p>\n

What I wanted to do, I\u2019m trying to keep the audience fresh and excited about each CD so it\u2019s not the same thing over and over. I thought, I never did a real acoustic track, instrumental stuff; I just wanted to keep it very fresh for the audience because it\u2019s for them. I\u2019m doing this for the audience and to hopefully inspire people on some different styles of music. It\u2019s been working because I\u2019ve done so many instrumental CDs, it\u2019s really working.<\/em><\/p>\n

Not that any part of your playing ever sounded lacking, but the acoustic songs \u2013 \u2018The Castle\u2019 and \u2018The Lie You Live\u2019 – sound amazing. Did the acoustic guitar take a new focus for you on this disc?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always played acoustic my whole life and appreciated acoustic music. For an example, the Led Zeppelin that I like is all their acoustic stuff. That\u2019s my favorite before \u2018Whole Lotta Love,\u2019 or \u2018Rock and Roll\u2019 or \u2018Immigrant Songs,\u2019 or even \u2018Kashmir.\u2019 I love all their acoustic work \u2013 \u2018Going to California\u2019 and all that, I loooove the acoustic stuff. I think that when you\u2019re listening to a CD, especially something like an instrumental, you need a little variety and a breath of fresh air. Even if it\u2019s for three to four minutes and then you go back into the crazy stuff. I think it\u2019s a lot easier to listen to a whole CD of music when there\u2019s a variety of sound for someone\u2019s ear, to take it all in.<\/em><\/p>\n

The production on \u2018God Told Me To\u2019 is a bit more lush and full sounding than past discs \u2013 was there a different approach to recording the songs?<\/strong><\/p>\n

With acoustic music you can get a lot more depth I think, because nothing is as pure as an acoustic instrument. You\u2019re probably right on the money with that. I spent a lot of time on this one with the DVD and the CD, especially in the studio, I wasn\u2019t in such a rush. I recorded it over the time I was on tour, and took a long time with the writing, production and the DVD. You are right, I think the production is a lot better on this CD.<\/em><\/p>\n

Talk to me about the tribute to both Michael Jackson and Eddie Van Halen on your rendition of \u2018Beat It,\u2019 why was it important for you to salute those guys?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think everything is taken from your childhood and when that song was out it was so huge and so massive. With Michael Jackson\u2019s passing I wanted to pay tribute to him and also one of my favorite guitar players, Eddie Van Halen. It\u2019s such a great song and it\u2019s known worldwide, anybody in the world knows this song, and I thought, how can nobody out of this whole huge world have ever covered \u2018Beat It.\u2019 I just wanted to cover it and do it up! I\u2019m really happy how it turned out, I think it turned out really well.<\/em><\/p>\n

And this isn\u2019t the first time you\u2019ve written or performed tributes to other musicians that have inspired you from \u2018Fractured Mirror\u2019 for Ace Frehley to \u2018Ya Dig\u2019 for David Lee Roth and now this Eddie Van Halen tribute. Even though you\u2019re so successful, you seem to still be such a huge music fan at heart \u2013 is that what drives these tributes?
\n<\/strong>
\nI am a huge fan of music in general but I think again it all comes from my childhood. Like \u2018Fractured Mirror,\u2019 I loved KISS when I was a little kid, and I loved that song. I also did a cover of Guns N\u2019 Roses\u2019 \u2018Welcome to the Jungle,\u2019 that\u2019s the song that made me move out to California and give this whole music thing a try and that\u2019s why I covered that. There\u2019s a lot of reasons behind the covers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Rob Zombie created the album art for you; it looks like an actual painting \u2013 was that the medium? Also, did he have free range with that or did you give him any ideas going into it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes it\u2019s a painting. I just kind of begged him. I said \u2018Hey Rob, would you mind painting a album cover for me\u2019 and he\u2019s so busy but he did it. That was all I said, I didn\u2019t give him any direction, I didn\u2019t say anything, I just told him the name of the album and that\u2019s pretty much it, which is amazing.<\/em><\/p>\n

So what was your response when you saw it for the first time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was blown away. It\u2019s so weird that this guy can do so much. He\u2019s so talented from art to making movies to making amazing music, what can he not do, it\u2019s incredible what he\u2019s capable of.<\/em><\/p>\n

You seem to be selling yourself short here though, aren\u2019t you scoring the new Rob Zombie movie \u2018The Lords of Salem\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I am, we\u2019re almost finished with it and it\u2019s come out really well. I\u2019m very proud of it and I\u2019ve been working very hard on it.<\/em><\/p>\n

How do you approach something like that compared to other projects? Do you tackle it differently?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s approached completely differently, it\u2019s a whole new animal. It depends on the scene and it depends of the mood of the movie. It\u2019s a lot of unorthodox bits and pieces which one would not normally do in a song. Sometimes there\u2019s no time signature or even a key. When you\u2019re doing a theme, it\u2019s a whole different story. It\u2019s a challenge but I love challenges and they\u2019re really happy with what has been happening, so that makes me psyched.<\/em>
\n
\nI noticed that for Rock on the Range, you\u2019re playing with Rob Zombie the same night as Marilyn Manson, any chance you might join him onstage for a song or two?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think so, but I just want to make it known, I have nothing against Manson. I think he\u2019s great, I think his new music is great, and I wish him nothing but the very best. We have acquired Ginger Fish to play drums with us now, he\u2019s been in our band for a little while now, so it\u2019s really cool.<\/em><\/p>\n

I was a fan of Manson before I was in his band and I\u2019m a fan after, so I wish nothing but the best. I think he\u2019s so talented.<\/em><\/p>\n

You\u2019ve said that you\u2019re psyched to go to work every day with Rob Zombie, which is something not too many of us can say, can you tell us what it\u2019s like to work with him, he\u2019s got such a brilliant mind, so it must be an exciting day job.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is very exciting. I think if you do your job and you do your job well, and have good ideas and be on time and be professional and efficient, I think in any job, you\u2019ll be okay. If I was late and come in and not know what I was doing, it would probably be a nightmare but I have such respect for the band and Zombie that I pay close attention at doing a great job and it\u2019s been a dream gig. I wouldn\u2019t leave it for the world.<\/em><\/p>\n

Your last solo disc was kind of a reflection back on your life and the people and things along the way \u2013 are there any songs on the new disc that call out to home?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There\u2019s a song on the disc called \u2018Ashland Bump.\u2019 I grew up in Grosse Pointe, Mich., in such a secluded little suburb, you were not allowed to go into Detroit \u2013 Detroit was considered dangerous. So we\u2019d sneak over there when I was in my teens, but you would have to go over this street called \u2018Ashland\u2019 and that was sort of when you crossed over onto the bad side of the tracks. There was this big hill and you\u2019d have to go slow, but you didn\u2019t want to go slow going into this neighborhood, so we would call it the \u2018Ashland Bump.\u2019 I\u2019ll take things like that because they have a neat story, it\u2019s part of my life. Same thing with the \u2018Beat It\u2019 cover, things like that are deep inside, and they\u2019re stories. As a kid, when I knew that certain song titles had a story to them, I would think of that story every time I heard the song.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018God Told Me To\u2019 kicks off with \u2018Welcome to Violence\u2019 which is a song that kind of explodes in your face \u2013 did you want that to set the tone for the rest of the disc?
\n<\/strong>
\nI just wanted to do something that makes you feel almost out of control and panicked, just so crazy. That\u2019s what I tried to make it feel like \u2013 almost losing control.<\/em><\/p>\n

I interviewed Sebastian Bach awhile back and he offered up a bit of trivia on you saying that for the Skid Row \u2018Piece of Me\u2019 video, you\u2019re actually in it as a music fan, stage-diving into the crowd \u2013 true?<\/strong><\/p>\n

That is very, very true.<\/em><\/p>\n

So you were a big Skid Row fan?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of course! Of course I was a Skid Row fan. They were shooting the video and I think we got some money to be extras. You can actually see me in the video. I was doing a stage dive. I only had like a couple tattoos and my hair was long, but if you pause it, you can see me diving and you can see my tattoos, it\u2019s pretty funny. So if you\u2019re reading this, go check it out.<\/em><\/p>\n

And another piece of Sebastian Bach \/ John 5 history \u2013 do you remember the \u2018Rolling Stone\u2019 cover with Sebastian Bach on the cover? I don\u2019t remember when it was, back in the early \u201890s. But inside that issue there was something called \u2018Tattoos of the Sunset Strip\u2019 or something to that effect. There\u2019s a picture of me getting tattooed inside that issue. It\u2019s kind of weird.<\/em><\/p>\n

Given your history with David Lee Roth and the fact that you\u2019re a big Eddie Van Halen fan, how do you feel about the VH reunion?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been a fan of Van Halen since their first record so it is great. The new record is so great and they\u2019re just firing on all cylinders, they\u2019re really doing so well. The record\u2019s great, the live show is great, and they\u2019re really changing up the set list a lot every night which let me tell ya, coming from experience, is not easy to do. You have to be very well-rehearsed to go in front of 15 thousand people and play songs and changing up the set every night. Hat\u2019s off to them, they\u2019re just really doing it.<\/em><\/p>\n

So you were impressed with the live show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah, you will love it. If you\u2019re a real Van Halen fan and you know all the songs and own all the records you will have the time of your life.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Loudwire interviews John 5<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","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":[129,620,13,284,30,14,285],"class_list":["post-2183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","tag-god-told-me-to","tag-interview","tag-john-5","tag-loudwire","tag-marilyn-manson","tag-rob-zombie","tag-skid-row","tw-post-no-content"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1qFj4-zd","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6508,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2017\/08\/30\/john-5-plays-loudwires-fact-or-fiction\/","url_meta":{"origin":2183,"position":0},"title":"John 5 plays Loudwire’s Fact or Fiction","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"August 30, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"John 5 chats to Loudwire to \"factcheck\" some of the stories about him on his Wikipedia page and to also tell some fun stories about his life.","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 Loudwire Fact Fiction","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/john_5_loudwire_fact_fiction.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\/2017\/08\/john_5_loudwire_fact_fiction.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/john_5_loudwire_fact_fiction.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":2183,"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":505048,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2019\/03\/28\/interview-on-the-phone-with-john-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":2183,"position":2},"title":"[interview] On The phone with John 5","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"March 28, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Andrew Green from 94.5FM gets on the phone with John 5 to chat his new album with Invasion, what it's like touring with Marilyn Manson again, and his KISS Instagram account.","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 Interview","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/john-5-interview-thebuzz.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\/03\/john-5-interview-thebuzz.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/john-5-interview-thebuzz.jpg?fit=550%2C307&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2741,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2012\/12\/05\/vote-rob-zombie-for-loudwires-live-act-of-the-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":2183,"position":3},"title":"Vote Rob Zombie for Loudwire\u2019s Live Act of the Year","author":"Dillon - 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