{"id":234,"date":"2010-07-27T10:39:29","date_gmt":"2010-07-27T17:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/?p=234"},"modified":"2011-01-22T10:42:39","modified_gmt":"2011-01-22T17:42:39","slug":"bay-area-music-scene-interviews-john-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2010\/07\/27\/bay-area-music-scene-interviews-john-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area Music scene interviews John 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAMS caught up with John 5 during the Mayhem Tour: bayareamusicscene.wordpress.com\/2010\/07\/24\/an-interview-with-john-5-of-rob-zombie-july-11-2010\/<\/a><\/p>\n

An Interview with John 5 of Rob Zombie, <\/strong>@ the Mayhem Festival <\/strong>July 11, 2010<\/strong><\/p>\n

John was our last interview for the day and time was precious.\u00a0 So we were told that when we saw him to make ourselves known and call out his name so he would know who he was meeting with next.\u00a0 When we saw him we ran over waving our arms like a crazy peeps and got his attention.\u00a0 We all laughed then he joined us at the table.\u00a0 What a gracious, classy guy.\u00a0 It was our pleasure to interview him.\u00a0 Here\u2019s what he had to say!<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: How did your relationship with Rob Zombie Start?\u00a0 How did you come into the band?<\/p>\n

John 5:<\/strong> I was about to do a festival for the tsunami people and survivors.\u00a0 So Dave Navarro said we are having a benefit would you like to play? I asked who was playing and he named a bunch of people.\u00a0 I heard him say Rob Zombie and I had been a Rob Zombie fan for a long time.\u00a0 So I was thinking, and I said to them hey if I can play with Zombie then I\u2019ll do it, now that would be cool.\u00a0 You know there are so many people to play with.\u00a0 So they said ok.\u00a0 I knew all his songs, we got together and played.\u00a0 I saw him at rehearsal and told him \u201cHey Rob if you need a guitar player let me know.\u201d\u00a0 He said well I might do Ozzfest I\u2019ll let you know.\u00a0 So we did Ozzfest and he said well its only six weeks don\u2019t get comfortable.\u00a0 Then six weeks turned into five years.\u00a0 So it\u2019s been great!<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: I saw you back on Ozzfest 2005 with Rob for the first time then and more recently back in November 2009.\u00a0 Since your time with Rob your spirit really shines, you seem to be ecstatic like happier than ever before.\u00a0 Can you tell us a little about what your experience has been like up to this point?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Yeah, well it\u2019s been like a dream come true.\u00a0 I\u2019ve played with so many people.\u00a0 You know playing with Rob is\u2026it couldn\u2019t be better!\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s so much fun writing and performing with him.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t do anything more fun than this!\u00a0 I\u2019ve turned down tons and tons of gigs.\u00a0 You know I\u2019m just going to stay with Rob until he says I\u2019m done.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: As long as he keeps doing music you\u2019re going to stay on board<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Yeah as long as he keeps going, I\u2019m there with him!<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: Seriously, since I\u2019ve watched you just those few times, you\u2019re so much fun to watch.\u00a0 You can clearly see you love your work and how happy you are with what you do<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Well, look at what I do! I don\u2019t see how people can complain about it when they get to do a job like this.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: When you work on new material with Rob how do you attack things?\u00a0 Do you work together in the same room or come up with things on your own? How has it worked from \u201cEducated Horses\u201d in 2006 to Hellbilly Deluxe 2?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Well, we work together in the same room on things.\u00a0 If he likes something then we\u2019ll start building on it.\u00a0 We\u2019ve been really lucky because we get along so well in the studio and that\u2019s tough to come by.\u00a0 We\u2019re out on the road then back in the studio.\u00a0 We work so well on stage.\u00a0 I think the reason for that is that he\u2019s just smart.\u00a0 That\u2019s the only thing I can say he\u2019s smart. Because that matters a lot, it makes it easy to work.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: From the show in November 2009 in San Jose when we last saw you, can you fill us in on where the band has been up until now?<\/p>\n

John 5:<\/strong> I think the band has escalated a lot.\u00a0 I was just talking to Rob about this.\u00a0 Because we\u2019ve got this really crazy look right now.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got makeup and all the blood on us and the show is\u2026really I don\u2019t think it can get any bigger than what it is now.\u00a0 There\u2019s no way this can get any bigger.\u00a0 The stage show is huge!\u00a0 We\u2019ve never done anything like this before.\u00a0 I think we\u2019ve escalated to a new level since just last year.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: What did you like most about your time working with Marilyn Manson?\u00a0 What were some of the high points?\u00a0 What did the experience bring to you as a musician?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: I learned a lot with recording and playing live because Manson has great production.\u00a0 Recording with him was really fun.\u00a0 You know I learned a lot and I had a really good time playing with him.\u00a0 I learned a lot and I\u2019m really happy that I did it the five years that I was there.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: You\u2019ve worked very hard in your solo career as well.\u00a0 How have you found time for your own expression in between all the band work?\u00a0 What inspired you for each solo record?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Well, there are a lot of hours in the day and I don\u2019t really do much of anything else.\u00a0 Not that it\u2019s work but I really enjoy having a guitar in my hand.\u00a0 It\u2019s a lot of fun for me to have a guitar in my hand, it\u2019s therapeutic.\u00a0 It\u2019s relaxing for me.\u00a0 In my mind things can get very complicated sometimes so the solo and the instrumental stuff can be very relaxing for me.\u00a0 So I like to keep my mind active instead of sitting in front of the TV and playing video games or something like that.\u00a0 I really like to keep my mind active.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: You\u2019re a very open minded musician.\u00a0 You\u2019ve worked in different genre\u2019s including bluegrass and country outside of your rock and metal background.\u00a0 What have you found interesting about working in the different areas you have?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Well, it\u2019s fun working in different areas.\u00a0 I just finished a Ricky Martin album a couple of weeks ago.\u00a0 It was an all Spanish record so doing stuff like that is really fun.\u00a0 I love it!\u00a0 It\u2019s like being in a different band every day.\u00a0 There\u2019s so much out there.\u00a0 You can learn from everything you do. It doesn\u2019t have to be just rock. There\u2019s a whole world of music out there.\u00a0 I love being a good player and I love to learn.\u00a0 The knowledge of everything I\u2019ve learned so far is priceless and that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: You picked up the guitar at a very young age and your parents were very supportive.\u00a0 How old were you when you played your first show and how did you juggle school with playing shows early on so you could have both?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: I think my first time on stage I was in the sixth grade and I tripped on stage it was terrible.\u00a0 I grew up in an upper class neighborhood so it was different for everybody to see me.\u00a0 I never drank or smoked.\u00a0 So my parents always said if you can get up and go to school you can play shows at night.\u00a0 As soon as I said oh I\u2019m too tired I don\u2019t want to do this, \u00a0I knew it would stop so I always had that in the back of my head.\u00a0 So I knew I had to get up for school.\u00a0 So I think that was a pretty good deal.\u00a0 I never did drugs or drank or anything like that.\u00a0 They were glad so they trusted me. \u00a0It exposed me to the night clubs and women so that was exciting. (Smiles)<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: Besides the guitar you took on the bass and the banjo, at what point along the road of your career did you take those up?\u00a0 How has it advanced your overall performance?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Well I play a lot of instruments mandolin, banjo, and bass.\u00a0 I love it.\u00a0 Sometimes Rob will say give me a mandolin piece kind of a gypsy style that sounds around 1800\u2019s. Luckily I\u2019m educated enough to even know how to come up with something like that.\u00a0 I love music.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m a very big fan of music in general and the history of it because it is so different and how you play it.\u00a0 I think it really helps out my career a lot because of the variety that I do know and it\u2019s entertaining.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: You\u2019ve worked with some very influential artists.\u00a0 Can you tell us your approach to working with Rob Halford on 2wo and your time with David Lee Roth since they are so widely different?\u00a0 How did you like working with each?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Rob Halford was so much fun. I was never a big Judas Priest fan.\u00a0 \u00a0Judas Priest was such an influential band I think everyone was a fan of them.\u00a0 I think I\u2019m the only one who wasn\u2019t much of a big fan.\u00a0 Rob Halford is such a pro.\u00a0 He\u2019s such a gentleman with such an incredible voice.\u00a0 It was such an important time in my life.\u00a0 I loved it!\u00a0 I cherish that time that I played with Halford. \u00a0When I was a kid I had dreamt all the time, you know how when you\u2019re a kid you always wish for things?\u00a0 I wanted to be Eddie Van Halen.\u00a0 I wanted to play with David Lee Roth.\u00a0 I wanted to be married to Valerie Bertinelli.\u00a0 You know all these things and I\u2019m still very good friends with David Lee Roth to this day. I talk to him all the time and I\u2019ve known him now for ten years.\u00a0 We have a very close friendship.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: You are a guitarist of many hats.\u00a0 You\u2019ve also a staff writer for Chrysalis Records.\u00a0 How do you like that work and what is most rewarding about it?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: I write for Chrysalis.\u00a0 It\u2019s a publishing company and I just finished writing six tracks with Lynrd Skynrd for their new record.\u00a0 I love it.\u00a0 I like to write music as well.\u00a0 Its funny talking about it right now there\u2019s a lot of stuff going on, isn\u2019t there?\u00a0 LOL\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I appreciate everything I\u2019ve had the opportunity to do.\u00a0 When I was a kid I never dreamed of anything like this.\u00a0 My dream was to make a living playing music.\u00a0 It\u2019s weird I never imagined it would be anything like what I have now.\u00a0 It\u2019s weird that all these great things have come to be.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: You\u2019re also working on music for Rob\u2019s next movie.\u00a0 How\u2019s that coming along?\u00a0 Do you ever struggle coming up with ideas or is everything a breeze for you?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Nothing\u2019s a breeze lol.\u00a0 Hopefully Rob likes it.\u00a0 Then it\u2019s good.\u00a0 Hopefully later down the line we\u2019ll get the music in it. I think we have a new song in the Salt movie with Angelina Jolie.\u00a0 So that\u2019s good, it\u2019s great!\u00a0 I love seeing a movie then hearing the music it\u2019s great!\u00a0 I love movies!<\/p>\n

Jim<\/strong>: What kind of movies?\u00a0 What are some of your favorites?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Any movies, I\u2019ll go see anything I love all kinds of movies.\u00a0 There isn\u2019t anything I won\u2019t go see.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: You just verified something for me that you\u2019ve always been a sober musician.\u00a0 How did you keep yourself straight and have the desire to work that way and know that you are at your best?<\/p>\n

John 5<\/strong>: Because my parents drank, my teachers drank.\u00a0 Everybody in the business drank.\u00a0 I knew that I didn\u2019t want to do that.\u00a0 I knew that I wanted to keep my mind alert and fresh.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: Good for you!!\u00a0 After the Mayhem festival where are you guys off to for the rest of the year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

John<\/strong> 5: I think we\u2019re going to do an Alice Cooper tour like later on in the year.\u00a0 Maybe go to Europe and maybe go to Australia.\u00a0 We have lots and lots to do coming up.<\/p>\n

Anne<\/strong>: John, thank you so much!\u00a0 It was so nice to meet you!!<\/p>\n

Anne Sciara \u2013 BAMS Lead Journalist<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John was our last interview for the day and time was precious. So we were told that when we saw him to make ourselves known and call out his name so he would know who he was meeting with next. When we saw him we ran over waving our arms like a crazy peeps and got his attention. We all laughed then he joined us at the table. What a gracious, classy guy. It was our pleasure to interview him. Here\u2019s what he had to say!<\/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":[620,13,24],"class_list":["post-234","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","tag-interview","tag-john-5","tag-mayhem-2010","tw-post-no-content"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1qFj4-3M","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3552,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/06\/19\/john-5-talks-to-hard-rock-haven-about-what-rob-zombie-will-bring-to-mayhem-201\/","url_meta":{"origin":234,"position":0},"title":"[Listen] John 5 talks to Hard Rock Haven about what Rob Zombie will bring to Mayhem this year","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"June 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Listen to this interview with John 5 by Hard Rock Haven","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"john-5-interview-bandw","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/john-5-interview-bandw.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/john-5-interview-bandw.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/john-5-interview-bandw.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3814,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/08\/17\/watch-on-tour-monthly-chats-with-john-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":234,"position":1},"title":"[Watch] On Tour Monthly chats with John 5","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"August 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In this video interview taken before Rob Zombies headlining appearance at this years Mayhem Festival in Dallas, TX, On Tour Monthly sits with John 5 to talk about the new Rob Zombie album \u201cVenomous Rat Regeneration Vendor\u201c, Mayhem Festival, his friendship with Rob Zombie and and his favorite Mayhem moment.","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"On Tour Monthly interviews John 5","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-5-on-tour-with-interview.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-5-on-tour-with-interview.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/john-5-on-tour-with-interview.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3521,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/06\/03\/john-5-talks-to-pghmusicmag-about-rockstar-mayhem-festival-much-more\/","url_meta":{"origin":234,"position":2},"title":"John 5 talks to PGHMUSICMAG About Rockstar Mayhem Festival & Much More!","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"June 3, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Pittsburgh Music Magazine have conducted an audio interview with John 5. Taking time from the pre-Mayhem production work in L.A. John 5 talks about the experience of the Rockstar Mayhem Festival and what Rob Zombie and company have in store and more","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\/2013\/06\/john-5-interview.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/john-5-interview.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/john-5-interview.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3712,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/07\/09\/watch-metalholic-interviews-john-5-at-mayhem-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":234,"position":3},"title":"[Watch] Metalholic interviews John 5 at Mayhem 2013","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"July 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Currently on tour with Rob Zombie for Mayhem 2013, John 5 sat down at their stop in Boise Idaho and chatted to Metalholic. In this video interview, John 5 speaks about \"Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, working with the likes of Paul Stanley, Halestorm, and Skynyrd, as well as what he\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Metalholic John 5","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-metalholic.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-metalholic.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-metalholic.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3687,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/07\/06\/watch-john-5-interviewed-at-mayhem-2013\/","url_meta":{"origin":234,"position":4},"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":3735,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/07\/15\/watch-pghmusicmag-backstage-at-mayhem-with-john-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":234,"position":5},"title":"[WATCH] PGHMUSICMAG backstage at Mayhem with John 5","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"July 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Pittsburgh Music Magazine had a chat with John 5 backstage at this years Mayhem Festival when it came to Pittsburgh on July 7, 2013. John talks about the recovery of some of his stolen guitars, growing up in Michigan, meeting Gene Simmons, how hard it is to be on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-lava.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-lava.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/j5-lava.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234","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=234"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}