{"id":3543,"date":"2013-06-17T15:36:06","date_gmt":"2013-06-17T15:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/?p=3543"},"modified":"2013-06-17T15:37:01","modified_gmt":"2013-06-17T15:37:01","slug":"john-5-talks-working-on-his-next-solo-album-and-other-things-to-metal-express-radio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/06\/17\/john-5-talks-working-on-his-next-solo-album-and-other-things-to-metal-express-radio\/","title":{"rendered":"John 5 talks working on his next solo album and other things to Metal Express Radio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"j5-interview\"<\/p>\n

Its been a busy year for John 5 already. \u00a02013 has seen the release of Rob Zombie’s The Lords of Salem, which features John 5’s score, and the latest Rob Zombie album which was primarily written by RZ and John 5. \u00a0He is currently rehearsing with his fellow RZ bandmates for the Mayhem 2013 tour which starts end of June 2013. \u00a0He talks with Metal Express Radio<\/a> about Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, playing with Les Paul, and a little about the next J5 solo album.<\/p>\n

To read the interview\u00a0<\/p>\n

John 5\u00a0<\/strong>by: DAN ‘SOFT BOY’ SKIBA<\/em><\/p>\n

Metal Express Radio caught up with guitarist extraordinaire JOHN 5 recently while he was in the throes of rehearsals for the upcoming Rob Zombie tour, supporting the Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor release, which hit the streets at the end of April 2013.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>First, congratulations to you, John, for your recent awards \u2026 most recently the\u00a0Revolver Golden God Award<\/em>\u00a0for best guitarist!\u00a0 You recently too had the opportunity to play on stage with one of your heroes:\u00a0 Les Paul.<\/p>\n

JOHN 5<\/strong>:\u00a0Thank you very much, you are right, the\u00a0Golden God<\/em>\u00a0Award\u00a0<\/em>just recently happened, and a while back I attended an event and Les Paul was there \u2013 he was calling various people on stage to play with him, and I first thought \u201cwhat an honor that would be to get to play with him\u201d, but then I got really scared, because all of the people he brought up on stage knew the songs he wanted to play and knocked them out flawlessly.\u00a0 I thought to myself that if I had the chance to go up on stage I\u2019d have no idea what I was supposed to play, but luckily when it was my turn, I knew the song he picked, and we had a blast together.\u00a0 Afterwards, Les Paul said that not many things impress him anymore; but that he was impressed by me \u2026 I took that to be perhaps the best complement I\u2019ve ever received, and I\u2019d have to say that was one of the most memorable nights of my life.<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>As always, you\u2019ve been incredibly busy, but the latest news item on the docket is your involvement with Rob Zombie\u2019s latest release,\u00a0Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor.<\/em>\u00a0 Perhaps to start this discussion, can you\u00a0shed a little light on what the album title means or is referring to?<\/p>\n

JOHN 5:\u00a0<\/strong>You know, your guess is as good as mine.\u00a0 Even in spending a ton of time with Rob and writing the songs, you can lay bets on what the title of the album may or may not be \u2026 and even when it was finally announced, it was almost impossible for anyone associated with the record to know exactly how or why Rob came up with the title he did.\u00a0 So, to tell you the truth, I have no idea why Rob named it what he did!<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>You are credited with writing all of the music for the album \u2026 what is it like to write for a Rob Zombie album?<\/p>\n

JOHN 5:\u00a0<\/strong>Actually, it\u2019s a total blast.\u00a0 I\u2019ve done this before, and now I know Rob so well, he just has to give me a quick comparison to the type of groove or rhythm he is looking for and I can usually give him something that interests him or properly sets the mood.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually not that difficult, and this record in particular really seemed to come together well.<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>Piggy D is back on bass and Ginger Fish on the drums \u2026 you go way back with Ginger \u2013 how much does it mean to you to have Ginger in the fold?<\/p>\n

JOHN 5:\u00a0<\/strong>Ginger is totally whacky, but he’s incredibly loyal.\u00a0 A few years ago Ginger fell on a bit of hard times, and when I found out about that, I recommended him to Rob, who brought him into the band, and I think he\u2019s a very solid drummer and I love having him in the band.<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>Bob Marlette, who has worked with a number of bands, produced this record \u2026 what is your experience with Bob, and how did he fit in with Rob Zombie?<\/p>\n

JOHN 5:\u00a0<\/strong>I\u2019ve worked with Bob in many capacities since 1990 and having him produce this album was like working with a brother or a family member.\u00a0 He was a great fit with Rob and for this record, and he was a big reason for everything\u00a0coming together so well.\u00a0 I thought he did an incredible job.<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>Not that long ago, Rob Zombie toured outside of the USA for the first time in about a decade \u2026 what are the tour plans to support this new album, and will you again go past North American shores?<\/p>\n

JOHN 5:\u00a0<\/strong>Beginning June 29th<\/sup>, we\u2019ll be touring as part of the\u00a0Mayhem Festival<\/em>.\u00a0 I completely love touring in the summer as part of festivals \u2026 you get to hang out and relax for most of the day and then play to huge crowds.\u00a0 It\u2019s my element, and I\u2019m really excited to be part of\u00a0Mayhem<\/em>\u00a0this year.\u00a0 Later this fall, we\u2019ll have what I believe is a huge announcement regarding more touring \u2013 but you\u2019ll have to wait on that since details are being attended to and I can\u2019t speak about it yet.\u00a0 Next year, we plan to again head to Europe \u2026 we were amazed at the reception we got in Europe, and we\u2019re all anxious to get back there again.<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>About a year ago, you were the featured guitarist on VH1 Classic\u2019s\u00a0That Metal Show<\/em>.\u00a0 Many people in the Metal Community know of you, but at least at that date, it\u2019s a safe bet to say that not a lot of people were really familiar with everything you are capable of doing on the guitar \u2026 when you played your leads going into commercial breaks, it seemed not only the hosts of the\u00a0Show\u00a0<\/em>were amazed, but the viewing audience in general throughout North America was completely blown away by your playing techniques. \u00a0Did appearing on\u00a0That Metal S<\/em>how\u00a0<\/em>give an added shot in the arm to your career?<\/p>\n

JOHN 5:\u00a0<\/strong>I don\u2019t know that it changed anything career-wise for me, but it definitely did expose me to a broader-based audience that may be a bit more in tune with Classic Hard Rock and Metal bands that originally came up back in the \u201870s and \u201880s.\u00a0 So from that aspect, it was a great thing for me.\u00a0 I\u2019m actually going to be on another\u00a0Show<\/em>\u00a0this season with Rob Zombie in early July, but I\u2019m not going to be playing \u2013 Rob and I will just be talking with the\u00a0Show<\/em>\u00a0hosts.\u00a0 Last year they forewarned me that sometimes it\u2019s difficult as a guitarist to come up with catchy riffs on-demand to lead into the commercial breaks, but I was completely relaxed with that and had absolutely no problem.\u00a0 I just did what came natural to me \u2026 I mean, what I do at home is watch TV and hang out with my family with a guitar in my hand or nearby, and I play all the time, so playing on last year\u2019s\u00a0Show\u00a0<\/em>was just a natural extension of what I do most days as it is.\u00a0 I\u2019ll tell you, though, that I was much more nervous \u201ctalking\u201d on\u00a0That Metal Show<\/em>\u00a0than I ever was playing.\u00a0 To me, the \u201ctalking\u201d part was much more nerve-wracking.<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>Your last solo record in 2012 was\u00a0God Told Me To<\/em>, which was yet another critically acclaimed album.\u00a0 What\u2019s next for JOHN 5 solo?<\/p>\n

JOHN 5:\u00a0<\/strong>Well, I already have about half of another solo album squared away, but I\u2019m looking to find yet another way to make\u00a0this next album be \u201cover the top\u201d and I\u2019m looking at possibly including a bunch of guest musicians this time \u2026 perhaps focusing on guest guitarists to play with, but I haven\u2019t yet decided on who on what approach I want to\u00a0take.\u00a0 Also, I love you guys at Metal Express Radio, and I remember hosting a Guest DJ Show a while back and had a blast doing that.\u00a0 How about we do that again sometime soon!?<\/p>\n

MER:\u00a0<\/strong>Anytime, John \u2026 the world will definitely look forward to hearing you over the airwaves again!\u00a0\u00a0Where can people go to keep track of what you\u2019re doing, both with Rob Zombie and with your solo endeavors?<\/p>\n

JOHN5:\u00a0<\/strong>The best place to start is\u00a0www.John-5.com<\/a>.\u00a0 Looking forward to seeing everybody out there on the road!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

J5 talks with Metal Express Radio about Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor, playing with Les Paul, and a little about the next J5 solo album.<\/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":[348,68,620,13,244,429,14],"class_list":["post-3543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interview","tag-best-guitarist","tag-golden-gods","tag-interview","tag-john-5","tag-les-paul","tag-metal-express-radio","tag-rob-zombie","tw-post-no-content"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1qFj4-V9","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4126,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2014\/03\/14\/john-5-speaks-to-metal-obsessions-were-treating-it-as-a-big-zombie-party\/","url_meta":{"origin":3543,"position":0},"title":"John 5 speaks to Metal Obsession: “We\u2019re treating it … as a big Zombie party”","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"March 14, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"While out on tour with Rob Zombie in Australia for the Soundwave Festival, Metal Obsession grabbed a chat with John where they spoke about the new Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor album, the forthcoming Live DVD\/Blu-Ray and even a little about the next John 5 solo album.","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"John 5 Metal Obsession","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/John-5-metal-obsession.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/John-5-metal-obsession.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/John-5-metal-obsession.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3525,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/06\/04\/watch-fearnets-exclusive-interview-with-john-5\/","url_meta":{"origin":3543,"position":1},"title":"[WATCH] Fearnet’s exclusive interview with John 5","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"June 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"John 5 speaks to FEARnet.com, in this exclusive video interview, about the fascinating details about the making of The Lords of Salem score, making Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor with Rob Zombie and his own solo work","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"FEARnet-J5","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/FEARnet-J5.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/FEARnet-J5.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/FEARnet-J5.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3188,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2013\/02\/22\/john-5-talks-scoring-the-lords-of-salem-and-new-zombie-album\/","url_meta":{"origin":3543,"position":2},"title":"John 5 talks scoring Lords of Salem and new Zombie album","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"February 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Blabbermouth has reported on a new interview John 5 has made where he speaks about working on his first full film score - Rob Zombie's The Lords of Salem (out April 19 2013). and the forthcoming Rob Zombie studio album Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor (out April 23, 2013)","rel":"","context":"In "Interview"","block_context":{"text":"Interview","link":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/category\/interview\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"john-5-score-tlos","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/john-5-score-tlos.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/john-5-score-tlos.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/john-5.com\/main\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/john-5-score-tlos.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"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":3543,"position":3},"title":"[Listen] John 5 talks to Hard Rock Haven about what Rob Zombie will bring to Mayhem this year","author":"Dillon - 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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":4347,"url":"https:\/\/john-5.com\/main\/2014\/07\/21\/illinois-entertainment-speaks-to-john-5-ahead-of-us-tour\/","url_meta":{"origin":3543,"position":5},"title":"Illinois Entertainer speaks to John 5 ahead of US tour","author":"Dillon - Team John 5","date":"July 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"On the eve of the current US tour with Rob Zombie, Kelley Simms of Illinois Entertainer spoke to John 5 over the phone. 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