John 5 is undoubtedly one of the hottest shredders on the planet right now. His impressive resume of working with frontmen such as Marilyn Manson, Rob Halford, Dave Lee Roth and his current gig as the right hand man for Rob Zombie, show his impressive skills have not gone unnoticed, but it doesn’t do him justice to label John 5 as a shredder – he’s a guitarist, a great guitarist – and there’s little he can’t put his hand to.
John 5’s newfound solo career also turned out to not be a flash in the pan. Since 2004 he has released seven studio solo albums (Vertigo, Songs For Sanity, The Devil Knows My Name, Requiem, The Art of Malice, God Told Me To and Careful With That Axe ) and a remix album (Remixploitation) based on his previous work. The albums have also seen John work with other memorable players, including Albert Lee who called John “one of the nicest guys I’ve worked with“, Steve Vai who called John “underrated”, Joe Satriani, Jim Root, Eric Johnson and many more. “I still can’t believe how well the music has been received. Solo guitar albums are often seen as only to be listened to by other music aficionados but here I am getting kids, grandparents, moms, rockers, country fans and everyone else in-between telling me how much they like what they hear.”
For John he sees Zombie as the place he will call home until whenever Zombie calls it a day “this is home.”
Working on new solo albums, Zombie albums would make one busy enough, but John 5 has continued to work as a “hired gun”. Whether it be contributing to guitar leads, such as on Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell 3: The Monsters Loose, or going into the studio for not one, but two Lynryd Skynrd albums and surprising fans by working with Ricky Martin and Rod Stewart – to name but two, life is busy for John 5. “I do kick myself sometimes. I’m busy, constantly busy with work but I look at who I am in the studio with or sending music to and I think sometimes, how can I top this and then something else comes along and it just gets better. You know I would love to get on the road again and see the fans up close for clinics but things are so busy at the moment. I wouldn’t want it to stop though – the kid from Grosse Pointe did good“.
In 2017, John 5 released his 8th studio album, Season of the Witch, the first to be released with his band The Creatures (Ian Ross and Rodger Carter). Select tracks were released digitally and via YouTube to capture the changing way consumers access music. Videos included a knee-slapping tribute to Hee Haw - the TV show largely credited with influencing the young 5, and a stop-motion video called Making Monsters, which was co-directed by long-time friend and Coffin Case founder Jonny Coffin.
As well as continuing working with Rob Zombie, John is working on a live album, due out in 2018, which will be the first John 5 album to be released on vinyl.
"John 5 is hands-down one of the most mind-blowing guitarists around." - Slash
"An underrated guitar giant." - Steve Vai
"Cool Tone. Cool Groove. Cool." - Yngwie Malmsteen
"It energizes ya and has everything ya wanna hear. And just when ya think ya got it all, he busts out this over-the-top country chicken-pickin'!!" - Bumblefoot
"If there was ever a musician who was an honorary member of Shred Guitar Society... Mr. John 5!" Paul Gilbert
"John is a f@#$%^ shredder." - Rob Zombie
John 5 (Rob Zombie)
John 5 is undoubtedly one of the hottest shredders on the planet right now. His impressive resume of working with frontmen such as Marilyn Manson, Rob Halford, Dave Lee Roth and his current gig as the right hand man for Rob Zombie, show his impressive skills have not gone unnoticed, but it doesn’t do him justice to label John 5 as a shredder – he’s a guitarist, a great guitarist – and there’s little he can’t put his hand to.
John 5’s newfound solo career also turned out to not be a flash in the pan. Since 2004 he has released seven studio solo albums (Vertigo, Songs For Sanity, The Devil Knows My Name, Requiem, The Art of Malice, God Told Me To and Careful With That Axe ) and a remix album (Remixploitation) based on his previous work. The albums have also seen John work with other memorable players, including Albert Lee who called John “one of the nicest guys I’ve worked with“, Steve Vai who called John “underrated”, Joe Satriani, Jim Root, Eric Johnson and many more. “I still can’t believe how well the music has been received. Solo guitar albums are often seen as only to be listened to by other music aficionados but here I am getting kids, grandparents, moms, rockers, country fans and everyone else in-between telling me how much they like what they hear.”
For John he sees Zombie as the place he will call home until whenever Zombie calls it a day “this is home.”
Working on new solo albums, Zombie albums would make one busy enough, but John 5 has continued to work as a “hired gun”. Whether it be contributing to guitar leads, such as on Meatloaf’s Bat out of Hell 3: The Monsters Loose, or going into the studio for not one, but two Lynryd Skynrd albums and surprising fans by working with Ricky Martin and Rod Stewart – to name but two, life is busy for John 5. “I do kick myself sometimes. I’m busy, constantly busy with work but I look at who I am in the studio with or sending music to and I think sometimes, how can I top this and then something else comes along and it just gets better. You know I would love to get on the road again and see the fans up close for clinics but things are so busy at the moment. I wouldn’t want it to stop though – the kid from Grosse Pointe did good“.
In 2017, John 5 released his 8th studio album, Season of the Witch, the first to be released with his band The Creatures (Ian Ross and Rodger Carter). Select tracks were released digitally and via YouTube to capture the changing way consumers access music. Videos included a knee-slapping tribute to Hee Haw - the TV show largely credited with influencing the young 5, and a stop-motion video called Making Monsters, which was co-directed by long-time friend and Coffin Case founder Jonny Coffin.
As well as continuing working with Rob Zombie, John is working on a live album, due out in 2018, which will be the first John 5 album to be released on vinyl.
"John 5 is hands-down one of the most mind-blowing guitarists around." - Slash
"An underrated guitar giant." - Steve Vai
"Cool Tone. Cool Groove. Cool." - Yngwie Malmsteen
"It energizes ya and has everything ya wanna hear. And just when ya think ya got it all, he busts out this over-the-top country chicken-pickin'!!" - Bumblefoot
"If there was ever a musician who was an honorary member of Shred Guitar Society... Mr. John 5!" Paul Gilbert
"John is a f@#$%^ shredder." - Rob Zombie