John 5 Peels Back Another Creative Layer On His New Abum

John 5 has just released his newest solo album and as always, he is keeping his fans on their toes. This is a musician who continues to peel away creative layer after creative layer, almost re-inventing himself each time. God Told Me To is his newest solo effort and it’s a feast for the senses. If you think you knew everything about this guy, this album will prove you wrong.

The album was produced by John 5 long with Chris Baseford (Rob Zombie/Tommy Lee) and Bob Marlette (Sebastian Bach/Black Sabbath). It’s is an all instrumental effort with John 5 playing all instruments with the exception of drums. The first track, “Welcome to Violence”, opens with a lady saying “Play the guitar, play it again my Johnny” and then the crash of the strings as the assault begins. How does a mere mortal riff like this without peeling the skin away from his fingertips? What a way to open the album!

His cover of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” is up next and was released digitally about a year ago, so I am sure a lot of people are already familiar with it. John 5 pays tribute to the great Eddie Van Halen but laying down a spot-on recreation of his solo on that song. I thought it was a very nice touch by John 5 to do so, instead of re-working the classic solo and taking away from its legacy.

 The first surprise comes on track three entitled “Ashland Bump”, as it’s an acoustic, bluesy number. A great change of pace and styles and is one mother plucker of a song. “The Castle” is another acoustic number and shows that John 5 can shred acoustically just as he does electrically. I don’t think I have ever heard a musician play an acoustic guitar so fast.

“The Hill of the Seven Jackals” head back to familiar ground for fans and the shredding is back at full force. One of more interesting tracks on the album is the Spanish flavored “Noche Acosador”. I almost felt as if I was watching a Quentin Tarantino and a bunch of outlaws were sitting around a table, exchanging stories with this music being the accompanying track. I love this track and two major thumbs up for John 5 stepping outside of what is probably expected on a solo album of his and do this song.

The last two tracks, “The Lie You Live” and “Creepy Crawler”, are acoustic numbers that are the complete antithesis of songs such as the album’s opener. Each of these tracks show a side of John 5 that is such a drastic departure from the kabuki faced axe warrior that we see alongside Rob Zombie on-stage. These tracks are beautiful, somber compositions that show the diversity of a truly gifted artist whose guitar is an extension of himself. These two tracks totally blew me away and just added another layer this insanely talented and gifted artist.

So, this new solo effort one half acoustic and half electric and switches back and forth on here. John 5 is becoming one of the guitar greats of this time. He is influencing a whole new generation of guitar players and this album will be a great eye and mind opener for many of them. Don’t be afraid to try new things and expand yourself as an artist. It’s a key in maintaining longevity in the industry today. This album tapped into several new keys in his guitar arsenal. What will he do next?

John 5: From KISS to Universal Monsters

John 5 is one of those artists that you don’t know what to expect before your first meeting. He’s obviously an insanely talented guitarist with a resume a mile long. He’s worked with Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth, Meatloaf, Paul Stanley of KISS, Saliva, k.d. lang, Salt-N-Pepa and many more. His job for the past few years has been with Rob Zombie and the two of them have something magical going on.

In between touring with Rob Zombie and writing songs for other artists, John 5 even finds time for a solo career. His new solo effort God Told Me To just came out and we had the chance to sit down and talk to him about it.

Music Is My Drug Of Choice: Hey John, thanks for working us into your busy schedule. I guess this is media day for you. I know you have a lot on your plate today, so let’s jump right into the questions here. Let’s talk a little bit about this new solo album and the new direction that you chose for some of the songs.

John 5: Well, thanks for wanting to talk to me. You know, the whole key to putting out instrumental solo albums is to keep the fans on their toes. I’ve done heavy rock to country and it has gone really well for me. So, I asked myself what I could do to change it up and make it new. That’s where the acoustic stuff came into play.

MIMDOC: Have you been a fan of acoustic music already or was this something that you just wanted to explore?

John 5: I absolutely love electric guitar, but some of my favorite (Led) Zeppelin stuff is their acoustic stuff. It’s absolutely amazing! I love all types of guitar playing. When I put my iPod on shuffle, it has so much diversity, but that’s just who I am.

MIMDOC: Did you work with anyone on this album?

John 5: No, I pretty much did everything on it. I played all the instruments with the exception of drums. My producer Chris Baseford helped me out. Other than that, it’s all me!

MIMDOC: What’s the appeal of going out and doing a solo album after getting off the road with Rob Zombie?

John 5: It’s a great outlet for me and almost therapeutic. Crazy, instrumental guitar music is close to my heart and so very important to me. It allows me a canvas to paint on and to do things I can necessarily do with Rob. He doesn’t want every other bar on his song being a solo.

MIMDOC: Will your fans ever have a chance to hear any of this live?

John 5: I don’t think I will be doing and live dates, but you never know. It’s tough because a lot of my fans are really young and they can’t get into some of these clubs. It’s really late when we go on, sometimes close to midnight and there’s beer everywhere. My younger fans can’t always be a part of that. I will probably go more guitar clinics. They seem to be the best way to go. My younger fans can come to them and I have more time to meet people there and sign autographs.

MIMDOC: I have to ask you about the title of the album. Is there any hidden meaning there?

John 5: I love the title and it can be taken many ways. When I was really young, I would only go to church once or twice a year, like on Christmas Eve, and I would pray for God to make me a successful guitar player. So, in one way, when I’m asked on why I picked up a guitar, it’s because God told me to. On the other hand, I just love it in one of those creepy movies where a guy murders a bunch of people and they ask him why and he says “God told me to”.

MIMDOC: The cover is really cool! So, did you ask Rob to paint it for you or was it something that he offered to do?

John 5: I actually approached him asked him what he thought about painting the cover to the new solo album. He said that he’d love to do it. It’s as simple as that!

MIMDOC: Speaking of Rob, how was it scoring his film The Lords of Salem? Was that your first score?

John 5: That’s the first full length movie that I have scored. I’ve actually done pieces of other movies. It was actually very challenging for me. It’s so different to create music using so many different instruments, but I loved it. It pushed me as an artist.

MIMDOC: That’s a great transition for my next question. Your first solo album called Vertigo came out in 2004. How does the artist who created that album differ from the artist that created God Told Me To?

John 5: Wow, that’s a really good question. I remember when I starting recording Vertigo, I wanted it to be all instrumental, but I was very careful. I held back from doing things at times, but now if I want to put in a crazy solo or two, I will. I think there are some really good songs on Vertigo; very well structured.

MIMDOC: Where did the fascination with horror and the face makeup come from? I know you’re a big KISS fan and especially Ace Frehley.

John 5: Well, I have loved classic monsters since I was really young. You know, Dracula, Frankenstein and stuff. I remember buying KISS’ Love Gun album just because of the cover. That was the first album that I ever bought. It was awesome! That picture reminded me of those monsters that I loved.

MIMDOC: I’m a huge KISS fan too and I wanted to ask how you ended up working on the last Paul Stanley solo album Live to Win?

John 5: I’ve known Paul and Gene for quite a while now, as well as Peter and Ace. Paul was working on his solo album with Desmond Child and I had worked with Desmond when he was recording with Meatloaf. He suggested to Paul that we write something together and we did. KISS has definitely been a major influence on me. When an artist goes on stage to entertain, then they need to go all out and make sure that they entertain the crowd completely. Those guys are just about the best example of how to do that correctly!

MIMDOC: One last question for you John and we’ll wrap this up so that you can get back to work. Do you have any guilty pleasures that may surprise your fans?

John 5: Well, I’m not sure how much it will surprise them, but I do love those old horror movies with Frankenstein and Dracula and all those guys. I always watch about 20 minutes or so of one of those old movies before I go to bed, each and every night.

MIMDOC: That wraps up our time with you John. Thanks again so much for taking time out of your very busy schedule to talk with us. We plan on being at Rock on the Range in Columbus this year covering the show, so we will see you there. We also want to remind fans that your new solo album God Told Me To is out and to go buy it!