John 5 Interview: Tele’s, Marilyn Manson and Detroit

By: Rick Landers

John 5 Tele

Session guitarist, death rock hero, western swing master, movie soundtrack instrumentalist, John 5 is a well-rounded axe master. Fender has already named two Artist Series guitars after him, a beautiful black Telecaster with a unique headstock and the new J5 acoustic guitar.

Guitar International readers probably know John best from his days as Marilyn Manson’s lead guitarist, but he also has an impressive resume of work with K.D. Lang, David Lee Roth, Ozzy Ozbourne, and a host of others.

Below is my conversation with John 5 as we talked about growing up in Detroit, his huge catalogue of studio and touring work and his love of Fender guitar.

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Rick Landrs: GI readers would be interested in your background, bands you have been in, some of the local places you played in Michigan, and early influences.

John 5: I grew up in an affluent area of Detroit called Grosse Pointe City. My parents weren’t what I’d call musical in that they didn’t play any instruments, but they listened to music all the time. I remember watching the Monkees comedy show on TV and loved their music.

When I saw Jimi Hendrix for the first time that was it. I was mesmerized, he was so visual and graceful and fluid when he played…it was beautiful…amazing. I loved Kiss and I’ve always liked country music…still do. Once I got in a band we played small clubs in some of the Detroit suburbs that weren’t in the best areas of town.

Some of these included Harpos, the Ritz, Limelight and New York New York…they’re probably long gone now. Anyway, it took me a while to realize that playing in these places in the long run turned out to be a great learning experience.

Rick: What made you grab your first guitar?

John 5: I guess it was seeing guys like Hendrix that got me going. For some reason guitars kinda grabbed me…it could have just as easily been something like skateboards. Anyway, my parents were always supportive and bought me my first guitar, a cheap little Silvertone acoustic from Sears.

Once they saw that I was serious about playing they bought me a cream colored ’76 or ’77 Fender Stratocaster…it had a black pickguard and white pickups. All I did was play and play and kept getting inspired by bands like Van Halen. I played so much my left hand ended up being a bit bigger than my right…I’d play all day long…stretching my left hand up and down the fret board!

Oh, and let me tell you one of the worst things I ever did when it comes to guitars. When Van Halen came out I had to have a Kramer like Eddie Van Halen’s….I didn’t just want one, I had to have it…so what did I do? I traded my Stratocaster that Stevie Ray Vaughan had signed for me in 1984…what a mistake…for a Kramer!!??! If you ever see that Stratocaster, let me know…I want it back!

Rick: You have been a session man and played with many great musicians. Tell us.

John 5: I never dreamed much of being a rock star. I always wanted to be a session guitarist. If you think about it, a session guitarist gets to be in lots of bands and play all different styles…that’s what I wanted. I just loved playing guitar and wanted to learn everything I could and wasn’t just interested in rock ‘n’ roll…jazz, western swing, blues…you name it I wanted to play it.

I also don’t like to fly, so playing for a studio in one place fit my plans perfectly. For me, being a studio musician was a great job. One of my first and toughest sessions was with John Wetten…man it was hard. I was 18-years-old and had to play a 12-string and really wanted to impress him and do it great.

Rick: How often do you practice, what do you practice, speed drills, scales, etc.?

John 5: I practice all the time and I still take lessons. I have a total love of the guitar. It’s a little scary because I really don’t know how to do anything else. And I don’t want to do anything else.

I wake up and write music for an hour almost every day and practice or play about 6 hours – not straight through, but if you add up all the time…just crazy “trash” all day long. I love recording too and play a lot of jazz and country. I’m learning more and more about jazz. There’s a little bit of that on my new CD, Vertigo.

Rick: Any advice for our readers on what or how to practice?

John 5: I think one of the most important things for any musician to do whether they’re guitar players or not is to practice what you like. If you like Ozzy, then play nothing but Ozzy. If you’re a drummer who’s into Terry Bozzio…play Bozzio. By doing this you’ll get real familiar with your guitar, drums or whatever you’re playing and build that mind-body connection.

Playing will become natural. If you don’t make practice enjoyable by doing something like this, you’ll probably quit or won’t learn as fast…just playing scales all day is boring. I have always liked to learn, figuring knowledge is power and like I said, learn what you enjoy.

Rick: How did you end up with Marilyn Manson?

John 5: I was playing with David Lee Roth (Van Halen) and Rob Halford (Judas Priest) and Marilyn Manson was the headliner at the show. I was really excited because I was a huge fan of Manson and couldn’t wait to see him live. But, Manson couldn’t make the show and I was seriously bummed.

When I got back to LA his manager, Tony Ciulla, called me up and asked me to go to lunch for an interview and I was hired to be Marilyn’s guitarist on the spot! It was Marilyn who gave me the name John 5.

Rick: I understand you’re into vintage guitars and keep a lot on hand.

John 5: Yeah, I have 86 instruments, mostly guitars but also banjos, lapsteels, and mandolins. One of my favorites is a 1964 Fender Custom Telecaster that’s sunburst with white binding — a beautiful guitar that’s in amazing shape! Let’s see…I have a bunch of Telecasters and want to collect one for each year.

Right now I have a ’64, ’66, ’68, ’69, ’70, ’71, ’72, ’73, ’78, ’90, ’91, ’93, and ’94. And they’re all like new. I’m very careful with them and make sure they’re all original by having them checked out by the experts at Norman’s Rare Guitars and Fender before buying them.

Rick: Tell us about the Fender John 5 Telecasters.

John 5: There are two John 5 Fender Artist or Signature models. Both are black with white binding. One has a Bigsby tremolo, Hot Rails, an ash body and rosewood fretboard and the other J5 has a stock tail and a Fender Enforcer humbucker in the bridge position and a Custom Shop Twisted Tele neck pickup.

The headstock on these is different than any other Fender guitar. I helped Fender design the guitar to my tastes and to meet my interests in wanting to do behind the nut note bending.

Fender’s also made a J5 Artist acoustic that’s a double-bound black guitar with white binding and a single cut-away body.

There’s also a “5” inlay at the fifth fret that’s pretty cool. If you go to the Fender electric and acoustic Artist series web pages, they’ve got specs and pictures of them. I love Fenders!

Rick: Your CD Vertigo is clearly an instrumental showcase of guitar virtuosity – is this your first solo venture?

John 5: Yes. I love to do instrumental work and I love to shred. I haven’t been able to show my guitar skills that much on albums and the Vertigo CD helps showcase that a bit. One of my pet peeves is playing sloppy or sluggish, although that seems to be what’s in vogue a lot of the time.

I always aim to play clean so you can hear every single note to give each note its own meaning, especially when shredding. It’s hurt me a bit I think, but if I have any signature sound that I aim for it’s just that — clean, but blazing guitar work…almost overplaying. I also play some mandolin, banjo and bass guitar on Vertigo.

Rick: Any plans to make an unplugged or acoustic CD?

John 5: As much as I loved playing with Manson, I also love acoustic work. What I’d like to do next is to do some instrumental guitar playing interweaving acoustic and electric. Bluegrass artists have done this and when done right and fast, it’s beautiful…very cool.

Rick: What are you listening to at the moment?

John 5: My window’s broken in my car right now, so I’ve only got three CDs in it…let’s see, I’ve got the Best of Les Paul, the 20th Century Masters CD, Buckethead and the Beatles box set of Capitol releases. That includes their first Capitol records album, Meet the Beatles, The Beatles Second Album, Something New and Beatles ’65. I’ve also got my Telecaster and some makeup in the car. I always have my guitar with me.

Rick: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have 5 CDs…what would they be (artists)?

John 5: Wow, that’s not an easy one…okay, I’d have to have the Beatles’ Revolver CD, Van Halen’s Women and Children First, Kiss Alive II, the Eagles’ Hotel California and…(long pause)…the Man in Black, Johnny Cash’s At Folsom Prison.

Rick: What was it like to play with such different artists as K.D. Lang on her 1996 World Tour and with Manson?

John 5: With K.D. I played a lot of major keys and more acoustic guitar. With Manson, well you know the music is just much more aggressive. But for both, whether in the studio or playing on stage, I always work to play as perfect as possible, hitting each note square and staying perfectly in tune. If I have a signature sound that I aim for, it’s hitting each note perfectly. Everything in its place…[Laughs]. I’m like that at home too…no mess.

Rick: Any favorite concerts that you’ve played or attended lately?

John 5: Yeah, lots of favorite concerts, but let me name a few…the Stone’s 1991 Tattoo You tour included Santana and Iggy Pop at the Pontiac Silver Dome was great! Touring with K.D. Lang was wonderful, she’s a great artist. Manson in Mexico City where the audience was huge, they looked like ants…it was very moving. I also loved playing with Marilyn at the Sydney Opera House in Australia.

Rick: If you had an opportunity to play with another great guitarist who would it be?

John 5: Without a doubt, it’s gotta be guitar god Albert Lee!

Rick: Where do you want to be twenty years from today?

John 5: I want to be in the same exact place as I am right now! I’m really happy! I’m so happy that I hope I’m doing the same thing…playing guitar with people appreciating my guitar playing…I’m engaged to a great lady…I’m having a great time!