• facebook
  • twitter
  • rss

Guitarist JOHN 5: 'ROB ZOMBIE Is By Far The Best Band I Have Ever Been In'

March 25, 2007

The Rock Squad recently conducted an interview with former MARILYN MANSON and current ROB ZOMBIE guitarist John 5. A few excerpts from the chat follow:

The Rock Squad: So John, people know what they are going to get with you on a MANSON album or a ZOMBIE album, but what can they expect when they pick up one of your instrumental albums?

John 5: Well, of course it is completely instrumental, and it is a real journey, because there are so many different styles on these records. I don't want to just play one style. It has really worked out well, because I have been doing this or three albums now and they sell really well. I am kind of surprised. They are pretty out of the ordinary. Of course there is a lot of heavy music on there, but there is also some country stuff. Just some good guitar playing and good picking. I am just doing it for the guitar players and for people that just love music. It has really been doing well for me. I am so proud of it.

The Rock Squad: When you were writing for the latest solo record, were you on the road, or did you take some time off to work on it?

John 5: Because it is all guitar instrumental stuff, there are no lyrics, I am always writing. Every day. Even now, I am just planning for the next record, and things like that. There is always something going on. I am always just writing, writing writing. I just wrote for the SCORPIONS, LYNYRD SKYNYRD and so I am also writing for other people too. With the instrumental stuff, I never stop.

The Rock Squad: What was it like to play with David Lee Roth?

John 5: David Lee Roth… When I was a kid, I wanted to be Eddie Van Halen. I wanted to be married to Valerie Bertinelli, and I wanted to play with David Lee Roth and that was all I wanted in life. If someone had asked, "What do you want in life?" definitely it would be to play with David Lee Roth. I just reached out to his manager and I knew everything there was to know about VAN HALEN, writing riffs and guitar parts that Dave would like. I showed them some songs, and they liked them. He told me to come on down to the house, and we hung out and made a record. It was something that I will cherish forever. He was my god, you know? And I did it. It was a true pleasure, and I am still very good friends with Dave and I am pretty good friends with Eddie too. It worked out really good for me.

The Rock Squad: Rob Zombie. How did it all come about? How are you enjoying it?

John 5: Rob Zombie is by far the best band I have ever been in. It is a bunch of guys in the coolest working atmosphere ever. I would not leave this band for anything. It is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I am as happy as can be. I do not really have any complaints, we just love touring together and making records with each other and we recorded our last tour as a live record. We will also be having a live DVD come out, which is something different that Rob has never done before. Everybody is very excited about all of that. Rob has been working on the "Halloween" movie right now, which is why I have had time to work on the instrumental album. So I am really excited about it. I am so happy to be in the band. I think Rob is really happy too, because I am so excited. I want to be there. I think he really likes that, having someone that really appreciates being there.

Read the entire interview at www.rocksquad.net.

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).