Michigan-born John 5 (aka John Lowery) has worked with many of popular music’s biggest names as well as having released eleven solo albums. He’s also been the guitarist with Mötley Crüe since 2023. We caught up with him ahead of his first solo tour of Europe.
You’ve said that this solo tour is perhaps the one you’ve most anticipated.
It’s true. I wanted to do this for many years but I’ve been so busy – and I still am. So I made a pact with my agent that I will start coming over every other year.
Article continues belowYou’ve worked with quite a list of artists. Will you be playing any songs from those collaborations?
I’ll do a medley of those songs, but it’s an instrumental show. [Laughs] Some people will go: “Oh no!” But it’s very entertaining. One minute there’s heavy music and the next it’s bluegrass or jazz – you never know what’s coming next.
Do you talk to the audience?
I engage with them a lot. Many bands object when the fans film the show on their phones. I don’t mind. Record the show, put it online. It’s your phone. There are a lot of people that won’t be able to see it, so let’s give them a little joy.
We lost Ozzy Osbourne last year. How well did you know him?
I got to know Ozzy very well. I first met him through Zakk Wylde on the No Rest For The Wicked tour [in 1988], and we did lots of tours together. He was such an incredible talent. It’s still hard to talk about. He was the best.
Asia’s John Wetton gave you your first paid professional session.
That’s true! I was paid to come in and do an intricate part to a song, and I was very happy to do so.
You played on and co-wrote songs that appeared on a couple of Lynyrd Skynyrd albums. What was it was like to be admitted into that collective?
When I went to Nashville to write with them I was with Marilyn Manson. I had no eyebrows, and wore this huge black fur coat. They were like: “Who is this guy?” They thought someone had played a joke on them, until I pulled out a guitar and played some Chet Atkins. What an incredible band they were, and what great people.
You were on Dolly Parton’s album Rockstar.
Dolly is a true, true talent. What a songwriter and what a voice. She’s been famous since long before I was born.
Tell us about the David Lee Roth you know. Or, more pertinently, does anyone know the real Diamond Dave?
That’s a really good question. I’ve seen all those crazy interviews, but when Dave is Dave he’s just a really normal guy. I spent a lot of time with Dave. One of my best memories is being at his house when we did a song called Nothing Could Have Stopped Us Back Then Anyway [2022] that was about the early days of Van Halen.
You seem to have shied away from the G3 tours. Do you consider yourself a shredder?
I do. But the truth is I’ve never been asked. If you see my show, it’s all guitar. It’s pedal-to-the-metal crazy shred. I love Steve [Vai] and Joe [Satriani], but I’ve never been asked.
How did you come to join Mötley Crüe?
I had known Nikki [Sixx] and Tommy [Lee] for ever. And when Mick [Mars] retired they asked me – there was no audition. The only one I didn’t know was Vince [Neil]. I was thrilled to accept, because I’m still hungry and want to experience so much more. It’s been nothing but an incredible experience.
Nikki Sixx once famously said: “Mötley Crüe is like a fist. If anyone ever left, the band would break up.” And of course there was also the ‘Cessation Of Touring’ contract. You must understand why some people can no longer take them seriously?
Here’s the thing. How many bands from the eighties are all-original members any more? You know, Mick gave that band forty years. I don’t understand why people are so angry [about him leaving, and the subsequent legalities]. We should be applauding him for what he has done.
As a non-druggie and a teetotaller, how are you finding being in the Crüe?
Tommy and Nikki are clean and Vince is doing great. It’s a healthy band right now. I’m so proud of Vince. Everybody knows that he had a stroke, and he recovered and got healthy. I would urge people to listen to the recordings of our Las Vegas shows, because Vince is singing so well.
Marilyn Manson gave you the name John 5. Do you still communicate with him?
We hang out from time to time. Do I consider him misunderstood? Of course. I never saw anything out of the ordinary with him. And if I did we wouldn’t be friends any more. But it’s not for me to demystify him.
What would you like people to think as they leave your own show?
Nobody will be bored, that’s for sure. I don’t think anyone will have experienced anything like this, it’s so unorthodox.
John 5's European tour kicks off in London on May 14. For full dates and ticket links, check the John 5 website.
