John 5
John 5
Though John 5 (John William Lowery) has released over a dozen solo albums he is best known for playing guitar for others… David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie… and most recently Mötley Crüe.
After kicking around L.A., John 5 submitted a demo tape to David Lee Roth’s management. That did the trick. His stint with the ex-Van Halen vocalist was followed by an extended run with Marilyn Manson, who renamed Lowery John 5 – a stage name he kept after joining Rob Zombie.
.John 5’s first solo instrumental album was ‘04’s “Vertigo.” That was followed by Zombie’s ‘06 album “Educated Horses,” with John 5 co-writing eight out of eleven tracks with Zombie. He was also the guitarist on the next three Zombie albums – “Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor,” (’13) , The Electric Warlock Acid Witch Satanic Orgy Celebration Dispenser,” (’16) and “The Lunar Injection Kool Aid Eclipse Conspiracy” (’21).
Later in ‘21, John 5 released “Sinner” containing the lead single “Que Pasa,” with vocals by Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine. The album also contained contributions from Butcher Babies’ Carla Harvey and former KISS drummer Peter Criss.
John is an avid KISS memorabilia collector and even has a KISS museum.
Que Pasa
As Mötley Crüe was gearing up for a pandemic-delayed stadium tour with Def Leppard, Crüe guitarist Mick Mars retired as a touring member due to ongoing health issues (according to a ’22 statement released by Mars’ publicist). The next day, Mötley Crüe confirmed that John 5 would take Mars’ place as their new touring guitarist for “The Stadium Tour.” The following year, he was confirmed as a permanent member of the band.
With “The Stadium Tour” of North America and Europe completed John 5 released the instrumental “A Hollywood Story,” “(It’s) is a look back on my career and how lucky I am to have had the experiences that I’ve had” noted the guitarist, “When you’re a little kid, in your room, dreaming of your future, I never could’ve dreamt of what has happened to me in real life.”
A Hollywood Story
Later in ’24, Mötley Crüe dropped the “Cancelled” EP. It marked the band’s first release with John 5,
The three-song effort featured the title track, “Dogs Of War,” a Top 5 Rock Radio hit, and a cover of the Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!),” which quickly became a concert favorite. All tracks featured John 5’s guitar mastery and shredding skills.
Dogs Of War’
Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx jokingly described the song as ” a powerful cross between Country and Hip Hop.”
Fight For Your Right
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