With Mötley Crüe, John 5 has a job to do. There are expectations and a legacy. Of course, 5 has plenty of cache; he doesn’t allow it to impact what he does with the ‘Crüe. “In my eyes, that’s what the people want,” he tells Guitar World.
“They want the songs performed how they were written because that’s what they hear every day.”
5’s commitment to the ‘Crue brand runs deep, which is why Nikki Sixx, Tommy Lee, and Vince Neil tabbed him for the gig as Mick Mars’ replacement in 2022. Clearly, the band took a shine to what he’s done during his various stops, and according to 5, the feeling is mutual.
“It is so exciting for me,” he says. “I love nothing more than getting up on stage with those guys and playing these songs. It’s so fun, and we have a blast doing it. We are all up there just yucking it up and having a great time.”
By the looks of it, the good times will keep on rolling, as Mötley Crüe has an impending Vegas residency kicking off on October 3, 2025. “I don’t take it for granted,” 5 says. “I’m just so thankful to be playing these songs and having a good time doing it.”
“And I love Vegas,” he says. “To do a residency with my friends, dude, it’s ridiculous. You don’t have to travel. You just go down and play. I’m more excited than anybody. I’m super psyched. It’s going to be a blast, man. We’re going to have a rock ‘n’ roll party. That’s for sure.”
5’s enthusiasm for Mötley Crüe’s Vegas adventures is sky high. But that’s not all that’s stoking his six-string flame. Also in October, he’s kicking off a joint tour with fellow Tele-toting shred-head, Richie Kotzen. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this would be a great tour for me and Richie,’” he says.
“Rehearsals for Mötley start next month, and then there’s the tour with Richie, and it’s off to the races until the end of the year,” 5 says. “I’m super excited. I’ve always loved looking forward to things, even when I was a little kid; I was that way. And these are all things that I’m super-excited about.
One last bit that 5 leaves out, which he’s certainly excited about, is the release of his 11th solo album, Ghost. The album is his first solo effort since 2021’s Sinner, and to be sure, he’s jazzed about it, as he kept it old-school. “I was very draconian with how I approached this,” he says. “I play the songs from the beginning to end like they did back in the ’30s or ’40s.”
“It was all live recordings,” he says. “I just started playing, and if I messed up, I’d start again from the top. So, all of these songs that you hear on this record are completely live takes.”
That approach is based on lost-in-time simplicity. And that mindset extends to 5’s gear, too. “I could probably just play the show with the amp and a guitar, and do it that way,” he says. “I just love when things are simple.”
5 has been brandishing his signature Fender Ghost Tele of late, giving his beloved Goldie a much-needed break. Along with the Ghost Tele, an all-black version, the Phantom is on the way, and he’s been using that, too. “You can pretty much do anything on that guitar,” he says. “I’m very proud to be a Tele player, and I’ll always be a Tele player. I love it.”
But besides that, 5’s rig is decided under the radar. “Like, if anything happened to my rig, I could just go to Guitar Center and have anything replaced,” he says. “Nothing is custom, nothing is anything like that.”
If all of this seemed like a lot, meaning it looks like John 5’s schedule is packed to the point that it would exhaust a typical human, you’d be right. But John 5 isn’t your typical human. Sure, he suffers from OCD, but he’s also deeply driven by perfectionism, and a haunting need to learn more, be better, and switch things up.
And so, aside from the Mötley Vegas residency, his tour with Richie Kotzen, and the impending drop of Ghost, he’s got an idea: to perform 50 shows, in 50 states, in 50 days. But it’s not just an idea; it’s officially a thing.
“It’s 50 shows in a row,” he says. “But that answers the question of how obsessive I can be, but I can’t wait. Everybody is dreading it, like, ‘Oh, no,’ but we have backups for everybody in case somebody gets sick, hurt, or anything like that. God forbid, we’ll bring in another guy until they heal up, you know?”
John 5 will need to stock up on extra strings, have his amps serviced, and harden up his calluses, as he prepares to do what most wouldn’t even think of trying. “I’m ready,’ he says. “I play so much every day into the night, so this is gonna be like a vacation for me. [Laughs]”
There’s a lot of players who probably would have vied for the Mötley Crüe gig. What made you perfect for the role?
“I think I have such respect and fondness for the music. I’ve been playing these songs – and this is going to sound funny – but I’ve been playing these songs for as long as they have. I was in my bedroom or at a talent show, and those guys were on a huge stage, but I’ve been playing these songs since they came out.
“So, when Nikki [Sixx] said, ‘Okay, here’s the setlist to learn,’ I was like, ‘I know all these songs.’ Like, of course, we all know the songs, but I could have done the show that night. And that’s just because I have such a fondness and respect for the music, and for those guys.
“And I’ve known Nikki, Tommy [Lee], and Mick [Mars] for years and years and years. But the very first time I met Vince [Neil] was at Tommy’s birthday party when I got in the band, so that was cool.”
Seeing as these are classic parts that Mick crafted, which come with expectations, what’s the key to interpreting songs like Home Sweet Home and Shout at the Devil, for example?
My guitar tech probably has the easiest job ever... I use the exact same thing for my solo tour as I do with Mötley
“It’s such a great question. I think when you go to the music store, and you see sheet music written out, and how it was performed, and how it was written by the artist, and how it was recorded, that’s how I look at learning these songs. I look at them as, ‘This is how they were written. Am I to throw a couple of arpeggios in there? No. If that’s what they wanted, they would have done that.’”
There’s also a mystique about bands that stick to what’s on the record, rather than deviating.
“I play these songs live, how they were written, because of the fact that I would go and see these bands when I was a kid, like AC/DC, or Rush, you know, I saw everything when I was growing up. And some of the bands played it just like the record, which I loved. You grow up listening to these songs, and there’s certain guitar licks that you play air guitar to.
“With Mötley, I play the songs exact, exact, exact. And then, at the end of the song, I’ll do some crazy guitar work, or something like that. But what these songs deserve is to be played like they were written. We grew up listening to Home Sweet Home a certain way, and you want to hear them performed how they were written.”
You’ve proven that you’re comfortable with any style, but Mick’s playing is filled with subtle nuance. Are there any licks that don’t come naturally to you?
“Well, how I do everything, how I look at guitar playing, is if things are a challenge… I have such horrible OCD now, I mean awful. Ever since I was a little kid, if I couldn’t get something, I would stay home from school fake sick, and I would just play it over, and over, and over, until I mastered it.
“So, that’s what I do; if I have any kind of trouble with any song whatsoever, I will obsess and just make sure it’s like breathing to me. So, there’s not really anything in my music, or anybody’s music, that I’ve learned that I’ve really had a hard time with because of that fact. I’m not saying, ‘Oh, I could play anything,’ I’m saying that I will sit and obsess about it until it’s like breathing.”
Over the last few years, you’ve made a few additions to your rig as far as amps, pedals, and especially guitars go. Will your rig for Mötley’s Vegas residency be essentially the same as the rig you’ll use while touring with Richie Kotzen?
“I’m so glad we’re talking about this because these are great questions! So, what I’m using are EVH [5150] amps, and I’m using a pedalboard with Boss stompboxes. I’m using a Super Overdrive [SD-1], a Chorus [CE-2], a Digital Delay [DD-5], and a Noise Suppressor [NS-2]. So, I have four stompboxes.
“And then I’ve got the EVH amps and cabinets, so it’s simple. It’s so simple that it’s almost comical. My guitar tech probably has the easiest job ever. [Laughs] And so, I use the exact same thing for my solo tour as I do with Mötley.”
You’ve had your signature Gender Ghost Tele for a few years now. Are there any updates there?
“With my guitars, I have my Ghost, with a Floyd [Rose] on it. And then, I have my new Fender that’s coming called the Phantom, and it’s all-black. It’s just blacked-out. Everything is in black, and then, I’ve got a white binding; it’s just a monster.
“So, that’s what I’m going to be using for the residency, and it’s just beautiful. You can see pictures of it on my Instagram. I’ve been playing it lately, it’s got a black Floyd on it, and it’s just gorgeous. So, I’ve got the Ghost and the Phantom.”
Aside from the looks, are there any updates to the specs of the Phantom compared to the Ghost Tele?
“Actually, there is. It’s minute, but it’s also imperative in my hands and my eyes. Like, there’s the cutaway, which I love… there’s this beautiful cutaway that you can get way up on the neck. And I never knew that, you know? Originally, it got in the way because I had a non-cutaway.
“But there’s also a contour that seems so minuscule, but it’s so imperative to me. And it’s just beautiful because I have the Phantom with a hardtail, you know? And there’s nothing, and it doesn’t have the cutaway, and it doesn’t have the contour. And I’m like, ‘Oh, man, I really miss that cutaway and contour,’ so it’s really cool.”
Your upcoming tour with Richie seems apropos since you’re both versatile players who do things with hot-rodded Teles that traditionally, people think you shouldn’t or can’t do.
“I love the Telecaster so much. It was really our first electric guitar, and pretty much, a huge part of rock ‘n’ roll. I grew up loving the Telecaster because, of course, I saw it on Hee Haw, and everybody on there played Teles. So, I just thought that it was the only electric guitar.
I saw that shape, and thought that was the only shape. I mean… I was like six years old, and the Tele was just burned in my brain
“I thought that was it. I was like, ‘Oh, I want an electric guitar,’ and I saw that shape, and thought that was the only shape. I mean… I was like six years old, and the Tele was just burned in my brain. But there are some Tele players that are terrifying, and it’s just the greatest thing ever.”
How do you see your joint tour with Richie shaking out?
“I love Richie. What a voice, what a player, and what a musician. I always loved how Richie plays, and his voice, of course, is incredible because, you know, I don’t sing. [Laughs] I leave that to the singers. So, I’m really super-excited. We’re playing everywhere, at tons and tons of places.
“I always look at it like, ‘Oh, man, this would be a great night out. This would be something that I would want to see myself.’ I always look at packages that way. I’ve always loved it when an eclectic array of these artists comes together, you know, an amalgamation of different styles of music. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. This would be a super-great tour.’ We bought it to the powers that be, and it was just a runaway hit.”
Elsewhere, you’ve got a new solo album set for release in Ghost. The ghost imagery is something that’s followed you. What’s the genesis of that?
“Well, it’s odd. It didn’t use it just because it’s a cool name, or it’s my guitar, or something. I’ve lost so many people around me in my life, and there’s ghosts all around me. They’re not bad ghosts, but there’s just ghosts all around me, all the time. And I’m aware of it. I’m just in tune with it. So, that’s why I named the guitar that, and that’s why I named the record that. I’m in tune with it, and it’s good.”
So, there's a symbology to it. With your primary form of expression being guitar, how does that extend into the ghost symbology, and how are you relaying that through your music?
“I started writing a long time ago. What I would do is I would do is, well, like I mentioned before, I have OCD, and I’d play, play, play, and that’s all I did. I looked at this music like I was a musician in the ’30s or ’40s, where I’d play everything from beginning to end, with no mistakes.”
Why do you prefer that process compared to punching in and out and editing with multiple takes?
“I just like to have that sense of dedication and authority to go into the studio like that. I hate to be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to punch in,’ or ‘That was out of tune, I think I’d like to start over.’ Doing the way I did is a lost art that we don’t see anymore. Now, we can pretty much do anything, but back in the ’30s or ’40s, sometimes you didn’t even get a chance to practice. Sometimes, you just got charts, and it was like, ‘Alright, don’t mess up.’” [Laughs]
While recording, did you mainly use your Ghost Tele, or was Goldie part of the process?
“Goldie is taking a rest. [Laughs] It’s funny because I played that guitar so much that they had to replace the chrome metal pickguards because there were dips in it. I went through two chrome pickguards, so that’s a lot of playing. I don’t want it to, like, fall apart, and break, so what’s when I adopted the Ghost, and made that my new toy.”
Have you enjoyed connecting with the Ghost Tele as you did with Goldie?
“I’ve been playing it like crazy. And now, I have the Phantom that I’m playing, too. It’s funny… my dad was the kind of person who bought one really good thing, and he had it forever. Like, if you buy one really nice backpack, for example, and it was the best backpack, and you kept it for your whole life, that’s kind of how I am with guitars.”
You’re a guitar minimalist.
“Like, I’ll get a guitar, and I’ll use it so much until I have to be like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to retire that.’ That’s just how I am with things. I have like four pairs of shoes, like 10 shirts, and like five pairs of pants. [Laughs] It’s very strange… I’ll just wear those certain things, along with a couple of jackets, that I’ll wear every day. So, I guess you would say that I’m a minimalist in certain aspects… until it comes to my Kiss collection. [Laughs]”
I can relate with you on the wardrobe and the Kiss stuff! But as far as your connection to the instrumental, how does that tendency impact that? Can you track your growth as a player, and maybe how it’s apparent on Ghost?
“Let me tell you… you are the first one – because I’ve done a billion interviews – you are the very first one that has that question. And I think that if I ever did interviews, that would be like that first question you would ask because of the fact that there are a lot of players where you’re like, ‘Wow, their last record could sound like their first record,’ but I never stop learning. I learn things like once a week. I will learn different styles, tricks, or certain vibes, and I will put them in the record, so I don’t forget them.”
So, if we listen to your early records, we’re not going to say, “Wow, his first record sounds just like his new record.”
“You can listen to my first instrumental record [Vertigo] and then listen to this [Ghost], and it almost sounds like a different player in my eyes. There’s so many different things going on, so many different kinds of licks, and all that stuff. So, I really love to evolve. It’s one of my favorite things to do. I love it.”
About a year ago, you chatted with Guitar World in person, naming a few of your favorite solo licks. You called out My Name is John 5, Land of the Misfits, and The Chorus. As you’re always evolving, has your list of favorite licks evolved, or would you add any of your new licks to that list?
“Oh, yeah. There’s so many to add to the list. I love my song called Fiend. I’m using four-fingered tapping, and like a Jeff Watson thing. And then, I have this song, an old standard, called Moonglow, which is this beautiful jazz standard that I grew up listening to with my parents and grandparents.
“So, I’d add that. And then, there’s a song called The Devil Makes Three, which kind of has a Robert Johnson flash in it. And there’s string skipping, which is kind of Paul Gilbert-esque. So, I’m just so proud of this record.”
Is there any music that influences you that people might not expect?
“One of my all-time favorite bands is Steely Dan. I love Steely Dan more than anything. I love how they were so obsessive. Like, it took them six weeks to pick out a chair, you know? [Laughs] I love Aja, I love Gaucho, I love Royal Scam, and Pretzel Logic. I love everything they’ve done.
“And I love their use of studio musicians. I understand and I love that. I love having a certain musician for a certain song, and having the perfection. I mean… the perfection on this record [Ghost] is not with Pro Tools, or anything like that. It’s with the obsessiveness. With this record, when you hear it, everything there is performed and meticulous. That’s what I love. I’m very proud of it.”
Your attention to detail and drive to progress seem to keep you constantly active. Do you plan to give yourself a break, or is it pedal to the metal for the foreseeable future?
“I think it’s getting worse because, well, I will tell you this, which I haven’t really talked about at all, but I have to stay busy, or I go crazy. I’ve worn out my agent. I’ve worn out my manager. I make them nuts. [Laughs] But next year – and I think only a couple people have done this – I’m going to do 50 shows, in 50 states, in 50 days.”
That’s an aggressive undertaking. How will you pull it off?
“So, I’m going to have a backup road crew. I’m going to have a backup bus that we’ll be able to jump on if something goes wrong. I will have doctors on call. And everybody, you know, after the show, will eat, and then everybody has to go to bed. It’s going to be really militant because of what we’re going to pull off. So yeah… 50 shows, 50 states, 50 days. We’re going to start in Alaska and end in Hawaii.”
- Ghost is out on October 10. Mötley Crüe's Las Vegas residency continues until October 3. See Mötley Crüe for dates and ticket details.
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