John 5 has played with some huge acts across the years, but joining Mötley Crüe – a band of which he is a huge fan – is a standout milestone in his prolific career. Unfortunately, when he was performing on one of the biggest stages the band has ever graced, disaster nearly struck.
Crüe had been chosen to play the NFL draft in 2023, a huge date in the American sporting calendar. Taking place at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, it was meant to be a moment to savor. But for the Telecaster addict, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
“There's something I haven't talked about,” he tells Guitar World in a new interview. “For [1985 hit] Home Sweet Home, we’re playing on this different stage, way out in the crowd. I’m walking out, and I hear [white noise through his in-ear monitors]. The further I get, the louder it gets.
“It is so loud that it’s almost hurting my ears, so I can’t hear anything except for [white noise]. That’s all I heard.”
John 5 had everyone reason to panic. This was still relatively early days in his Crüe career. It was live TV. Millions were watching. And he could not hear a thing. How was he going to get through the show?
Well, ever the consummate pro, John 5 didn’t flap. He just had to rely on another one of his senses to get him through the spot. Tommy Lee, who plays the song’s piano intro, was his first human-shaped guide rope.
“I had to watch Tommy,” he says. “That’s all I could do. I couldn’t hear myself. I couldn’t hear anyone. It was as if I was deaf. I was just watching his fingers
“I was praying, because it was live TV – there were like a billion people watching. Then when he got behind the drums, I’m watching Nikki’s [Sixx, bass] hand and I’m watching Tommy play – that’s the only thing I could do.”
John 5 actually solos over the intro, and you would never have known a thing. It is actually insanely impressive, all things considered. The camera also pans to him, where he can be seen fiddling with his in-ear pack, hoping to fix the issue.
He may have been stressing at the time, but John 5 walked out unscathed. In fact, he put on a good show.
“I'll never forget it,” he says. “I was walking back to the stage, and you could tell my face was so mad. I remember going to the sound engineer, and I go, ‘How was it?’ And he goes, ‘Perfect!’”
Cue a sigh of relief. “I was shitting it,” he wraps. “I couldn't believe it. My good karma just must have come out. I was so lucky.”
Elsewhere, John 5 has been explaining how he ended up a Fender artist, and why the Squier versions of his signature Tele are not to be snuffed at. As of October 2026, he is Fender’s most decorated signature Telecaster artist.
