John 5 To Bring Guitar Theatrics to the Winchester on February 8

Rock stars often like to talk about growing up in squalor, but guitarist John 5 says he can’t lie about his background. Born in Grosse Pointe, MI, he was far removed from poverty and strife as a youth.

“It was the nicest area and the nicest upbringing I could ever have,” he says via phone from his Los Angeles home. John 5 and the Creatures perform on Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Winchester Music Tavern in Lakewood. “I know most people grew up poor and had to use a shoelace for a guitar string. I grew up in a huge house, and it was gorgeous. I had the greatest upbringing. I got to go to every concert starting at 11 years old. I was playing clubs ever since seventh grade. We could go on at 11 or midnight, and my mom let me because I never drank or smoked. It was a wonderful upbringing.”

Back then, music wasn’t segregated into genres, so John 5 acquired a diverse collection and listened to a variety of artists.

“I had Donna Summer and Blondie and Roy Clark and Ozzy and the Grease soundtrack and I had Metallica,” he says, adding that he collected KISS memorabilia, including old copies of Scene that had the band on the cover. “The genre was so wide open. I just loved music in general. I went to go see everybody. I saw the Police and Iron Maiden and Guns ’N’ Roses when they first came out.”

When John 5 moved to Los Angeles in his late teens, he left the posh life behind. But the tradeoff came with some great perks.

“When I came to Hollywood, it was incredible,” he says. “Riki Rachtman, who owned the Cathouse and the Bordello, would let me into his clubs even though I wasn’t even old enough. Everybody would hang out and get up and play. We lived in a shitty apartment, but it was the best of times.”

His first break famously came when he was playing a show at some dingy L.A. metal club, and Whitesnake’s Rudy Sarzo came to the show to check him out. The singer in John 5's band hit his head and had to stop performing. John 5 filled in with a guitar solo and left a lasting impression on Sarzo, who introduced him to producers and managers. John 5 then landed a gig with country star k.d. lang, of all people.

“Madonna would come to the shows and all these models and all this stuff,” he says of playing with lang. “We played Radio City Music Hall and the opera house in Sydney, Australia. It was great.”

At that point, shock rocker Marilyn Manson was looking for a guitar player and hired John 5 based on reputation alone; he didn’t even audition. His first show was the MTV Music Awards.

“It was completely the hype,” he says of the time he spent with Manson. “It was insanity.”

All the while, John 5 has nurtured a solo career. To date, he’s released 10 studio albums, two live albums and a remix album.

“I did this just for fun,” he says of his solo career. “Let’s be honest, instrumental music is a hard sell. My first solo album was Vertigo. I decided to make another and then I did Songs for Sanity. I put out another called Devil Knows My Name. It just kept going.”

Someone said he should tour, but he didn’t think that would go over well.

“I thought no one would want to see an instrumental concert,” he says.

But In 2015, following a series of web shows to celebrate the release of his solo album Careful With That Axe, John 5 decided to take his solo set on tour, and formed the Creatures to support his live shows.

“It was such a success, and I’ve been so happy,” he says. “I’ve been touring so much. I play guitar all the time. It’s my comfort and happiness. I’m so blessed and so happy that people want to see my play. It’s the best.”

The current tour supports the band’s new instrumental single, the "Eruption"-like “The Ghost.”

“It’s named after the guitar I came out with last April,” John 5 says when asked about the song. “The guitar is obviously called that. I decided to write a song that has everything to do with the guitar that shows everything it can do. That’s what I did. The guitar sold out in less than two hours. I was shocked.”

The solo tour that brings him to the Winchester comes in between stadium and arena dates with Mötley Crüe. John 5 joined the hard rock band to take the place of guitarist Mick Mars, who had to retire due to health reasons in 2022.

“We went to South America and Europe and Japan and Australia,” he says of touring with Crüe. “I think it was an easy transition. I’ve known the guys for years and years. I’ve known the songs my whole life. I know them all so well. It’s what I listened to. I didn’t have to learn any songs. We do this medley that I had to learn but that was it. I’ll do a Mötley medley on my solo tour too. We’ll stack in 15 Mötley Crüe songs.”

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