The guitar guru performed at Mickey’s Black Box on his solo tour
Last night, John 5 ripped it up at Rock Lititz in Pennsylvania. The guitar guru performed at Mickey’s Black Box, a brand new state-of-the-art club venue in the heart of the Rock Lititz campus. Alongside his band, The Creatures, John 5 put on an absolute clinic, mostly with his brand new signature guitar – The Limited Edition John 5 Ghost Telecaster® by Fender. At his solo shows, fans get to see the true, unbridled scope of his ridiculous talent.
Check out our Live Photo gallery from the show below.
John 5’s current solo outing runs through March 1, wrapping up at The Observatory North Park in San Diego, California.
Fender announced the all-new Ghost Telecaster® last May. Along with the ax, John 5 revealed a special accessories collection that includes a white leather strap with red suede backing, a 10’ cable in arctic white with custom molded red ends and a six-pack of 351 celluloid picks featuring John 5’s logo and graphics.
“I’ve played Telecasters my whole life and getting to design my own is a dream come true,” said John 5. “When it came to design, I was inspired by some of Fender’s previous collaborations, but sought to create a model that would be both visually stunning and comfortable to play. Fender helped me design a Telecaster that was different from anything else on the market and the easy-to-play all-white fretboard and unique pickguard is proof of that. The leather strap and cable match the guitar’s white aesthetic and the pick visuals are absolutely killer!”
John 5 started his career as a session player before establishing himself as a premiere guitarist for rock music heavyweights including David Lee Roth (Van Halen), Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Marylin Manson, Rod Stewart, and more. For almost three decades, John 5 has become one of the most in-demand guitar players on the planet, having worked with an impressive array of talent from across the industry. An eternal student of music, John 5’s expansive knowledge of various genres shows up in his bluegrass licks, sweep-picking solos and high-speed chicken-pickin’ lines.
John 5 signed on to be the Motley Crüe’s new guitarist October of 2022 following the retirement of founding member Mick Mars. Mars, 71, retired from touring due to his “ongoing painful struggle” with Ankylosing Spondylitis (A.S.), a degenerative disease which affects the spine. John 5 was an obvious choice, given his history with the band. In 2019, John 5 co-wrote the songs “The Dirt,” “Crash and Burn,” and “Ride with the Devil” for the soundtrack to Netflix’s Mötley Crüe biopic, The Dirt.
John 5 is very close with Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, whom he called his “best friend.” In a 2019 interview with Outburn Magazine, John 5 said of Sixx,”We love each other. He has inspired me and taught me so much about life in general. He’s a phenomenal songwriter, lyricist, author, everything. He’s always telling me to listen to this audio book or see this movie. He has a happy marriage, a happy life, a successful band he started from the ground up. He’s one of the most inspiring people. He’ll text me all the time to read something or try something. It’s wonderful. He’s a phenomenal photographer as well. I remember him telling me that he’s going to take bass lessons again and get into playing with his fingers. He was so dedicated.”
John 5 recently entered the studio with Mötley Crüe and producer Bob Rock to begin recording new music.
Ahead of their world tour back in February, Mötley Crüe and Def Leppard played two warm-up gigs at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The shows were John 5’s debut with the band. This spring, Mötley Crüe have announced plans to return. The group will play two shows on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 at Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena.
On May 9, Mötley Crüe are headlining Welcome to Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida. Also topping the bill are Foo Fighters, Slipknot, and Limp Bizkit. Other feature performers are Judas Priest, Disturbed, Queens of the Stone Age, Greta Van Fleet, Falling In Reverse, Breaking Benjamin, and more. In June, the band is headlining Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From there, they head to Canada for an appearance at the Ottawa Bluesfest in July, plus a headlining concert at Scotiabank Arena in Calgary.
