“The guitar turned out to be my savior,” says John 5.
In his most personal and revealing interview ever, John explains how fear of flying, OCD and a string of personal tragedies shaped him to be come the guitar virtuoso he is today. Speaking to Guitar Player, John opens up about his mental health issues and a string of family deaths, telling how they pushed him to take comfort in guitar playing as he channeled his grief into the virtuosity that has defined his remarkable career with everyone from David Lee Roth to k.d. lang to Marilyn Manson and Motley Crue.
In addition, John shares 10 vintage and custom guitars from his vast collection, including the Fender Strat he grew up with, as well as Thinlines, custom Ghosts and more.
And there’s more: An exclusive lesson with John 5, complete with music examples and video.
PLUS!
Tom Johnston: The Doobie Brothers’ founding guitarist reveals guitar stories behind his greatest five tracks, including “Listen to the Music,” “Long Train Running’” and “China Grove.”
John Osborne: Sidelined by tinnitus and mental health issues, the Telecaster toter comes back a stronger guitarist than before on the Osborne Brothers’ new self-titled masterpiece.
Molly Miller: She revels in her jazz chops on her new album, ‘The Battle of Hotspur.’ But as this YouTube influencer and doctor of musical arts explains, it’s just one facet of her myriad guitar talents.
Quinn Sullivan: Once a preternatural blues phenom, Sullivan charts a broader musical path on ‘Salvation,’ an album born out of loss and self-discovery.
Tripliciti: What happens when three acclaimed fingerstylists join their superpowers? Andy McKee, Calum Graham and Trevor Gordon Hall reveal the answer with Tripliciti, their new trio and self-titled album..
Kenny Greenberg: The Nashville guitar ace serves up the tips that have made him a key player with artists like Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks and Grace Potter.
Ian Hunter: In this month’s How I Wrote… department, the legendary glam-rocking guitarist opens up about the fate of the guitar at the heart of Mott the Hoople’s 1973 classic tune, “All the Way From Memphis.”
Sam Evian: The vintage instruments and recording gear in his upstate New York studio let this indie rock guitarist and producer follow his muse where it leads. On ‘Plunge,’ it swims in a wash of warm, overdriven guitars.
All this and more, including reviews of the Novo Miris J, Knaggs SSC-J Steve Stevens Signature, RS Guitarworks Slab Lowboy, Bourgeois Touchstone Signature OM and Dreadnought, Two Notes GENOME Amp Modeling Software, Silktone Overdrive+ and Danelectro Nichols 1966.
