"You know those geeks who go into music stores and buy all the instructional videos? Well, that's me!"
With his heavily tattooed
arms, snake-skin platform shoes, feather boa and liberal use of rouge,
Marilyn Manson's new guitarist, John 5, is the picture of glam rock-inspired
decadence. But when it comes to playing, 5 (a.k.a. John Lowery), is about
as dutifully diligent as they come. "The rest of the band always makes
fun of me because I practice for like five hours a day on the tour bus,"
says 5. "I like to divide the time up and run through all the styles I
like playing: country, jazz, blues and, of course, metal."
Mr. 5's fondness for woodshedding
has certainly served him well. Since moving to L.A. when he was 17, his
guitar skills have been in constant demand for countless sessions, and
he has recorded, performed or toured with artists as varied as former Judas
Priest vocalist Rob Halford, rappers Salt-N-Pepa and country chanteuse
k.d. lang. Perhaps the most obvious and dazzling display of 5's Vai-meets-Halen
lightning chops can be found on DLR Band (Wawazat!!, 1998), David Lee Roth's
most recent solo release. The guitarist, who worked very closely to Roth
and even helped co-write several songs on the album, is quick to point
out that, regardless of what some two-hand tapping source would have us
believe, the ex-Van Halen frontman is far from being a musically clueless
buffoon. "David is awesome," 5 says emphatically. "He has an incredibly
acute musical sense and is aware of every detail in every song."
5 was saddened when he had
to part ways with Roth after receiving a surprise call from the Manson
camp, but any remorse he might have felt has long been replaced by a much
more pressing concern: survival. On a tour that he describes as "crazier
and wilder than anything you could ever imagine," the guitarist has already
suffered the loss of a tooth in an onstage mishap. And while everything
is currently copasetic with his dark master of ceremonies, 5 is all too
aware that Marilyn Manson has a nasty habit of firing its guitarits almost
without warning, plunging them back into the obscurity whence they came.
"Yeah, I worry about the Manson guitar player curse," he confesses. "But
what can I do? I keep my head down, play my parts as well as I can and
hope for the best."
