Tag Archives: John 5

John 5 Signs with Dean Markley USA‏

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Dean Markley USA Welcomes John 5 to the Family

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SANTA CLARA, CA March 19, 2013–– Dean Markley announces the latest addition to their artist roster, John 5.  As one of today’s influential guitarists, Dean Markley USA looks to John 5 to help further expand the company’s market share and help raise John’s visibility in the world of guitar and entertainment.
John 5 is playing Dean Markley’s Nickel Steel Signature Series strings. The Nickel Steels are hand crafted in the USA with a unique core that adds more mass for greater sustain and has a core to wrap ratio that creates the playing, tone and durability preferred by professional guitarists. This best-selling design and commitment to quality has consistently generated accolades year after year, all around the world by dealers and distributors.
The career of John 5 began to achieve acknowledgements with Marilyn Manson in 1998 but not without paying his dues first.  Before landing the Manson gig, John 5 had been performing with Lita Ford, K.D. Lang , Rob Halford, David Lee Roth, and a string of local bands before making his trek to Los Angeles.  Throughout his time with Marilyn Manson, he continued working as a session guitarist on several albums to continue building his resume.  By 2003, John had teamed up with Fender Musical Instrument Corporation to launch his very own signature model guitar.
2004 marked the beginning of his solo career that now includes six studio albums (Vertigo, Songs for Sanity, The Devil Knows My Name, Requiem, The Art of Malice, and God Told Me To) complimented by a remix album of previous works entitled, Remixploitation.
Come 2006, John found himself teaming up with another iconic artist, Rob Zombie.  What started as a planned short stint of gigs has turned into a long standing relationship that now spans over seven years and includes international tours, studio albums and even scoring the Rob Zombie film, The Lords of Salem.
John 5 continues to branch out in his solo and collaborative careers while striving to break new ground with each new effort. While pushing the envelope, he has worked with other luminaries such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Ricky Martin, Rod Stewart and Sebastian Bach.
For more information on Dean Markley strings, please visit www.deanmarkley.com
To learn more about John 5, please visit www.john-5.com
About Dean Markley USA
Established in 1972, Dean Markley USA is recognized as an innovator and leader in the world of musical instrument strings. Over the years, the company has expanded its product line to include pickups and accessories. Celebrated by retailers for their sales performance and endorsed by an elite caliber of musicians, Dean Markley USA products are the smart choice. www.DeanMarkley.com

JOHN 5 – A GUITARIST FOR THE NEW AGE

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A lot of people have recently become aware of John 5 through his guest appearances on That Metal Show and as the guitarist for Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson. His career however, is quite impressive. He has done studio work with Matt Ball, Avril Lavigne, Rob Halford, k.d. lang, Garbage, Meat Loaf, Scorpions, Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, FeFe Dobson and has written and recorded with southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. One of my favorite projects he has done was RED SQUARE BLACK. Featuring: Mark Binder – Vocals, John Lowery (later to become John 5) – Guitar, Randy Castillo – Drums, Angelo Barbera – Bass they released one EP in October of 1994 entitled “SQUARE”.

 

With tones of metal, and industrial this band was ahead of its time. Sadly they only had the one release and the members moved on to other projects. Here’s a listen to “Violent Pause” from the EP:

John 5 also co-wrote  “The Monster Is Loose” with Nikki Sixx and Desmond Child for Meat Loaf’s 2006 release Bat Out Of Hell III. 

 

Currently John 5 is playing with Rob Zombie, a new record and tour are in the immediate future. Here’s “Foxy, Foxy” from the 2010 release Educated Horses:

 

John recently released his sixth solo record God Told Me To on May 8th of this year.

 

A great release full of smoking and innovative licks I HIGHLY recommend getting this. Here is the video for “Welcome To Violence”:

 

If I had to sum up John 5 in one word it is, AWESOME!

 

the Hellion

 

 

THE GUITARISTS OF OZZY

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I often wonder if Ozzy himself reflects on his history of guitarists. I know I have on several occasions. I have also wondered about other guitarists and how they would have fit in Ozzy’s band. Let’s look at the history of Ozzy’s guitarists and then we’ll imagine some other players and see what we think.

RANDY RHOADS 1979 – 1982

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Blizzard of Ozz (1980), Diary of a Madman (1981), Tribute (1987)

Any fan of Ozzy knows of Randy. When the world first got their ears filled with the sounds of Randy’s guitars they knew everything had changed. It is in my opinion that Randy changed the game forever.

“Crazy Train”  -Randy version

BERNIE TORME  1982

No albums made with Ozzy

Bernie was the immediate successor to Randy following his death. Big shoes to fill as he was hired to play makeup dates,  and he was playing through Randy’s gear, AND he had to learn all of the songs in a week. Bernie only stayed on tour for three weeks before leaving to form his own band.

“Crazy Train” – Bernie version

BRAD GILLIS 1982 – 1983

Speak of the Devil (1982)

Brad came in following the departure of Bernie. He filled in and recorded a live album with Ozzy before leaving for Night Ranger.

“Crazy Train” – Brad version

JAKE E LEE 1983- 1987

Bark At The Moon (1983), The Ultimate Sin (1986)

Jake E Lee was in the running with George Lynch for the coveted spot. He obviously won out which I think was good move for Ozzy as Jake seemed suited for his band. We got some good songs from the Jake E Lee lineup as well.

“Crazy Train” – Jake E Lee version

ZAKK WYLDE 1987–1992, 1995, 1998, 2002–2004, 2006–2009

1988: No Rest For The Wicked, 1990: Just Say Ozzy (live album), 1991: No More Tears,  1993: Live & Loud (live album),  1995: Ozzmosis,  2001: Down to Earth,  2002: Live At Budokan (live album),  2007: Black Rain

Zakk Wylde (he seems to make a lot of my blog posts) was, in my opinion, Ozzy’s strongest guitarist. The successful period with Zakk cannot be ignored. The writing combination of Zakk/Ozzy made some of the most memorable in Ozzy’s career.

“Crazy Train” – Zakk Wylde version

STEVE VAI 1994

No recordings

After one of Zakk’s departures Steve filed in temporarily for Ozzy. Vai began writing and recording with Ozzy Osbourne. One track from these sessions, “My Little Man”, was released on the Ozzmosis album. Despite Vai penning the track, he does not appear on the album.

No video found.

ALEX SKOLNICK 1995

No recordings made

Alex had a brief stay in supporting Ozzy and not much else was done other than that.

“Crazy Train” – Alex version

JOE HOLMES 1995–1998, 1999–2001

Song “Walk on Water” From Beavis and Butt-Head Do America Soundtrack (1996)

In 1995, after Ozzy Osbourne had finished recording the Ozzmosis album, a replacement for Zakk Wylde was needed for the tour. Joe got a call from Dean Castronovo (Oz’s drummer) to let him know they were seeking a guitar player. Joe went down to Audible studios in Los Angeles and played three Ozzy classics.  Holmes did not mention that he had taken lessons from Randy Rhoads as he thought it would hurt his chances at the job.

“Crazy Train” – Joe Holmes version

JERRY CANTRELL 2004–2006

Under Cover (2005)

Jerry did Ozzy’s cover album for him and it was a damn fine job. If you haven’t heard it you should definitely check it out.

No video found

GUS G 2009-present

Scream (2010)

Gus was brought in when Ozzy and Zakk parted ways. Ozzy was trying to get away from what he perceived as a blurring of the lines between himself and the BLS sound. We shall see what becomes of writing future records with Gus. More power to him!

“Crazy Train” – Gus G version

Whew! What an impressive list of players! But what if Ozzy had tapped Dime, EVH, Herman Li, Buckethead, John5, or DJ Ashba? Something to think about…..thanks for playing!

P.S. thanks A.J. Greene

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the Hellion