Guitar virtuoso John 5 recently joined Billy Corgan on his podcast The Magnificent Others for an intense and deeply personal discussion about music, perseverance, and the struggles that have shaped his life and career. During their conversation, John 5 spoke candidly about his private KISS museum, his early experiences in television music that influenced his Telecaster sound, and his evolution as a musician through collaborations with Rudy Sarzo, Bob Marlette, Rob Halford, and David Lee Roth.
He reflected on how performing full Mötley Crüe sets early in the morning has become a personal ritual, pushing him to new physical and creative limits. John 5 also discussed revisiting Eddie Van Halen’s brilliance and revisiting the unpredictable years spent playing alongside Marilyn Manson.
At one point, John 5 opened up about his struggles with mental illness, tracing them back to 2003 when his sister Lynne passed away. He shared that he hadn’t yet come to terms with her loss before facing more heartbreak—his sister Denise, his mother, and his father all later died from cancer. Soon after, his best friend and guitar tech Ruben Valesco passed away, followed by the death of his brother-in-law Dennis.
“I have physical ailments from just of what happened and just horrible, crippling physical ailments from my past of the tragedy and things like that,” John 5 said. “It’s the worst thing you can ever imagine. So I got this thing — I can’t believe I’m gonna even say it, but I got this thing called prostatitis, nonbacterial prostatitis. It’s when your pelvic floor squeezes your prostate so hard. It’s crazy. And it’s just from stress. You can’t piss, you can’t sit, you can’t do anything. That’s why I was going to therapy and all this stuff. It’s the most crippling thing.”
He continued: “I remember I was — I’m just gonna spill it all — I was doing this show [in June 2009] with Slash and Ozzy [Osbourne] and all these people, and we were going to Norway [for an appearance at the Quart festival], and I was bedridden for months with this. ’Cause you can’t sit… But I was on this plane with Ron Wood and Ozzy and all this stuff, and I would sit kind of like on my back so I wasn’t sitting on the area. And I would act like I was sleeping. And it was just horrible. But luckily, you just get through it. And it’s just from all the trauma. Yeah, it’s nuts. But that’s where it all comes from.” (as transcribed by blabbermouth.net)
According to the Cleveland Clinic, nonbacterial prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland that typically doesn’t show symptoms. It’s often discovered during unrelated tests and usually doesn’t require treatment, as it’s not an infection.
Over the past three decades, John 5 has become one of the most sought-after guitarists in rock and metal. Beyond his solo work, he has served as guitarist and songwriter for Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, and Rob Halford, while collaborating with an eclectic mix of artists such as k.d. lang, Rod Stewart, David Lee Roth, Alice Cooper, Tina Guo, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Meat Loaf, Dolly Parton, and Ricky Martin.
In recent years, John 5 has also completed work on his long-awaited documentary, which features appearances from Joe Satriani, Rob Halford, the late Gary Rossington, Michael Anthony, and Rudy Sarzo, among others. He has additionally unveiled plans for his personal KISS museum, showcasing an extensive collection of memorabilia and rare artifacts from the legendary rock band’s formative years.
In October 2022, John 5 officially joined Mötley Crüe as their touring guitarist following Mick Mars’s retirement from the road.
Throughout his career, John 5 has released ten solo albums, along with a remix album. His next release, Ghost, arrives on October 10th.
