THE COMMITTED SINNER

JOHN 5 — a guy who really, really, really loves playing guitar — tells you everything you need to know about SINNER, his brand-new solo album featuring a QUEEN cover, some carefully hone driffs — and guest appearances by DAVE MUSTAINE and KISS man PETER CRISS

- ADAM KOVAC

JOHN 5 REALLY LOVES PLAYING guitar. It might seem like a redundant statement; he’s a professional guitarist being written about in a guitar magazine, after all. It’d stand to reason he enjoys picking up the instrument every now and again.

But this can’t be stressed enough: John 5 really, really, really loves playing guitar. Put aside the fact that instead of taking well-earned vacations when he’s not on tour with Rob Zombie, he collaborates with artists as varied as Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Ricky Martin and puts out solo albums, including his latest, Sinner. Ignore the fact that his Instagram is peppered with tour preparations consisting of running scales while trotting on a treadmill.

Let’s put it this way: When most guitarists sit down for an interview, they get on the phone and answer the questions. Sometimes they gush about a new project or a new signature axe, but the format is consistent. When the man born John William Lowery sits down for an interview, he insists on a Zoom call and appears on the screen holding his signature frost gold Fender Telecaster. It’s a guitar that’s been so well-loved that he recently had to replace the pickguard because of wear and tear.

“I’m just mostly comfortable with this guitar,” he says. “The metal was worn in. And now, already you can see it’s getting worn away again and it’s only been a month or so.”

Throughout our interview, John 5 doesn’t just answer questions about Sinner: he offers an intimate and unprompted playthrough of favorite tracks, demonstrating riffs and solos (and only occasionally getting distracted by one of the Sphynx cats strolling over his coffee table).