Guitarist John 5 recently spoke to Ultimate Guitar for an interview and revealed that his new focus is being an influence on kids who might become the future Eddie Van Halen.
Eddie Van Halen is a timeless guitar virtuoso who popularized the tapping guitar solo technique and made considerable contributions to the rock scene. Throughout his career with Van Halen, Eddie became a source of inspiration for numerous musicians, including John 5.
As a big Van Halen fan, John 5 had a chance to work with the band’s former frontman, David Lee Roth. He lent his guitar skills to Diamond Dave between 1998 and 2003. On April 19, the guitarist confessed that DLR was his hero, but he always wanted to be like Eddie Van Halen.
Recently, John 5 spoke to Ultimate Guitar and talked about inspiring young generations. He stated that he shares new techniques on his Instagram page to inspire a kid who might be the next Eddie and change the world. The guitarist then said the rock scene needs new blood, and he hopes a new music act comes and changes everything.
According to John 5, Greta Van Fleet and Ghost are among those acts, but there were countless examples back in history. Moreover, there were many rock bands filling arenas in the past, and rock music needs it. John 5 then said he plays guitar on Instagram for this reason, to inspire a kid to be the new Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, or Paul McCartney.
Speaking to Ultimate Guitar, John 5 said the following:
“I put something on my Instagram just a couple of days ago, of a new little technique. I do that for the same reason I think other people do, it’s not to say, ‘Hey, look at how cool this is,’ but to hopefully inspire somebody or to inspire some kid who is the next Eddie Van Halen that will change the world, because they’re out there. But if everybody goes, ‘Eh, I’m good enough,’ no, there has to be a new epiphany out there, there has to be a new changing of the guard, there has to be a new guitar player, bass player, drummer, singer, that will change everything.
I pray that happens because we need it. We need it. What is the last new band out there that is just changing everything? There are a couple out there, there’s Greta Van Fleet, Ghost, and things like that. But think about back in the day, there were zillions of them. There were so many new bands that were filling arenas all the time. So we just really, really need it. And that’s why I get on Instagram and play, and hopefully, some kid will pick it up and be the next Eddie Van Halen, or the next Steve Vai or the next, Paul McCartney or something like that.”
So, John 5 hopes to inspire young generations with his guitar playing so they can find the courage to play guitar themselves and become the next Eddie Van Halen. For this reason, he shares guitar-playing tips and techniques on his Instagram.
