On SiriusXM's Trunk Nation, host Eddie Trunk welcomed Mötley Crüe's John 5 to talk about joining the band, the allegations that Mick Mars made in his lawsuit, and his relationship with Mick. Transcription below, courtesy of SiriusXM's Trunk Nation.
John 5 says that Nikki Sixx is playing every single note on stage:
Eddie Trunk: "So this has become a big thing with and Mötley and, and everything and the back and forth on all of that. I know you can't speak about it prior to joining the band cuz you weren't there, but being in the band now, what can you tell us about what Mötley is doing live?"
John 5: "I wanna say now I'm here live on the radio and I'm gonna tell you..."
Eddie: "You're actually live right now, right? You're actually talking live (laughs)."
John 5: "I am talking."
Eddie: "We're not talking to AI John 5 or anything like that."
John 5: Right? Not, not 99%, not 98%, but a hundred percent. Nikki is playing every single note on that stage. Now I'm seeing videos on online. Now these videos, musicians will be able to tell and understand this, if you hit an open note on your base and you raise your arm up, it's an open note. You don't have to have your left hand on the fret board or if you hit an open note, you can, you know, use both of your arms to put your arms up. It doesn't mean you're not playing base. Nikki plays a hundred percent. Now here's what makes me crazy is well it doesn't really make me crazy cuz when people say we're playing to, uh, backing tracks or, or I take it as a compliment, but I know that sounds crazy, but I take it as a compliment because we rehearse so hard, we even have penalty flags, iff someone messes up at rehearsal, we throw a penalty flag at 'em. But we rehearse so much and I take it as a compliment. Cause that means we're, we sound that good live. So, because in my heart of hearts I know that, you know, of course we're playing live, but there is Nicki hit... If you listen to these concerts that I do with him, you hear bum notes. NFL Live, NFL draft. You hear a bum note in 'Home Sweet Home'. A hundred percent, a hundred percent. He plays every single note on there. Just listen to the shows before you make these statements because you'll hear mess ups."
On why he had to join Mötley Crüe: "I got asked in the 17 years of being with Zombie, I've gotten asked to join a ton of bands. A ton of bands. But listen, I am so close with, you know, with the guys and you know, with Mick too, so close with the guys. It just, something said, you gotta do it. It's just something I really wanted to do, because again, life is short. I want to experience everything. I don't want to be, you know, laying in my bed at 126 years old - that's what I plan to live to be - laying in my bed at 126 years old going, 'God, I, you know, wish I would've done this, that, and the other thing.' But I'll probably say that to myself anyways, you know. But it's been an amazing ride so far."
On his relationship with Mick Mars:
Eddie Trunk: Did you, when initially when this was all announced, it seemed to be amicable at that time with and the band. There were two different statements that came out that were a bit contradictory, but they, everything seemed kind of amicable at that point. At least we know it's not now. But did, did you hear from Mick when you took the gig? Have you had any interaction with him since you've been announced as his replacement?"
John 5: "Of course. Me and Mick, we talk all the time, we exchange Christmas gifts and things like that. And, uh, when I was announced as the guitar player, he was one of the very first texts that I got and he said, 'you're gonna kill it.' And, uh, you know, it's good. It's not like it's some stranger coming in, you know? So we have a great respect for each other."
On his first show with Mötley Crüe: "We get on stage, OK, and for some reason, Eddie, if people watch this video, cuz it's, there's footage of it all over the place. If you look at this, I'm like smiling the whole time and trying to hold back laughter because I can't believe it. I look at these guys and I'm like playing like, you know, like 'Wild Side' or something like that and I'm like, it, it was like I was in the video or something that I've watched a billion times on, uh, on TV. It was just so much excitement and there is that, so much excitement in there and you can see it in my face. And me and Nikki are like messing with each other and like he's stepping on my foot and like I'm, you know, hitting him in the nuts and stuff. And we're just having a great time on there. And that's, you know, that's what it's about. We just had a blast at that first show. And then that's exactly how it continued for, you know, the second night in all of South America and, you know, the Hollywood, Florida show. We just have a really good time together on stage the same as we do offstage, you know."
On his approach to Mötley Crüe's music: "I sat back, talked to the guys and said, 'this is what I would like to do.' You know, I love Mick Mars. Mick Mars is a huge influence on me. I loved him since I was, since Live Wire, since Too Fast For Love, and listening to these songs every day, every day, a soundtrack of my life and to millions of other people. And again, I'm being completely honest, these solos, which I would air solo in my car, air solo at the dance air solo in the classroom. These solos are so important to me. And I said to myself, 'I'm gonna play these solos exactly how they were written, because they deserve that respect.' It's just like, if you get a piece of music from like Mozart or something, you're like, 'eh, I'm gonna improvise on, you know, bar 23.' No. You know, these solos are very important to me and they deserve that respect. And that's why I play them, how they are on the record, and that's why I play the songs, how they are, how they were recorded. But then, you know, lucky enough for me, I get a, a guitar solo in the, um, show, to do what I do. And I, I, you know, thank the guys for that. I think that's wonderful. But, uh, you know, I just play the songs, how they were recorded, because I remember going to concerts because you love those certain drum fills, or you love these certain guitar licks and you go to the show and they're different. You're kind of like a little bummed out. So that's why I'm just giving respect to these songs."
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(Photo - Ross Halfin)
