@@mscar7609 it’s not about him “needing” it, it’s about joining a well oiled machine that’s already been back tracking you can’t add a live guitar to the mix and think it’s gonna sound the same as your pre planned production
John5 is a guitar freak and there’s no way he’d ever use backing tracks. He might be clean laced, but that guitar is his drug. Dude does interviews and his fingers are still playing an invisible guitar. Dumbest accusation I’ve ever heard.
Money is a hell of a drug! Motley Crue sure does have a lot of it to pay a guy to play guitar for them and sign a contract to deny all claims so it doesn’t sound different than Tommy’s tracked drums 😂🤷♂️
@@davieslocker86 I don’t like Motley Crue, I’ve never liked them, and I wish they’d hang their boots up so John could do something better with his time because their performances are embarrassing. Yes, this is a dream of his, but they are so below him. I highly respect the man, I don’t have to like the band he’s in. My girl went and saw them before John joined and it was one of the worst shows she’s ever seen.
@@TheHookBoy me neither! Shout at the devil was cool when I was 5 but John 5 is a total legend I know he doesn’t “need” to play back tracks but it’s totally not outta the realm of possibility
John 5 can play his and everyone's parts at the same time on guitar if he wanted to, the man does not need backing tracks. Backing tracks would need him.
@@stumpsulcatatortoise No lol, I'm talking about the bass parts and backing vocals being canned, they're not live. Neither is the piano on home sweet home. That's tracked also.
Motley isn’t a band known for their musical talents tbh. Tommy Lee is probably the best of the original members. I like Mick Mars but John 5 is a fuckn virtuoso. I saw Motley last week and you couldn’t tell…
I honestly can't believe he joined the band. He must have been offered a hell of a lot of money. To join a band who doesn't like each other. Has been bribed to tour. Who didn't even write their comeback song for the tour they were talked into doing back then. Tommy wouldn't even show up to practice. Vince Neil is well past his prime, and it's time to hang it up, Nikki barely plays live, and god knows what Tommy is doing. In the middle of lawsuits at that. That's like walking into a tornado with a dumpster on fire swirling around, and you have to watch all angles to make sure you duck.
Not a fan of Motley Crue, but I saw John 5 with Rob Zombie when he was touring with Marilyn Manson a few years ago and he is unquestionably an awesome guitarist. That being said, who cares if he were to use backing tracks? What of it? As long as it's not done in a fraudulent manner, that is all that matters. If he were to mime his playing to a track, that would be fraudulent, but great guitarists make use of loop pedals all the time so they can layer parts over each other in a live setting without the need for a second guitarist. As a guitarist, I respect the skill of being able to record loops live. I can't even do that. If I want to layer something, I have the parts I'm not playing live already saved on an SD card in my loop pedal. Already got too many pedals and vocals to worry about without also having to worry about getting a part exactly right and hitting the pedal at the exact right moments to make it sound right and in time. Backing tracks are not necessarily a bad thing. Just don't use them to trick your audience.
I saw this man live and up close at HorrorHound in Indianapolis, and watched him play like 15 different guitars in ONE set….he is not using backing tracks for fucks sake 😂😂😂
If you can play one guitar, you can play 100. Are you impressed when people that know how to drive get into a car they never driven, yet somehow know how to drive it? 🙄
He can play for sure, but look at all the footage. He had a rhythm backing track going while he plays lead breaks with Motley Crue. They did this also when Mick Mars played with them. This is not unusual for a band with just one guitarists. It's not cheating, it's just filling out the sound. Just the same as Falling in Reverse using backing tracks.
John 5 is an amazing guitar player, it's kinda funny people think he uses backing tracks. When you listen and watch guitar gods ( satriani, Vai, malmsteen, mcalpine list goes on) they do all sorts of crazy tricks that leave you scratching your head. That's the enjoyment of it, learning how its done and improving your own guitar skills.
Played guitar for 30+ years, 3:34 listen to the strum noise, now listen to him explain musicians know this later 3:50 no strum noise... MAGIC And yeah the hammer on/pull offs are easy, as is not needing to look at your fretboard.
No question J5 plays live. I'm a former road tech and arena stage and lighting hand. Worked many Crue and other shows. Tracks and click tracks became far more common starting in the 90's. I know for a fact Mars played back in the day, and Tommy played too. Tommy's misses and mistakes were obvious. I saw it back stage and from overhead a lot. Vince always stunk live and well Nikki... goes without saying he needed help.
Seen this guy in a club in the early 90s in a band with Randy Castillo called Red Square Black. Didnt think he was that good then and I still dont see what all of the fuss is about. Richie Kotzen's legato playing on his 1989 REH vid still kills anything this asshole can do.
He's been around that motley crue tumor too long. Now he's using back tracks. idk why Motley fans allow this band to spit in yalls face time and time again. Do yall have no self respect?
John 5 stopped using effects pedals (delay ) because he thought it was “cheating” .. dudes a bad azz , I promise , this dude does NOT need any stinking backing track
I don't think people are talking about his pull offs and hammer ons or that John 5 isn't playing live.....but Motley does have a bunch of backing tracks being pumped in.
John 5 is one of the best guitar players alive, and he’s a serious class act. I think of the movie Crossroads, where Ralph Machio has to play against Steve Vai for his soul. If you go to hell, and you have to play against John 5 for your soul, just drop your guitar, and get used to the heat. 👹🔥
I am a musician and I saw John 5 with Rob Zombie on the 2010 Mayhem Festival in Cincinnati and, trust me, John 5 is a beast of a guitarist and he was not faking anything in any way. He absolutely shredded. Amazing musician; truly.
100%, especially live. People think that "oh X guitar player is AMAZING he only alternate picks blah blah" they're just pure BS. NOBODY does that. Paul Gilbert showed one time how you sneak in a cheeky hammer every 4 notes or so to just give your hand a quick break.
Hammer on and pull offs don't come with pick strum which you can clearly hear 3:34 when he first demo's what was happening, yet when he repeats it later on the strum noise is clearly gone at 3:50. I have zero doubt he's using backing tracks at times throughout the set, no he's not sitting there miming along like Nikki's been caught out doing, but he definitely has pre-recorded parts going on.
John 5 is way too good for Motley Crue. He does not use backing tracks for guitar. But there is plenty of online video evidence of Nikki, Vince, and Tommy using backing tracks.
No video of Tommy. There’s a video where you can hear the click/count off via a sampled hi hat. That’s not a backing track, that’s a click/metronome to keep songs, lighting and video in sync. Nikki… the main riff to the songs are doubled via one backing track and him live. If you know how to play bass and/or guitar, then you know you don’t need two hands to play his lines. Open tuning with open chords. Vince… backing vocal tracks and some high note tracks, and live. You can’t fake being that bad. Mick… backing track for main riff of songs and some rhythm tracks during certain solos. Yes, Mick used tracks too. There’s video of him getting knocked down at a show and his guitar keeps playing perfectly. And as a whole… all backing vocals are backing tracks along with some samples like sirens, whistle, screams on Wildside and of course “In the Beginning” was always a backing track. The two tracks that get me are… the crowd singing along. That is on a track. Along with the crowd cheering. Also a track. Bands use crowd backing tracks to make the audience cheer louder and to help make the show seem more exciting. All of the above is sad, but true. Peace out
@@WILD__THINGS It's funny, it's one of those things that most real deal music guys say "guitar player" it's kind of a dead giveaway if someone says guitarist, that they're not a musician. Similar to how guys who make racecars go real fast, they all call the engine the "motor." And if you see someone referring it as the 'engine,' they're probably not legit! Don't ask me why lol but that's the way it is.
@@thepainfulreality If you named John 5's three best selling songs ever, that he wrote all the guitar parts to, nobody here would recognize them. If you did the same for Mick Mars, most people even slightly familiar with rock music can name Motley Crue's hits Mick Mars played on.
@@thievingpanda and at the same time how much writing did mick actually really do ? Nobody knows the 100% truth on it but if u say how many hits he played on I’ll give u that one
@@thepainfulreality I believe all guitar parts on all Motley Crue material that came out before his departure, with the exception of some Crosby parts in the 90s were Mick Mars. Mick has written some truly memorable riffs that are instantly recognizable.
@@thievingpanda I remember growing up Hearing that Nikki sixx was primary writer on all The songs but who knows but ya I remember hearing that growing up
Funny, John 5 being accused of doing ANYTHING besides utterly EVICERATING whatever the hell he wants to shred at,..is insane. Great video, and John 5 rocks. Always will!!
He is absolutely using a backing track. Watch Mike on the "art of guitar" channel's video on this. As soon as John 5 takes a solo, you can hear a rhythm guitar playing in the background. It's not the same thing that the original video alleges, but technically they are using backing tracks.
Used to see him around LA. VERY nice person. I’m sure we all know he isn’t on backing tracks but last tour Tommy and Nikki were. It bummed me out but no hate from me. I don’t play stadiums and dont know their reasoning. I hope this tour theyre back to live rockin without that silliness. John was a great pick. 😎💯🎸
The argument that he's reliant on backing track is a stupid one. A certain amount of backing tracks live are for reasons you wouldn't think of, yes, to fill out the sound, but also, keeping the band on rails to stay in sync with lighting, pyro, stage tricks, maybe in time with a music video etc etc, backing tracks are good for that. It's the suggestion he's reliant on them I'd take issue with. John 5 is a talented dude and can perform at a high level with consistency with or without tracks. He's one of those guys. Really, he's a victim of the fact Motley have been less than honest about their use of tracks. In that, they'll just pump pre recorded vocals over the speaker and have Vince mime for a song or two. They're all actual musicians. Even with Mick in the band, they'd gotten into the habit of playing his rhythm parts as backing. That's the extent of what they do with John I think, his mix is usually pretty good from what I've seen, you can tell he's doing all the important parts live. He's got his own solo section, I've just also seen sections where they for some reason insist on playing rhythm parts as tracks. For what it's worth, I'm not a huge fan of this, I'd rather see a random guy on stage if you need to fill out the sound. But I get it for stadium shows. They run differently, they sound different, some of that is very helpful for making a show run smoothly. As long as 90% of it is still live, I'm happy. I think the issue with Motley, is we don't know what that % is and they don't tell us either. But we all would guess, its way less than 90%.
😂😂😂😂😂 People think he’s using backing tracks for himself? No. The backing tracks are there for Nikki. Once you get into that rabbit hole, you can’t really go down a different path.
Mick was the only reason to see the band. I saw Mick once...great. John 5 is a "Great Guy" is immaterial. Motley Crue sucks. Vince is a joke. Should have honored their contract. Mick rules!
No fkn way. Why would he need to? He fkn shreds. I could see Vince Meal lip syncing to a back track. You’ll know for sure if you see him shoving a cheeseburger in his mouth and still hear him singing.
John, just stopped right there. You don’t need to prove yourself to anyone. Obviously, they never listen to your track career. Most likely they don’t know how to play themselves.
Honestly I think the only one using tracks is Nikki , Vince sounds too awful to be a track..that being said, I bet Nikki doesn’t pull his bass out. See how fast John did that. If Nikki wasn’t full of bs he would have done the same
John 5 is a class act. I think Motley Crue made a wise choice choosing him to replace Mick. I’m really excited to see the Crue live with John in the lineup. I’m a fan since the 80’s and it’s awesome they are still playing and creating new music.
Clearly, the people bringing these allegations up DO NOT PLAY an instrument. John 5 knew how to play the Mötley Crüe songs even before he was selected to join the band. Watch Angus Young play the into to “Thunderstruck”, he uses the SAME hammer on, pull off technique.
Loved motley up to 2008 with the SOLA record. John five is great but just doesn’t do it for me in motley. About the same as John Corabi who is a great singer but but motley is forever Nikki Tommy Vince and MICK!
Love John5 and his playing.....but hate the decision to tour with Crue. They are just an AWFUL band and don't get me started on Vince Neil or Nikki and their skillset or should I say lack of skillset. Tommy and Mick were the band.....the rest is just FLUFF FAKE Garbage...but I wish John luck and hope it does not ruin him.
Before I even listen to John5. I've just gotta say, do you really think any of them give 2 shits what the media or screwtube says? The guy just got off a world tour with Def Leppard, flying around in their customized airliner. Just like when know nothing imbeciles run their mouths about Vivian Campbell being the rythm guitarist for Leppard. As if that's a shitty position to be in? Get a clue. Say, or even believe, what you will. Senior 5 is not worried about it. And neither is Viv. 2 of the best guitarists around. Still touring the world! Dude, thats fuck'n "WINNING" in my book.
As an engineer with 35 years in the industry…EVERYONE uses tracks now, the ENTIRE show is programmed. Yes he IS playing but tracks are playing. And YOU are a fool!!
Mick was the only one playing living for decades! I found out on the Doctor Feelgood tour. The excuse then though was that they were too wasted to play; which still might have been true! 😂
Mick Mars didn’t use tracks; it’s Tommy, Vince and Nikki who were caught RED HANDED several times using them. Aside from the fact that lip- synching is just puss….they really back track bass and drum parts…like….they do that and it’s been caught on vid and went viral. Just cause John 5 is rad and now plays for them doesn’t mean I’m gonna forget that lame ass slug fest between these lame bands and Ronnie Radke
I'm a Bass guy and I always will be but this made me pick up the guitar sooner than expected. I intend to learn as many instruments as possible. I currently have a Bass, keyboard and guitar and a crappy dollar tree harmonica that doesn't work. Im used to the Bass so when I got the guitar I instinctively started fingering it like a bass. I'm not used to using a pick though I have one that came with the Bass when I bought it. Funny my favorite guitarist of all time is Zakk Wylde but John 5 was the one that made me pick up the guitar
What is sad is this crap started because someone who is SUING the band made statements in anger. I understand the anger but, why throw that kind of shade? And anyone who thinks Nikki can't play is delusional. HE WRITES THE FRIGGIN songs. Geez.
Seems to be a topic content creators like to bring up since it draws a strong reaction. I think the topic is old and overdone. If you use backing tracks, great. If you don't, great. If you really want to be a purist, don't you dare use drum replacement in the studio... don't use EQ and a dozen plugins to FIX you crap... don't slip the track to the grid to fix your pathetic timing issues and countless other things you do in the studio and pitch shifting / autotune.....etc.... you're such a purist... take your band into the studio and mic everything up...etc.... hit RECORD for a ONE take performance and then publish that shit. No EQ, No punch-ins or overdubs, no double or triple or quadruple tracks....etc... Can we settle this by saying you get a one take performance and everyone has to publish their take and then we want to hear it live for more comparison.... Yeah I didn't think so. This discussion is never going to change what bands or what record companies want. Not every band uses backing tracks. some have to play to a click for their lighting and video to synchronize. It's the only way... Muse, Rammstein, U2, Rush ... nearly every TOP level (high grossing) band uses them. Okay... let's hear those cassette one take recordings from the garage again.
