Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx took to Twitter to chat about the band's new guitarist John 5. John 5 will be taking over live duties from co-founding member Mick Mars as he retires from the road due to health issues.
Nikki Sixx explained why John 5 was the perfect choice for the band: “He checks all the boxes. He's a (sic) insane player. Has respect for our music, is funny as f*** and has history with us and we've written some pretty big hits together.”
Ultimate-Classic Guitar shed light on John 5's connection to the Crüe: “In addition to being close friends with Crüe members for years, John 5 co-wrote a number of original songs that appeared on the Mötley Crüe 2019 biopic The Dirt. He collaborated with the celebrated songwriter Desmond Child and Nikki Sixx on writing the song 'The Monster Is Loose' for Meat Loaf, and has played with the Crüe bassist in the L.A. Rats supergroup, which also includes Rob Zombie and drummer Tommy Clufetos.
Nikki Sixx was asked if the band has any plans on packing it in after the next set of dates and answered: “We have no plans of stopping now. We’re having too grand of a time and in a short 8 years we will celebrate 50 years together as a band.”
Sixx took time out to salute the great Mick Mars, posting: “He's been a soldier along with us for 4 decades. We will continue to carrying our legacy to Generations of fans and honor Mick's request for us to keep touring as Motley Crue.”
Many fans first became acquainted with John 5 through his groundbreaking work with Rob Zombie. During their time together, Zombie explained to us why he felt their partnership was so successful: “John is many things. I mean, he's a phenomenal guitar player, which is quite obvious, and he's a great guy, but he's a great collaborator, y'know? A lot of times people are really difficult to work with, and we really work well together and, y'know, every singer wants their right-hand man guitar player. That's the whole basis of a band, and I never had that ever and it was always, always a struggle. Only now do I have that and it's, y'know, it's an invaluable combination.”