Nikki Sixx says he never intended to “steal” away Rob Zombie’s guitarist, John 5, for MÖTLEY CRÜE
Speaking with The Mistress Carrie Podcast, MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s Nikki Sixx spoke in detail about the decision to hire guitarist John 5 as Mick Mars‘s replacement in the band. Discussing how MÖTLEY CRÜE acquired John 5 after original guitarist Mick Mars had to bow out of touring due to ongoing health issues, Nikki said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “John‘s a great guy. I’ve known John for a long time. I brought John in on a Meat Loaf song that I wrote, ‘The Monster Is Loose’. And then some SIXX:A.M. songs.
“He wrote a song with me called ‘Lies Of The Beautiful People’, which was a big hit for SIXX:A.M. And I brought him in to do a project that I did for Netflix called L.A. RATS with Rob Zombie and Tommy Clufetos on drums, a Johnny Cash cover. And I wrote ‘The Dirt’ [MÖTLEY CRÜE movie soundtrack] songs with him, and he played a lot of the guitar on those tracks. And so when this moment that we weren’t expecting happened, Mick‘s leaving the band, we were in the middle of ‘The Stadium Tour’.
“We were in the middle of a huge tour with us and DEF LEPPARD. A world tour, not just a couple gigs. And we had to ask ourselves, like, ‘Do we fold? Do we leave Live Nation in the lurch? Do we bone our partners in DEF LEPPARD?’ And we had to dig deep and we were, like, ‘We’ve gotta do what’s right for the fans.’ And John was the guy.
“We didn’t even talk about anybody else. We knew John. I knew John. We knew what he was as a guitar player. We knew he was a writer. And it just was like taking a situation we didn’t expect and turning it into something. And now we have new music and we’re having a great time.”
He continued: “The thing with creativity is it’s a circle. And if there’s a break in it, you can’t really get all the energy going. And this new moment has reinvigorated the creativity in the band. And I will attribute that to John and also just change in general sometimes happens.
“I played with a lot of different musicians over the years. And every time I play with a new musician, I have a new interpretation of something,” Nikki added. “And they bring that. So there’s a freshness to having John in the band right now.”
When asked if he had to have a meeting of sorts with Rob Zombie upon his attempting to get John 5 to join MÖTLEY CRÜE, Sixx replied: “It was one of those things that I feel bad about. It wasn’t my decision. It was John‘s decision. I had been talking to John as a friend during some of the frustrations with Mick‘s playing, specifically on the tour. And he was my friend.
“And when I called him and said, ‘Wow, we’re faced with a really bad situation.’ And we talked. And he wanted to do the next-level thing in his life. He’d been with Rob for a long, long time, and they were kind of coming to an end of a tour. And he talked to Rob, and Rob was not happy but understood. I still feel bad about that. That was never my intention, to go out and steal somebody from another band. That’s not what we did.
“But I have so much respect for Rob. It’s one of those things where I’m really happy and at the same time I’m, like… Sometimes this stuff’s fucking hard. Like making a decision to move on without an original member. It’s not exactly as seamless as people would like it to seem. There’s some little bumps along the way, little bumps in the road.”
John 5 became a part of MÖTLEY CRÜE in the autumn of 2022, stepping in as the replacement for Mick Mars, the band’s co-founding guitarist. Mick had disclosed his decision to retire from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE in October of that same year due to worsening health issues.
Mars has been grappling with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), a chronic and inflammatory type of arthritis primarily affecting the spine and pelvis. Despite enduring years of performing amidst the discomfort, he informed his bandmates in the summer of 2022 that touring was no longer feasible for him. However, he expressed willingness to participate in recording sessions or performances at fixed locations that didn’t involve extensive travel.
Upon announcing his retirement from touring with MÖTLEY CRÜE, Mars reiterated his commitment to remain a member of the band, with John 5 stepping in for live performances. However, in April 2023, the 72-year-old musician initiated legal action against CRÜE in Los Angeles County’s Superior Court. He alleged that following his announcement, the other members of CRÜE attempted to diminish his role as a significant stakeholder in the group’s corporation and business assets through a shareholders’ meeting.
MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s new deal with Big Machine Records sees the band working together again after making the 2014 project “Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe”, which featured CRÜE tracks covered by country stars RASCAL FLATTS, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, Darius Rucker and more. Big Machine also partnered with John 5 for the release of his 2021 album “Sinner”.
MÖTLEY CRÜE‘s last studio album was 2008’s “Saints Of Los Angeles”.