John 5 recently addressed rumors that accused him of using backing tracks through an Instagram post. The caption read:
“I just wanna clarify and clear things up here. There was a false news story saying I was using backing tracks, and I find it very comical. So, check it out, and here is an example very simple technique.”
A news article online suggested that the guitarist wasn’t playing live because his hand wasn’t on the guitar. John explained that many songs could be played with one hand thanks to hammer-on and pull-off techniques.
Backing Track Accusations Against Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe faced backing track accusations from Mick Mars, Carmine Appice, and some fans in recent years. Appice even alleged that Sixx’s parts in the band’s records were played by someone else.
John 5 defended his bandmate against the backlash last year as follows:
“If you listen to these concerts that I do with [Nikki], you hear bum notes. Do you really think that we would put a mistake on a track? No! It’s so crazy, but 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. And that’s what rock and roll is.”
He noted:
“Yes, we do rely on technology for backup vocals, intros, outros, sirens, and horn hits. Of course, they’ve been doing that since ‘Dr. Feelgood.’ I’m not saying we don’t rely on technology for things that we can’t replicate ourselves, but me, Nikki, Tommy, and Vince; we’re all live up there.“
Ex-Band Members Supported The Claims
Mick Mars refused to comment on the rumors in a late 2023 interview, although he said his ‘sworn statements’ in the lawsuit against Mötley Crüe were true. Meanwhile, Carmine Appice stood by his claims about Nikki Sixx and told Classic Album Review:
“It’s terrible. I got into this big fight with Nikki Sixx about that which I didn’t mean to do anything. Somebody asked me about Jeff Beck and they asked me about Mick [Mars]. I was talking to Mick and Mick told me what he told me and I just said it to somebody and it blew up all over the place, but I think that’s terrible. It’s like Milli Vanilli back in the day. Their career got destroyed from that. I mean I could see if you want to put it some vocals or background vocals or something or keyboard.”
He added:
“Some guys do that I could see that you had a little depth to it but to do it on bass and drums and guitars I mean there are a lot of people doing that. Boy, that’s terrible.”
You can check out John 5’s recent post about the topic here.