Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 has responded to Justin Hawkins’ YouTube video about him and the band.
The guitarist took to Instagram to explain that he doesn’t use backing tracks on stage and that people who thought so were wrong. After making it clear that he watched Hawkins’ video, the guitarist explained:
“There is still a little confusion with some of the people not understanding what’s going on in ‘Wild Side’ with my hammer-on. So they go like ‘Oh there’s some other guitar playing.’ There is not, it’s just me. So I’ll explain it real slow.”
After playing the ‘Wild Side’ riff and showing the way he plays on stage that makes people confused, the rocker continues:
“So I’m just hammering that sus chord on. Very simple. I’ll do this quite a bit throughout the show. What else? The great Mick Mars solo.”
John 5 also shows how he plays the Mick Mars solo on stage and continues:
“You know, stuff like that. So nothing to be alarmed about.”
Even though he addressed Hawkins’ comments, the rocker didn’t forget to share his admiration for the Darkness frontman.
Hawkins’ Comments
In his latest YouTube video, The Darkness frontman discussed the band using backing tracks and addressed recent allegations involving John 5. Hawkins watched a video that the guitarist shared on social media and explained why some people found it suspicious:
“The thing that makes people suspicious is the first strike being absent, visually at least.”
The singer then guessed how John 5 might have tricked people into believing that he was actually playing live:
“If I had to guess, I’d say John 5 has pre-recorded one track and he’s doing a stereo image with the other one, so it sounds fabulous and shiny. And there’s no obligation for him to join with those things but there’s no way he’d put his solos on there because I reckon one of the joys of being John 5 is being able to make everybody eat your telecaster solo. I’ve seen him do some stuff that would blow your mind, I’ve seen things that would blow your mind.”
You can see John 5’s recent video here.