In his latest YouTube video, The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins shared his thoughts about Mötley Crüe.
In the video, the singer talked about the backing tracks Mötley Crüe has suspiciously been using and addressed the recent allegations about John 5. Hawkins watched the video the guitarist recently shared on his social media and explained why it made people suspicious that he was faking it:
“The thing that makes people suspicious is the first strike being absent, visually at least.”
He then went on to read a fan comment about John 5’s guitar skills:
“‘What a fraud. Anyone saying that’s a hammer on doesn’t understand how guitar works. A hammered on chord sounds way different than a strummed one.’ Yeah, okay. I agree with that. But I also think that you can’t really. It’s a question of how you define the word ‘chord.’ For me, there is at least three elements of a chord. It’s got to be the root; the third, the fifth, and perhaps some other fancy stuff like a ninth, for example, which in that instance would be an E if it’s a D. I’m only guessing just based on looking at where his fingers are and then counting them up. But he might be in different tuning. I don’t think it’s that difficult to hammer.”
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.”
Hawkins’ Thoughts On Vince Neil And Tommy Lee
In some parts of the YouTube video, Hawkins also said that John 5 might have used the help of backing tracks to enhance the performance.
Hawkins also shared his opinions on Vince Neil and Tommy Lee and the allegations about using backing tracks. He read a fan comment which said:
“‘The idea of a Mötley Crüe member relying on backing tracks during a live show ain’t nothing new.’ Isn’t that double negative? So that means it is something new. It’s something new.”
He continued with another comment and shared what he thinks about Neil:
“‘We’ve seen pretty damning evidence that Tommy Lee’s done so in the past as far as Vince Neil the whole world generally wishes he’d start f*cking lipsyncing but that’s beside the point.’ Yeah. You have to respect Vince, wait no, you don’t have to respect anybody, but I respect Vince Neil for just being out there giving it his best shot. I’ve covered his vocals lately because I think he’s actually getting better maybe practice makes better, but you know, he’s really just out there singing for better or worse.”
John 5’s Backing Track Defense
A few days ago, the Mötley Crüe guitarist took to social media to address the backing track comments by sharing a video of himself playing guitar. The rocker was seen playing two different riffs.
The video came after some YouTube videos suggested that the band members used backing tracks. One of these videos claimed that John 5 wasn’t playing during ‘Wild Side,’ showing that he wasn’t moving his hands while the music played. In an Instagram video on June 24, John 5 explained to non-musicians how he achieved that effect:
“I think the part in ‘Wild Side’ that’s on the Internet saying, ‘Oh, look, John’s hand isn’t even on there.’ I do this thing where I flip the pick around on my neck. Very simple. So, it’s not a big thing. You know, a lot of things are played with one hand. A lot of musicians know this, so nothing to worry about. No backing tracks. Very simple.”
You can watch Hawkins’ video below.