Full Name: John Lowery
Date Of Birth: July 31, 1971
Place Of Birth: Grosse Point, Michigan
Marital Status: Married to Aria Giovanni
Offspring: One son and one daughter
Distinguishing Features: John has both arms completely sleeved in classical Japanese style tattoos, plus his upper chest

“John 5 is an underrated guitar giant. It's rare to hear a musician fuse various styles and create a unique blend and brand all of his own. It takes balls, but that's what's needed to be truly original.”
(STEVE VAI's seal of approval for Vertigo – john-5.com)

Probably one of the most influential guitarists of the modern times and since going solo, hailed as the new Shred King, John 5 is not your atypical guitarist. Despite a privileged and sheltered upbringing, John is known as one of the nicest guys in the rock industry, as well as being a role model to young fans with his no drink, no drugs – except for guitars – policy. John has also gained the respect of guitar supremos, Steve Vai and Les Paul – Paul encouraged John to release his solo album after asking to hear him play.


John began playing at the age of seven after asking for a guitar for Christmas. One of his earliest inspirations came from watching “Hee Haw” with his dad, admiring the young kids that played banjo. Other influences at the time included The Monkees, KISS (John cites Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley as very close friends) and Jimi Hendrix, whom John says is one of the most difficult to play and yet one of the most graceful guitar players.


His parents supported John's musical ambitions, even permitting him to play in bars and clubs to a much older audience, on the one condition that his grades didn't slide, and he got up for school every morning. His first ever show was with a Van Halen cover band.


At 18, John travelled to California to pursue a career as a professional session guitarist. His first night in LA could have been his last, after finding himself the victim of a robbery, however John was determined to follow his dream, and for the first few months, lived in abandoned warehouses, an altogether different existence from his childhood in Grosse Point Michigan.


“ I just didn't want to give up. It's really hard for me to quit something.”
(GUITARIST MAGAZINE)


One of his first gigs was with a group called “Alligator Soup”. An unfortunate accident involving the lead singer forced John to take centre stage whilst the frontman attended to a bleeding head wound. In the audience was Rudy Sarzo, bass player with Whitesnake. So impressed was Sarzo with John's impromptu guitar solo, he took John out to dinner and asked if they could work together.
Meeting producer Bob Marlette via Rudy (Tracey Chapman, Rob Halford and Black Sabbath) was a turning point in John's career as he was introduced to other musicians. As a session guitarist, John worked on a number of different projects such as commercials, TV shows (Baywatch and Hard Copy) and a number of film soundtracks, including Speed 2. He built his reputation by working fast and for little money.


“ Call John Lowery. He does a good job, and he'll do it for a grilled cheese sandwich.”
(GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE)


John's first major break came in 1990 when Lita Ford asked him to open up with her for childhood heroes KISS. A lifetime friendship developed from there.


John began to work with a number of artists including John Wetton from Asia, Robin Zander, Wilson Philips, Rick Springfield and female rap trio, Salt N' Pepa.


At one stage, John tried out for legendary rocker, Ozzy Osbourne, as a temporary replacement for Zakk Wylde. Although he didn't make it, John hooked up with Ozzy's drummer, Randy Castillo, to work in his first band, “Red Square Black”. He co – wrote all tracks on their debut album “Square”.
Sadly “Red Square Black” was a short-lived project as John was selected from 2,000 guitarists to tour with Country and Western crooner, KD Lang.
“ Working with KD Lang was great. She's an amazing artist.”
(GUITARIST MAGAZINE)


In 1996 after the departure of Daisy Berkowitz, John had his first audition for Marilyn Manson. However he was late for the deadline, and the job went to Mike Linton (Zim Zum).


John's next major break came when he teamed up with Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford for the industrial and classic rock influenced band “Two”. The subsequent album, “Voyeurs”, on which John played bass and guitar was produced by Nine Inch Nails Trent Reznor.


“ Working with Rob Halford was an amazing experience. He is a metal God.”
(GUITARPLAYER.COM)


His next major project came in 1998, when he worked with ex Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth.


“ When I was little my dream was to play with David Lee Roth. One day I was sitting at my friends house and...I wonder what...Roth is doing now. I'm gonna call up his manager and see if he needs any songs.”
(GUITARIST MAGAZINE)


Being a fan of Van Halen, John was already familiar with the style of music. He submitted six songs and finding they suited, submitted further tracks to Roth's management. Eventually David and John met and recorded “The DLR Band” album in two weeks.


“ I remember before we started he said, If you can't do it in two takes, you can't do it.”
(GUITARIST MAGAZINE)


After the recording of “Mechanical Animals”, Marilyn Manson was again looking for a guitarist to replace Zim Zum who left the band in pursuit of a solo career. Again John went to try out for the band, of which he was already a huge fan.


“ When I got home from the tour (touring with Rob Halford in Europe) Manson's manager called and asked if I would like to meet Manson for lunch...Then he asked me to join the band – right there.”
(GUITARPLAYER.COM)


Taking the moniker, John 5, he signed on for the Mechanical Animals tour and to work on the next album. John's first live performance for Marilyn Manson came on the MTV Video Music Awards.
After the turmoil of the tour, that had seen a media witch hunt of the band in light of 1999's tragic Columbine High School shootings, the band regrouped at Houdini's House in Laurel Canyon to work on the dark “Holywood”. John wrote on all of the tracks on the album bringing forth some of the most memorable power chords ever heard on a Marilyn Manson album.


“ Writing in Manson is like building a house. Manson is a phenomenal producer...His production knowledge is astounding...”
(FENDER USA – MARCH 2004)


During this time John also appeared on several albums including the Jimi Hendrix tribute album “Hazy Days: Not a Jimi Hendrix Tribute” and worked with artists such as Garbage, and Maria Antonakos as well as co–writing on another David Lee Roth track, “Thug Pop”.
In 2002 Marilyn Manson saw another line–up change when bassist Twiggy Ramirez (Jeordie White) left to join James Maynard's “A Perfect Circle”. John said of the time leading up to Twiggy's departure:
“ ...I thought I started to see Twiggy unhappy around Ozzfest...But I know he is doing well now in A Perfect Circle...And we have Tim Skold on bass so everything's working out just fine.”
(TOTAL GUITAR – JULY 2003)


In 2003 after a long standing relationship with Ibanez guitars, John released his first custom designed guitar – the John Lowery Signature Fender Telecaster. Guitarist Magazine called it “ the sexiest new signature guitar on the market.”


“ I showed it to the guys in Metallica and James Hetfield said, You got to get me one of those. It's cool when your friends love the guitar you did.”
(GUITARIST MAGAZINE)


2003 also saw the release of Marilyn Manson's next album and era “The Golden Age of Grotesque”, influenced by the Weimar Republic and the Vaudeville movement. The band were once again headlining Ozzfest and touring the world. John also began to develop ideas for a solo project influenced by his love for Bluegrass music.


“ I did actually get Ginger, our drummer, to play on a Bluegrass track I've recorded (Sweet Georgia Brown) but I still haven't really won the band over. They just don't like it.”
(GUITARIST MAGAZINE)


In April 2004, Marilyn Manson.com announced the departure of John from the band.


“ The band has decided to part ways with guitarist John 5 as recording sessions for the next album begin.”
(www.marilynmanson.com)


For John this came as surprise for him also, but despite this he had nothing but praise for Manson.
" I truly enjoyed my time with Manson and have the greatest respect for the incredible fans," says John. "I am grateful to have contributed over 2 dozen songs to his projects. It was a great creative outlet for me at that point in my career.”
(OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM JOHN AS SEEN ON JOHN5.COM)


" I had a great run with Marilyn Manson. It was a lot of fun and it was a really great experience, but I've got a lot of other stuff going on. I'm busier now than I was on tour.”
(WWW.MTV.COM)


Although there was an element of sadness at the amicable split, John did not sit back and relax. Instead he began work on his first solo project, an instrumental album influenced by bluegrass and rock. “Vertigo” – released August 2004 - was a labour of love, highly autobiographical as John pulled from memories of a turbulent last year with Marilyn Manson (sadly John lost three members of his family during the Golden Age of Grotesque tour, and suffered from reoccurring panic attacks – Dead Man's Dream is quietly dedicated to his late brother-in-law Dennis Kirtley). It was also a chance for the world to hear that John was more than just a great riff writer. John likened it to being a horse ready to bolt from the stables.


With Vertigo John was able to show fans that there was more to guitar playing than simple punchy guitar riffs, so often linked to rock bands.
“ I just want to educate these kids and say, Listen, this is awesome and it's fun and you can make a sound current – pick up the guitar and really play again.”
(GUITARIST MAGAZINE)


As well as releasing Vertigo, John has begun working in a new band called “Loser”. Described by him as a “rock radio project” influenced and in the same ilk as Queens of the Stoneage and Foo Fighters. Their first show in November 2004 was well received by the many fans that attended the gig at The Roxy in LA.


John reopened his official website where fans are able to question the guitarist on a wide range of subjects. The site celebrated it's first birthday in April 2005.


He is also busy laying down tracks for his second solo instrumental album, scheduled for release in August 2005. John is also working on a live show for Vertigo.


“ I'm going to have a crazy solo show...It'll be a spectacle. Rock and roll and rotting cattle. Good times.”
(GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE)


In 2005, John announced that he would be performing with Rob Zombie during his Ozzfest tour.
“" I'm totally estatic about having the opportunity to play with Rob on Ozzfest! He has been one of my favourite artists for the longest time. I had the opportunity to play with him a few weeks back, and never thought that I would have the chance to share the stage with him playing the Zombie songs we all know and love!"
(www.john-5.com)


Although this will see him away from his band Loser for a while, they are still pushing forward with their album which they hope to release sometime later in 2005.


Away from shows and music John tied the knot with Aria Giovanni in March 2005. Aria has been a constant and solid support for John since he left Marilyn Manson, and can often be seen at shows supporting him and the boys.


So a year on, things are definitely on the up with John. Long may it continue.