Arrival at the address agreed for the meeting with John 5 without knowing exactly what he corresponds to, despite the classic preventive inspection with Google Maps made me think of a private residence. Parking and I see John waiting for me in front of the entrance door: I'm undoubtedly at his home. A very luxurious house of course, with a beautiful garden, Cybertruck and Porsche di ordinance in front of the garage and a ceremony, he, who welcomes me smiling, radiant, as the label of one who is the guitarist of the Mötley Crüe imposes and who in the curriculum boasts an infinite series of prestigious collaborations.
Until a few months ago he played alongside Rob Zombie, a partnership that stopped abruptly when his entry into the Crüe was announced. “With him I played for 17 years, they are many, never even had a discussion, of no kind, neither musical, nor personal.” Before Rob Zombie, John William Lowerly played with Marilyn Manson, who gave him the name John 5 a bit because he was the fifth member of the band, a bit because of the reference to the Bible. Due to Zombie and Manson, many associate John 5 with the industrial. Those who know him well, however, know that there is nothing more wrong than thinking that he plays in one style. It was formed with country, bluegrass, jazz and flamenco. The rock came later. He knows how to play everything. As he said some time ago a Guitar player“People come to my instrumental concerts because maybe they follow what I do with zombies, then he sees me playing Bluegrass playing and goes out of my mind. This thing fills me with joy ».
The house we are in is its sanctuary. There is the classic room with the billiards and gold records on the walls, the garden with swimming pool and fountains. The clichés of the perfect rock star are all there, including various SPHYNX cats that turn undisturbed and do the melts. But there is a room that had so far been opened only to its circle of friendships and it is the one that we are here today: the one dedicated to the Kiss, one of John's greatest passions. Over the years he has accumulated so much material that in May he will inaugurate a real museum dedicated to the band, a museum with a high -sounding name, Knights in Satan Service (eye to the acronym), which will be set up in a secret location in Los Angeles and which can be accessed by paying 500 dollars in skull, for a guided tour of two hours with him.

Photo: Enzo Mazzeo
John 5 is a decidedly hospitable guy, it is seen that he loves to share his spaces, and from every word he hers is perceived a great love for the music and satisfaction of a native man of Michigan who in Los Angeles has crowned his dreams. Collect Kiss material since she was 7 years old, a mania that clearly took off when that boy became a Danarosa rock star.
As soon as it makes me enter the room in which it holds its precious memorabilia, which will then be transferred to the secret location mentioned above, I realize the level of maniacality. I don't even know where to turn my gaze, for a fan of the Kiss probably paradise resembles this place. I break the ice asking him to show me the highlight. “These boots are the only ones who survived the era of Right -handerI am from 1976, “he tells me, showing me precisely the boots that belonged to Gene Simmons. There is really everything: keychain, mirrors, even boxes of cereals from Australia, which according to John are worth 7000 dollars each. “I always fascinated the idea of collecting this stuff and putting it under the same roof, otherwise many of these objects would have been lost, someone would have thrown them away.” I ask him what the piece he acquired first is. “This square of Love Gun». Then he shows me an old cardboard exhibitor, apparently very rare. “My sister had a boyfriend who worked at Warner Bros., here in California, and Kiss at the time they were with them. He made himself a hardcover and sent it to me. I recently saw one on eBay for almost 8000 dollars ».

Photo: Enzo Mazzeo
John has adorned the walls carefully: there is the one dedicated to advertising posters, the one with the posters of the concerts, and then the Tour Books, the pass, metal buckles, guitar shoulder straps, handmade flyers and any imaginable merchandise article. In the middle of the room there are exhibitors full of vinyls, divided by countries. “Apparently the copies of the same title seem the same,” he says, “there are small details that make every single copy different from the other. It could only be a small logo, perhaps identifying the factory where the disc was printed ».
The magazines are divided with the same criterion, by countries of origin. I peek on the item “Italy” and find old copies of Hello 2001 And Metal Shock. But this is nothing: there is a fabric banner, framed, with Kiss Army written by hand. It shows me the photo of some guys who exhibit it in what looks like a kind of procession. «In 1975 they went in front of the headquarters of a large radio with this banner, to spur them on to transmit the music of the Kiss. The band came to know and invited them to their concert, to meet them. That writing hit them a lot, they torn it and they remembered it for the years to come. Kiss Army was born ».
Known of the hangers full of t-shirts, trousers, pajamas, suits, jackets: “All original stuff of the 70s”. I ask him how he makes it sure: “Every piece that I purchase must pass a rigorous selection process, check the labels, the materials, sometimes even photos of the concert audience, where you can see some of the shirts I own”. There are also two vintage flipper, I observe them and John immediately turns on me, inviting me to play it. He is not one of those overprotective collectors, to those who come to his house and enters this room it is allowed to handle everything, he says that touch is an integral part of the experience. And the same will do with visitors to the museum, obviously under close surveillance.
For now here I am and my gaze does not give me a second: in the meantime I pass the cuffs, the berries of Peter Criss, the Paul Stanley bag. Among the most unobtainable pieces that allows me to caress, there are Simmons bat wings. “That is a 1974 costume, the only one owned by Gene at the time, worn many times. They were the dawn of the band, they played and then returned home to the subway ». My eye falls on a battery skin. “This is what you see on the cover of Alive!», He tells me. «The Kiss were at the Michigan Palace of Detroit for the session with Fin Costello, subsequently they would shoot the video of Rock and Roll All Nite. After taking the photos they decided to change this skin because it was a little ruined, they threw it in a corner. And here he is. “

Photo: Enzo Mazzeo
Next to it there is a monopoly that belonged to Ace Frehley. Above, a stage costume of the guitarist dated 1974 like that of Simmons. The thing that immediately jumps to the eye are the dimensions of these costumes: they are very small, they seem to have belonged to children. “Both gene and Ace today are men of great build, it makes strange to see how minutes at the time.” On the other hand, a life has passed, nothing, in here, is more recent than 1983. «In 1982 he went out Creatures of the night And after that disc they took off the make-up. It was a turning point in the band's career and for me a watershed. I had to give myself a limit, or I would never have come to the head ». I also ask him that is the piece that he still lacks and that he would like more than any other. He has no doubts, he tells me, but I also ask me not to write it, because to obtain it he made an offer of 100 thousand dollars who has been rejected and thinks that if he spread the rumor among the collectors would be even more difficult, one day, finding an advantageous agreement. It is an object with a null intrinsic value, but that having passed countless times under the eyes of each fan of the self -respecting group, it is a sort of small treasure. I stop here.
Over the years, during which she has also collaborated with Paul Stanley and Ace Frehley, John's passion for Kiss is not diminished at all. And woe to refer to them with the usual speeches on marketing or gossip. «Fifty years later we would not talk about the Kiss if it were not for the songs, the music, the talent. It's all about music. People approach this group for the first time by buying a record ». Right. Still, there is a band that, at least musically, has influenced him even more than the Kiss, and his name is Van Halen. «The Van Halen had Eddie. Of course, there were also Dave, Michael and Alex, all incredible musicians who gave the group a unique contribution, but Eddie reinvented the wheel, since that moment nothing has been as before. The Van Halen have completely changed my life, my world ». And it is no wonder that David Lee Roth has given John 5 the baptism of fire, taking him in his band back in 1998, before Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie. «We had a great time in the studio, to write and record, Dave and I are still great friends, just as I am from Michael Anthony, and I was from Eddie. Isn't it incredible? ».

Photo: Enzo Mazzeo
After spending a few hours with him, I have no doubts about the fact that, in addition to being a talented guitarist, John 5 is also cool, kind, nice, one that anyone who would like even just as a friend. It is not surprising that the bands compete to grab it. While he accompanies me to the door, he tells me that his new solo album will be released shortly (he has made a dozen) and that he will make a long tour to promote him. «I told my agents to make me do as much dates as possible, even 20 below, so they don't weigh me at all. You know, I still play my guitar every day, if I'm not on stage I still do it on the sofa at home or in the hotel rooms ».