John 5 has taken to his social networks to deny accusations that he plays in playback during his concerts with Motley Crue.
The accusations have been circulating on YouTube in recent days and have been shared by several specialized media outlets. In one of the videos, it is claimed that 5 is not playing while a guitar riff from “Wild Side.” At first glance, you can see how the song continues playing while the guitarist does not move his hands.
In a video published on his Instagram, 5 explained what was happening and what he was doing at the time of the video: “I do something like turning the spike around the neck”, he said, throwing the pick into the air and picking it up to complete the riff in question. He also responded to claims that hers “hand is not even on the guitar“while playing”Too Fast for Love“, demonstrating his use of hammer-ons and pull-offs during the riff on a single string.
“Very easy. It is not a big thing“he concludes.”Many things are touched with one hand. Many musicians know this. So no need to worry, no backing tracks“.
It is true that, with just the left hand, there are many things that can sound or be part of a guitar riff or solo.
Mötley Crüe had already been accused of doing playback
The alleged use of pre-recorded tracks was one of the points that came to light in the lawsuit that former Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars filed in 2023 against his bandmates.
Mars alleged that, after announcing his retirement from the road, his bandmates tried to defraud him financially and separate him from the band completely. The guitarist alleged that during the tour “Stadium Tour” 2022Nikki Sixx harassed Mars by telling him that he had some type of cognitive dysfunction and that his guitar playing was poor, claiming that he would forget chords and sometimes start playing the wrong songs.
“Surprisingly, Sixx made these claims about Mars’ playing while he didn’t play a single note on bass during the entire US tour.“the lawsuit continued.”Ironically, 100% of Sixx’s bass parts were nothing more than recordings. Sixx was seen pumping his fist in the air with his strumming hand while his bass part played. In fact, a significant portion of Vince Neil’s vocals were also pre-recorded. Even some of Tommy Lee’s drum parts were recordings. Some fans noticed Lee walking towards his drums when they heard his part start..
In 2023, in capital letters, the band denied everything on their Facebook: “THERE WERE NO BACKING TRACKS FOR THE BAND MEMBERS”
