John 5 – born John William Lowery in Grosse Pointe, Michigan on July 31, 1971 – is a hard rock / heavy metal guitarist best known for his work with Marilyn Manson, David Lee Roth, Rob Zombie, and Mötley Crüe. Influenced by artists as diverse as Buck Owens, KISS, Jimi Hendrix, Ozzy Osbourne, and The Monkees, John Lowery began his career as a session guitarist after moving to Los Angeles, California when he was 17. He played in several bands – including Alligator Soup and Sun King (a band led by Quiet Riot’s Rudy Sarzo) – while playing recording sessions with Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, Rob Halford, and others. In 1996, John Lowery joined forces with Judas Priest vocalist Rob Halford in the band 2wo, recording and touring until 1998. He then joined up with former Van Halen vocalist David Lee Rorth in the DLR Band. A longtime fan of the group Marlyn Manson, John Lowery joined the band in 1998, where he was given the stage name John 5, which he has used ever since. John 5 joined the band after the recording of the 1998 album Mechanical Animals and appeared on the albums The Last Tour on Earth (1999), Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000), and The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003). John 5 left Marilyn Manson in 2003 and set out on a solo career with the album Vertigo (2004). He then linked up with Rob Zombie in 2006 and appeared on many of his albums and tours up through 2021. While working as a member of Rob Zombie’s band, John 5 also recorded with Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper, Sebastian Bach, Ace Frehley, and Steve Perry. A prolific artist, he continued to release solo albums including Songs for Sanity (2005), The Art of Malice (2010), Careful with That Axe (2014), Sinner (2021), and Ghost (2025). In a surprise move, Mötley Crüe kicked founding guitarist Mick Mars out of the group and replaced him with John 5 for live dates and recordings in 2022 – 2023.
