Alternate title: You can’t judge a book by its cover…
Most people associate John 5 as the guitarist for Marilyn Manson, and being that that’s not everyone’s cup of tea, most folks probably don’t know just how gifted of a musician he is! I myself totally dismissed him until I saw a video of him demonstrating chicken pickin’ on YouTube (sorry, can’t seem to find the original video). I was so taken aback by the disparity between his appearance and his ability to play a style of a guitar that was the antithesis for what he was known for, that I spent the next several hours searching for as many John 5 videos I could find just to confirm that it was indeed him.
In the end, I was totally blown away by his versatility in the genres he could play, but more importantly, I gained an appreciation for his musicality. Make no bones about it: John 5 is the s$%t when it comes to making music, not just playing guitar!
John 5 is also an accomplished songwriter, having contributed tunes to KISS and the Scorpions. You don’t get those kinds of gigs without having your stuff together!
In any case, what got me thinking about John 5 was the fact that I’ve lately been into Tele’s; I mean, really into Tele’s, ever since I got my Squier Classic Vibe 50’s. And gear slut that I am, I’m always looking around for deals. So in my sojourns, I remembered that the Tele is John 5’s axe, so I thought I’d write about how much appreciate his musicianship!
Here’s a GREAT video of John 5 demonstrating some chicken pickin’ techniques:
Guitar Gear 
Have you seen the video of John 5’s Tele collection? It’s massive! well worth finding.