John 5 Responds to Criticism of Motley Crue's Live Performances

Guitarist John 5 has been touring with Motley Crue since 2022, so at this point, he has a handle on this band’s live performances. During an episode of the “Thinking About Guitar” podcast earlier this month, John 5 was asked about the band’s live shows.

Speaking on the podcast, when asked about rumors that some members of Motley Crue don’t play their instruments live and instead use backing tracks, he said that it’s simply not true.

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“I'm so glad you brought that up, and people don't want to talk about it, but I'm so glad you brought it up,” he said on the show. “There was this talk that was going on for so long, like, ‘Oh, this person's not playing live,’ or, ‘That person's not playing live.’ Everything - Nikki is playing every note up there, but it's so funny that people don't want to accept that.”

He added, “They'll be, like, ‘Oh, his hands aren't even on the bass,’ and it'll be up in the air. But it's, like, he's fretting a note, or it's he'll have this arm up, but he's picking with this hand. But people don't understand that. Nikki plays every single note on that stage. He messes up. You can hear mistakes. Tommy plays everything. I play everything. Vince is singing…”

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So, is he telling the truth? Frankly, it sounds very believable. The real giveaway that this band is playing live is hearing those mistakes. Go to a Crue show, and you’re not going to hear perfection. That’s a good thing, especially in rock and roll.

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This story was originally published May 31, 2026 at 8:30 PM.