Guitar Tricks Insider July / August Issue | Page 14
CLASSIC CORNER
by Mike Mettler
JOHN
Hee Haw is why I play guitar
Influences and inspiration can come to you
at anytime from anywhere, and part of be-
ing a good guitarist is how receptive you
are to receiving such information with an
open mind — not to mention eager-to-learn
fingers. Ultimately, you should be able to
build on your early inspirations and hone
them into something totally original that’s
all you.
Being ready to act on his inspirations is
just part of what led John 5, the always ad-
venturous guitarist best known for playing
alongside Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie,
to become a better player. Here, John 5
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GUITAR TRICKS INSIDER
DIGITAL EDITION
recalls how he was able to learn his craft
from watching a young hotshot banjo play-
er he first saw on a well-known TV show of
the ’70s…
Hee-Haw was really important to me. The
reason I wanted to play guitar was there
was this little kid on there playing with Roy
Clark, and he was the banjo champion at
the time. He was my age and seeing any
kid my age be so great at something was
shocking. It was like he took his head off,
threw it up in the air, and put it back on. I
was so shocked at how good he was. I was
like, “Oh my God, this is what I want to do.”
JULY / AUGUST