Mötley Crüe guitarist John 5 is shooting down internet speculation that he plays to backing tracks during Crue live shows.
Video posted to social media claims to show the guitarist playing to backing tracks, as his hand appears to not be on the guitar while it’s playing. But John 5 took to social media to prove that’s not the case.
“I just wanna clarify and clear things up here there was a false news story saying I was using backing tracks and I find it very comical so check it out and here is an example very simple technique,” he captioned a video in which he gives fans a tutorial on how he plays, as his hairless cat joins him on the couch.
“I do this thing where I flip the pick around on my neck,” he said, showing how he’s still playing despite it looking like his hand is not on the guitar. He also gave another demonstration on a technique known as hammer-ons and pull-offs.
“Very simple. It’s not a big thing,” he noted. “A lot of things are played with one hand. A lot of musicians know this. So, nothing to worry about, no backing tracks.”
Mötley Crüe kicks off a set of Canadian dates on July 11 in Calgary, then brings their tour to the U.S. starting July 19 in Minot, North Dakota. A complete list of dates can be found at motley.com.