As the novel coronavirus continues to prolongate the global quarantine, forcing people to stay at home and causing a virtual shutdown of all live music events, musicians around the world have more time to play their favorite instrument; whether it’s a drum kit, guitar, bass guitar or even their voice.
To have a stronger motivation to stay inside and play even better, you might want to remind yourself of musicians who were prepared to join their favorite bands as soon as they got the chance to audition. An infrequent opportunity that may happen to you someday after the pandemic is over. Following the first article of this segment, we have three more stories that provide fewer reasons to go outside and more reasons to practice your musical instruments.
John 5 – David Lee Roth (1998), Alice Cooper (2011), Lynyrd Skynyrd (2009), Rob Zombie (2005 – present)
It is no secret to anyone that one of the most memorable ex-Marilyn Manson band members, John 5, is an exceptionally diverse session guitar player who was always open to collaborating with anyone despite the musical genre.
As John himself stated, “I don’t have guilty pleasure… I love music in general”
A brief list of his notable collaborations includes such artists as Rick Springfield, Rob Halford, Garbage, Statix-X, Meat Loaf, Ricky Martin, Rod Stewart, and Mötley Crüe.
Having his level of guitar obsession would also eventually bring him to work with some of his favorite bands. John teamed up with David Lee Roth (guitar), Alice Cooper (guitar), Lynyrd Skynyrd (guitar/songwriting), and of course, Rob Zombie (touring, songwriting).
Among his lifelong professional preferences, two very notable factors made him reliable and easy to work with.
1. He plays songs exactly the same way as they were recorded
In his interview on the RocknRoll Beer Guy Podcast, he made it clear that he leaves no room for improvisation when he plays his personal songs or songs of others. John stated:
If I’m gonna play “Sweet Dreams”, I’m gonna play as ‘Sweet Dreams’ was recorded. I’m gonna play ‘Dragula’ just like it is on the record. Because that’s how it was recorded! Like if you’re gonna play a piece of music from Mozart, you’re gonna follow those notes. Why is it okay to change like “Stairway to Heaven”, but it’s not okay to change the Mozart? I look at it with respect to the music. It was recorded that way for a reason.
2. He never had substance abuse issues
Throughout the 33 years of his career, anytime he got asked about his relationships with alcohol, he would always give the same answer. In his interview with Eric Blair back in 2012, he explained why that lifestyle never attracted him:
I just shy away from it. Even when I was a kid, I would always look at things and think to myself, ‘what benefit am I going to get from this?’ And I didn’t see any… I really think that’s maybe one of the reasons that I didn’t really hang around with Manson for that long because I was so different [they are still friends, by the way].
Being concentrated on his instrument also added up to his milestone “Best Guitarist” award from Revolver Golden Gods, back in 2013. Furthermore, the solo project that he started back in 2004 formulated into the band John 5 & The Creatures. Like everyone else in the industry, the band has recently had to postpone several shows throughout the spring and summer.
Chester Bennington – Stone Temple Pilots (2013 – 2015)
Unlike those mentioned in the previous article, Chester Bennington was already an established musician in the world of rock when he got his “lottery ticket.” But, despite having enormous success with Linkin Park, which led to multi-platinum albums, millions of fans, and legacy big enough to retire in his mid-30s, Chester was such a great fan of the music that he couldn’t ignore the opportunity to become a member of Stone Temple Pilots. His reason for joining was simple: the band needed a singer and Chester had one of the most powerful voices. His decision can be classified as an authentic “beat the popularity” move, since these grunge veterans were not as popular as LP.
In one of his interviews, Bennington mentioned that STP was among the bands that made him want to make music. Other sources state that, according to him, playing in the group was his “lifelong dream.” He ended up not only playing live with his heroes but also recording the High Rise EP together with Stone Temple Pilots.
As we all know, the life of Chester Bennington tragically ended on July 20th, 2017. Chester is deeply missed, as he symbolized a talented sweetheart with a great sense of humor and priceless love for the music.
Denis Shaforostov – Asking Alexandria (2015 – 2016)
Denis Shaforostov is a guitarist/vocalist from Ukraine who established himself in the music industry as a member of the post-hardcore band Make Me Famous. Sumerian Records later signed the band and booked them for a U.S. tour. After their split, Denis formed another band, Down & Dirty. Throughout the years, one of his biggest musical influences was Asking Alexandria, which was then his label mate. After the band’s original lead singer Danny Worsnop left the group in 2015, AA revealed Denis as their new frontman.
Same way as Chester, Dennis would both play live and write a record with his favorite band. AA’s 2016 album, The Black, got a lot of positive reviews on various platforms and magazines. Even Danny himself expressed his admiration of their single “I Won’t Give In”, stating “Very happy to hear s—t’s still going strong.”
Their collaboration lasted for only a year. One of the main reasons for the split was the war in Eastern Ukraine; As Denis explained, he needed to “Focus on family and all the things that were happening back there back then.”
Denis would later form a new project, Drag Me Out. Occasional teasers that he shares on his Instagram page indicate that he is in the process of writing new material.
Luck plays an enormous role in our everyday life. The territory of show business is not an exception. That is why the best investment in your musical career that you make do right now is staying at home with your instrument and building up your skills. So that whether pandemic ends sooner or later than we expect, you’ll be ready both healthwise and musically to act on the situation.
Stay tuned for part 3 of this series. You can also read part 1 here. You can also read the Grateful Dead edition of this series here.
About the Author: Zack Hargrove is a remote editor. His teammates at collegepaperworld.com and essayhelp.org will help you with homework, so you could concentrate on important things you’ve been missing out before the pandemic. You can always find Zack on Twitter @zackhargrovejr.