You wanted the best? Motley Crue guitarist John 5 wants to show it to you.
Kiss fans can check out John’s collection of more than 2,500 items that he’s amassed over the years including the last known pair of boots owned by Gene Simmons from the Destroyer era as well as his first tour outfit from ’74. Tours of his museum begin in May and will be conducted personally by 5, who is looking forward to the experience. “it’s taken an absolute lifetime to do this. It really has,” he tells UCR in an interview you can listen to below. “I started collecting when I was a kid, but when I decided to do a museum, it’s taken a couple of years, just putting it together.”
“You have to document everything. You have to really get into detail and talk about everything and have everything correct [with] the right years and the right months,” he continues. “I’ve got all of these tickets, passes, buttons from all over the world. Records and magazines from all over the world. Promoter shirts, jackets and towels, it’s just endless. So it’s a lot of work and it’s been overwhelming, but I’m really happy.”
John 5 Talks About His New Kiss Museum
John’s Early Kiss Memories
The guitarist had to wait a few years before he finally got a chance to see them live. “I didn’t see them [in the ’70s] because I was too young. I remember [for the] Dynasty [album], they were coming to town, but I was too young and my parents wouldn’t let me go,” he shares. “The first time I saw them was Lick It Up, so they had just taken their makeup off. I was so excited [at that time]. I saw them every tour after Lick It Up, but when I saw them on the reunion tour [in 1996] with their makeup and everything, I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it, you know, it was incredible. It really was incredible. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was like seeing them in ’78 or something like that.”
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John 5 Shows Items From his Collection on Instagram
Kiss Fans Have Helped His Collection Grow
“A lot of collectors now are getting older, that collected maybe when they were teenagers in the ’70s. They’re getting older 1745841286, and they’re like, ‘Well, I’ve had it for this many years now. I’m going to let it go,'” he says. “A lot of people, luckily, contact me on my Instagram. I’ll read the messages and I’ll get a hold of people if I don’t have certain things. These armbands that they would wear [as an example], I got them from this guy in Japan. He got a hold of me and said, ‘I got these from the management company when Kiss came to Japan. They gifted me these after the tour.’ It’s kind of a hard story to believe, because people can make up anything. But I got the cuffs and my friend said, ‘John, I have the paperwork that the band’s management sent [those] to this guy in Japan. I have the actual telegrams from back in the day.’ You can see [things like that] in the museum. It’s really cool.”
There’s New John 5 Music Coming
In addition to his upcoming commitments with Motley Crue later this year, he’s also planning the release for his latest album with John 5 and the Creatures. “I haven’t talked about it yet, but it’s going to come out around October. It’s called Deviant,” he reveals. “I’m super proud of this record and I’ve worked on it for a long time. I think I’m going to Mexico and South America with the Creatures in June. I’ll have some of July off and then do some rehearsing with Motley in August,. [We play the] residency in September and then I have a big tour that I know I can’t talk [with the Creatures] about coming up in October. It’s going to be wonderful. I’m super-excited. There’s a lot going on, so I’m so happy.”
Listen to John 5 on the ‘UCR Podcast’
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Gallery Credit: UCR Staff
