Another renowned rock musician has become a part-time desert resident.
John William Lowery, aka John 5, is a guitar virtuoso who’s performed with David Lee Roth, Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie, and is the current guitarist for Mötley Crüe. When he’s not shredding for the Crüe, or working on his solo material, he splits time between Los Angeles and the high desert.
Lowery will be celebrating his love for the desert on Saturday, Nov. 29, at Pappy and Harriet’s, when he performs at the iconic venue for the first time.
“It’s like I’m playing the Hollywood Bowl,” Lowery said during a recent Zoom interview. “I love Pioneertown, because it’s so cool and so weird. It’s like you’re on the moon. I just go there and eat sometimes. I’m super-excited to play there. We were putting the tour together, and I was like, ‘We gotta play Pappy and Harriet’s,’ so we booked it for the very last show, and I’m super excited.”
Lowery said he’s spent time in the desert since he was 3 years old.
“My grandparents lived out there,” he said. “I just love the desert, Palm Springs and, personally, I love the low desert. … We live part-time in Joshua Tree half of the week, and half the week in L.A. If I could live there full-time, I would, but (my wife) just doesn’t want to make that jump yet. I absolutely love the Mojave. It’s my happy place. I just love it so much. The Coachella Valley—I’m obsessed.”
Like many other rock stars, Lowery has found solace in both the high and low desert.
“I remember when I was so young, I would just stay outside and catch the lizards and stuff, but my parents would make me come inside because I would get sunstroke all the time,” he said. “It’s such a hard thing to explain, but I just have this love for it, and it just makes me feel at peace. … If I’m back East or in the Midwest or down South, I just can’t wait to get back to the desert. It’s very strange. I just really love Joshua Tree and Palm Springs and Palm Desert and Indian Wells, everything.”
Beyond the sights, Lowery has become attached to his fellow high desert residents.
“I love the people,” he said. “I’ll say hi to people all the time. I love The Home Depot there, and I love the Walmart there. There was a guy there who had this old, old truck, and he was an old dude. I said, ‘Hey man, I really dig your truck; how long have you had it?’ He goes, ‘Well, I got this new in 1967.’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ The guy has had one truck his whole life. I just love that stuff. He’s got one truck; he’s got one house; and that’s it. I think that’s so cool, but you don’t see that a lot anymore.”
Lowery admitted that the serenity of Joshua Tree is hard to leave.
“When we’re there, I’m like, ‘Hey, let’s go to Palm Springs; let’s go to dinner, or go eat’ … but when we’re in Joshua Tree, it’s so comfortable and cozy and quiet,” he said. “I remember Palm Springs when it was pretty desolate; 40-something years ago, it was quiet. Now it’s like a big city.”
“I’m like a lizard. I have no problem with that heat. I’m totally fine. I hate the cold.”
John 5, on his love of the high desert
The Michigan-born, leather-jacket-wearing rock star is even in love with the insane summer temperatures.
“I’m like a lizard,” Lowery joked. “I have no problem with that heat. I’m totally fine. I hate the cold.”
John 5’s performance at Pappy and Harriet’s will be the first time Lowery performs in the Coachella Valley or high desert. He was scheduled to perform with Mötley Crüe at Acrisure Arena on New Year’s Eve in 2023, but the event was cancelled 10 days before the show. A post on Mötley Crüe’s Instagram read, “The very short time frame to produce the event resulted in issues beyond our control.” Lowery shared the full story.
“We were in Japan and Australia, and we had all our gear, and the (Acrisure) show was for New Year’s Eve,” he said. “It was sometime in December when we got home. With all your gear, you put it on a ship, and it freights all the way back to Los Angeles. Our gear didn’t show up back in L.A. until Jan. 11. We had nothing. It was incredible. Our whole show was on this ship, and I was like, ‘I can’t believe it.’ … It was going so slow because of the weather, so there’s nothing we could do. I was crushed, because I love Palm Springs.”
Crüe is still rocking, and while there are no current plans for the band to make up the Palm Desert show, there is still hope.
“We just did the Las Vegas residency; we were there for a month, and every show was phenomenal,” Lowery said. “Vince (Neil) was incredible; he sang great. I love looking at these shows on YouTube and stuff, because they’re great. I love Mötley Crüe, and I’m so proud of the shows that we did there. They just kicked ass. They’re putting stuff together right now, and I’ll be super-excited to get back on the road with those guys. I talk to them every day.”
My Zoom chat with Lowery came a few days after the death of KISS guitarist Ace Frehley, a friend, collaborator and inspiration to Lowery.
“I first was introduced to Ace in 1977,” he said. “I was 7 years old; this is when Love Gun was coming out, and I was in Sears, and (the album) was all over the place. I loved monsters, and I loved music, and I was like, ‘Whoa, it’s like monsters with guitars.’ I asked my mom for the record. She got me the record, and it changed my life forever. I always loved Ace, and I got a guitar that year as well, Christmas of 1977.”
The two guitar gods collaborated on Ace Frehley’s 2016 release, Origins Vol. 1, soloing through a cover of Jimi Hendrix’s “Spanish Castle Magic” and the KISS classic “Parasite.” Lowery attempted to talk about Frehley at his concert on Oct. 16—the day on which Frehley, 74, passed away following a fall at his home—but Lowery got choked up.
“I got on the mic to talk about Ace, and I couldn’t even do it,” he said. “I just broke down and started the next song. I couldn’t even do it. … I’m just in a state of shock, because he was fine and healthy. It’s horrible. It’s so hard for me, because we were close; we were good friends, and he wanted to do another record, and he was talking about that. It’s really tough.”
In a way, Frehley’s legacy will live on through John 5, as years of inspiration and collaboration has left his sonic stamp on Lowery’s guitar playing.
“It’s strange to think, but Ace has always been in my life, ever since I was 7 years old,” he said. “It’s like losing a family member. It’s definitely a trip, and it’s horrible. I talked to him a week before his accident, and he was happy and healthy and in great spirits, and it’s just so heartbreaking and devastating what happened. But Ace is immortal. His legacy will live on forever, I believe.”
John 5 will perform at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 29, at Pappy and Harriet’s, at 53688 Pioneertown Road, in Pioneertown. Tickets are $37.56. For tickets and more information, visit pappyandharriets.com.