Editor's Note: The last concert listed on setlist.fm at the Sokol Underground is 2019-11-08. It was John 5, who is now playing guitar in Motley Crue and Jared James Nichols. However, neither the John 5 setlist nor the Jared James Nichols pages list a single tune.
I did a little poking around about the music scene in Omaha, NE, and found a Wikipedia page. Notice the link to a band called Father, which links to a band called Father that is located in Croatia:
The wave started when I read a press release in my Inbox about seeing John 5 and The Aristocrats in concert on Sunday, September 1, 2019, in Los Angeles, CA.
I was not interested for three reasons:
I don't live in Los Angeles
I don't have a free ticket
I know we are busy on Sunday, September 1, 2019
I didn't think it would be possible to create a scenario by which I would be there.
Then, I saw Logan Miles Nix play this drum solo:
Then I read that Marco Minnemann plays in The Aristocrats:
Even as I attempt to make it through a 21 minute drum solo, I was mesmerized. Here's a quick highlight about why I would love to see him play. I think it's not going out on a limb to state that drummers who play two bass drums have my respect. I have tried to play double bass and have never gotten used to the way I have to sit, which is with my legs spread apart wider than what feels comfortable. I have never tried playing double bass with a double bass drum pedal so maybe if I had one of those, I would work on playing double bass drums to the point of ability. Anyways, drummers with two bass drums often play amazing patterns. That said, it's far less common to watch a drummer NAIL a double hi-hat rhythm!
So now, when I re-read the press release I received, with my new-found knowledge about Logan Miles Nix and Marco Minnemann, I am a little more sad now than when I first read the email, that I don't live in Los Angeles, that I don't have a free ticket, and that I have other plans on that Sunday.
JOHN 5 and the Creatures - comprised of world-renowned guitarist JOHN 5, bassist Ian Ross and drummer Logan Miles Nix - and The Aristocrats (guitarist Guthrie Govan, bassist Bryan Beller and drummer Marco Minnemann) will team up to co-headline an amazing night of instrumental euphoria on Sunday, September 1 at 1720 in Los Angeles. The show will be the first JOHN 5 performance following the July 31 release of the anxiously awaited new album, Invasion.
"JOHN 5 and The Aristocrats - It doesn't get much better than that," John 5 says. "It's one show only and you're not going to want to miss it. It's going to be a very exciting night, and definitely one to remember."
Says The Aristocrats, "We always say that anything can happen onstage at an Aristocrats show - and that goes double for a JOHN 5/Aristocrats double bill! We're psyched because The Aristocrats and JOHN 5 are obviously coming at the instrumental rock thing from just completely different angles, and neither one of us is playing it straight down the middle. Should be a fun night for anyone in L.A. who likes their music loud and bent."
JOHN 5 kicked off the year with the debut video from Invasion, the campy animated "Zoinks!" clip, followed by three equally eccentric videos for "Midnight Mass," "I Am John 5" and "Crank It - Living with Ghosts." Invasion was produced and mixed by Barry Pointer (Richie Sambora, Joe Perry, Steve Vai, Jackson Browne). A special edition of Invasion will be available for purchase at the Los Angeles show.
JOHN 5 and The Creatures is:
JOHN 5 - guitars
Ian Ross - bass
Logan Miles Nix - drums
The Aristocrats have established themselves as one of the most musically original, refreshingly irreverent and entertaining instrumental rock-fusion acts on the planet. They are touring to promote their most ambitious and exploratory studio album yet, entitled
You Know What...?
The opening act for the evening will be the popular rock-fusion trio Travis Larson Band.
Hopefully, someone at the concert posts video to youtube so I can watch it.
I see 2 of the Big Four on this cruise: Megadeth & Anthrax.
I am just asking a question. How much $ would it take to get Slayer & Metallica on that cruise? I don't mean to ignite a 'who's a better?' band - because, clearly, I would vote Metallica. The reason this is being tossed around in my brain is because Dave Mustaine has publicly said he would like to do additional Big Four shows. Here's the perfect opportunity to do that. It's his cruise - he can have anyone he wants play . . . which leads to the question I asked above: how much $ would it take to get Slayer and Metallica to join the Megacruise?
Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 tore the stage up at Chicago Open Air 2017. I have no doubt that he is talented beyond my capability to understand how talented he is. Thus, I knew that hearing his cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" would be great.
And it is.
Stupendous.
Mind-blowing.
Low-hanging fruit.
Think about it. Out of all the tunes he could have selected, the top of the "Best Known Metallica Tunes" list is the tune he selected.
It sounds fantastic - nothing wrong with the recording in the video below.
Yet.
It feels safe.
Calculated.
And John 5 is not safe.
He is not calculated.
For God's sake, he wore a dress when I saw him at Chicago Open Air.
So.
What's my point?
"What would he have done with a lesser-known Metallica tune?" is the question I ask myself. What if, instead of "Enter Sandman" as the Metallica tune to cover, he chose a tune like "For Whom the Bell Tolls" which is known for being a 'bass-heavy' tune and allowed his creativity to overtake the original? What if he chose "The Four Horsemen" instead? What if he chose "Disposable Heroes"? What if he chose "Harvester of Sorrow"?
What if he chose ANY tune on the "St. Anger" album?!?
He didn't. He chose "Enter Sandman" - a great tune that has been in my ears hundreds of times since I saw the premier of the video on MTV in the summer of 1991. Long live the sandman!
