Celebrity Drive: Rob Zombie Guitarist and Songwriter John 5

Quick stats: John 5, songwriter/guitarist
Daily driver: 2019 BMW i8 (John 5’s rating: 9 on a scale of 1 to 10)
Other cars: see below
Favorite road trip: Los Angeles to Las Vegas
Car he learned to drive in: Cadillac Seville
First car bought: late 1980s Toyota Tercel

Songwriter and guitarist John 5 now plays in major venues with Rob Zombie, but he grew up as John William Lowery, closer to the auto industry than show business, down the road from the home of Edsel Ford in Grosse Point, Michigan.

“Everybody worked at GM and Ford. Where I lived, Henry Ford, his son Edsel lived right down the road and then Henry Ford also lived right in the same neighborhood,” he tells MotorTrend. “So I lived in the same neighborhood as Henry Ford and Edsel, and it’s incredible his house is massive and it’s so interesting. I learned a lot about the Fords, because I lived literally down the street, a hundred years ago, of course.”

John 5’s dad didn’t work in the auto industry like other families in the area, but he gave his son a 1985 Ford Thunderbird. This car would take him to a new life and name—playing with Marilyn Manson’s band and with many rockers he grew up listening to.

“A lot of kids were like, ‘What kind of car do you want?’ I never got that choice. My dad surprised me with a car and I was so happy with it. I was psyched,” John 5 says.

The red Thunderbird was used, but he didn’t mind. “I loved it. I just thought it was so cool and I thought, ‘What a great first car. ‘” he says. “And I was so into it that I drove to Ohio to go see a concert because I was so obsessed. I remember feeling so free. I felt so free, like I could go anywhere, and I didn’t drink or smoke or do drugs, so my parents let me do whatever I wanted. So, it was wonderful and I felt very free.”

The faithful Thunderbird took John 5 all the way to California and to a life that would surpass his dreams. “It was really cool because that car lasted forever and ever and ever and ever, because I took care of it. I just put oil in it and took care of it,” he says. “It got broken into a few times because I didn’t live in the best neighborhood, but other than that, it was wonderful.”

After the Thunderbird got older, John 5 bought a Toyota Tercel with money he made working at Penguin’s Frozen Yogurt in Los Angeles around 1989 or 1990. “The Toyota Tercel was probably an ’85. It just ran forever and I remember buying it and I was super excited. I drove it for a long time and it never gave me a problem,” he says.

The Tercel was perhaps a reliable car to get him around town, but he didn’t get it for its looks. “It was such a wonderful car. It was silver and it looked horrible, but it ran forever!” he says. “It had a great little hatchback to it and it was a stick. That’s what I learned how to drive a stick on,” he says.

After the Tercel, John 5 got a yellow Volkswagen Beetle from the early 1970s. “It was so great, I loved it because my sister Lynn had an orange one and I just thought it looked so cool and it was bright yellow and it just was awesome,” he says. “I loved that car and for some reason I still love the Volkswagen Bug, the early ’70s, ’60s ones. I think they look so cool.”

John 5’s first rock star car was a Mercedes that was circa 1998 or 1999, after he made it in the industry as the guitarist for Marilyn Manson. “I was super happy with it, and I remember I would drive Marilyn Manson around because he didn’t drive. And I remember coming home from an event and he had to throw up, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, no, no, no, no!’ because I loved my car and he stuck his head out and threw up and it was all on the side of the car, and I was like, ‘Oh, God!’ because I loved that car so much. It was just a C-Class, but I was so proud of it. I loved it.”

Today, John 5 loves his 2019 BMW i8, which is his second one. “I really love, first, how it looks, and then, it drives perfectly. It really does drive amazing. And it’s great on gas. It seems like it’s a win-win with everything—looks, it drives great, and the gas is incredible, too.”

The only thing that doesn’t make this plug-in hybrid a perfect 10 is that he can’t fit much inside. “It’s really, really, really small inside, but I love it,” he says. “It’s a lot of fun. It looks really cool and also it just glides. It really just glides really well.”

He customized the exterior to his taste. “We had it all black on black on black. It’s like a liquid wrap. It’s really cool looking. It’s a neat thing. It looks kind of like the Batmobile. I really love it a lot. And the wife wanted it, too,” he says, referring to his wife, Rita Lowery.

The only reason John 5 gives this “beautiful” Range Rover an 8 out of 10 is because he still hasn’t gotten that familiar with it. “I’ve never had a Range Rover before and I don’t really know how to work it that well yet,” he says, laughing. “There’s so much to it because it’s brand new. It really feels like you’re in a living room or something like that. It’s so nice, it’s gorgeous, unbelievable. It’s a lot of fun.”

This is another car that really feels like it “glides” when he drives it. “It just feels like you’re in a moving living room. It’s really, really a great, beautiful drive. It is gorgeous and it does everything under the sun, so we like that about it,” he says.

The mileage isn’t the best, but it’s helpful for work. “But what can you do? It’s a huge vehicle. And it’s safe and you can get everything in there. You can get a lot of business in there—amps, guitars, and even a drum set can go in there, so that’s what I really like about it,” John 5 says. “So we have the best of both worlds with our cars—something that’s small and sporty and fun, and then also an SUV where you can get everything in there.”

Growing up, John 5 was eager to learn to drive and his father taught him around the streets of Grosse Point. “He was a great teacher and I asked him a lot of questions about what to do and what not to do,” he recalls.

Once he knew how to drive a little, he took his parents’ car out. “All kids do bad things, but I would take my parents’ car in the middle of night and go to downtown Detroit to see concerts late at night when they were out. I would do things like that and I really didn’t know how to drive,” John 5 says, with a laugh. “But I was good at driving. I still have never, knock on wood, gotten in an accident and I don’t have any tickets, so I’m not a fast driver, I’m a responsible driver. I just went to the DMV to renew my license after a zillion years and they were like, ‘Oh, you have a perfect driving record. You don’t have to do anything.’ I just had to take an eye test and that was it.”

John 5 learned in the family’s Cadillac Seville, which he remembers as the Cadillac with the tire in the back. “My dad had Cadillacs. He always leased Cadillacs,” he says. “I was really interested in driving. Before I was driving, I would always watch him and ask him questions. So I was very interested in it because I liked cars, but I wasn’t really into cars, I was more into driving: the skill of driving, to be a really good driver. For some reason when I was a little kid, I was really into things that people did really well.”

When he learned to drive, he was serious about that task. “I just wanted to be a good driver and that’s probably why I try to be a good driver still today. I like the skill of it—to brake really nice, without it jerking or taking off, kind of like if you’re in an airplane,” he says.

John 5 passed on his first try to get his license. “I remember taking my car and driving to one place right away. I went to Saginaw, Michigan, and just drove all the way there, just because I felt so free, so it was such a fun thing. I could do whatever I wanted,” he says.

John 5 has always loved driving to Las Vegas. “Driving to Vegas just recently it’s getting really overcrowded,” he says. “But I remember I would drive to Vegas and I would stop at the Great Greek. I would stop in Baker, California. So many great places. I would just stop and it was such a nice drive before, but now it’s not a great drive. There’s a lot of construction, there’s a lot of people now. But I remember I would be the only one on the road. And I wasn’t going a zillion miles an hour or anything. I just love to drive in the desert.”

Besides driving to Vegas, he also loves driving to Palm Springs and down highway 111. “It’s one of my favorite things to do ever,” he says. “It’s the scenery, it’s how quiet it is, it’s just beautiful. I love it so much.”

Although John 5 is most known for being the guitarist for Rob Zombie, he’s also an accomplished songwriter, having written for Rod Stewart and on Steve Perry’s new album. He has also written for fellow Celeb Drive alums Lynyrd Skynyrd, Paul Stanley, and the Scorpions. Despite being known in one musical genre, John 5 says he “writes for everyone.”

John 5 also has his own band, John 5 and The Creatures. He’s proud of their new album Invasion, which is out on vinyl, shipping in March. “It’s wonderful. It’s all instrumental. It’s all different kinds of music. Put it on while you’re driving to Vegas or driving to Palm Springs,” John 5 says.

For more information about his album, visit john-5.com.