Longtime Rob Zombie guitarist John 5 is joining the ranks of Mötley Crüe, at least in a touring capacity, as he takes the place of co-founding axeman Mick Mars. The 71-year-old co-founder of the group has long battled ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic, inflammatory form of arthritis that mainly affects the spine and pelvis.
Mötley Crüe released a statement saying they accepted Mars’ decision to retire due to his ailing health. Former Mötley Crüe singer John Crab is having none of that.
“I do [have an opinion],” Corabi told the “Life In The Stocks” podcast. “I will just say this: I know John [5] as well. He’s a brilliant — and I cannot say ‘brilliant’ loud enough — he’s a brilliant guitar player and a great dude. But the verdict for me is out until I hear a statement from Mick. The statement that we heard was put together by Mötley and their people. And I’m not totally sure I believe what they’re saying. So I’ll just leave it at that.”’
Corabi thinks that Mars may have been forced out of the group.
“I don’t totally believe Mick’s reasons for leaving Mötley,” he said. “And I don’t even know if he left Mötley. I believe maybe he was shown the door. Because as long as I can remember… F*ck, when we were doing the ‘Generation Swine’ record, they were complaining about his guitar playing then. And if you really look at all of the records they’ve done since then… The majority of the guitars on the ‘Swine’ record, which is one of the reasons why I sued the guys, are mine. They were complaining about Mick the whole f*cking time. And I don’t know if he played on ‘New Tattoo’ — I’m not sure — but I know on ‘Red, White & Crüe’, it was D.J. Ashba; on ‘Saints Of Los Angeles’, it was D.J. Ashba; and on ‘The Dirt’ [soundtrack], it was John 5.”
“I don’t know,” he continued. “I could be totally wrong about this, so don’t run around and f*cking, whatever, put it in print yet, but I’m just saying I’m waiting for Mick’s response. The one that we’ve all heard came from Mötley and their management.”
Corabi said he still hasn’t heard from Mars himself about the band’s statement.
“Because since that announcement came out, I’ve reached out to Mick and his wife a few times,” he said. “And Mick hasn’t responded at all. And I sent [his wife] — she’s from Switzerland — so when I was there last week, I sent some photos of the Alps — I was in the Alps — and I wrote to her, and I said, ‘Hey, I’m in your motherland.’ And she wrote back. Then I came back, and I was, like, ‘Hey, man, how’s Mick?’ And she goes, ‘He’s fine.’ [And I said], ‘Hey, what’s going on?’ Crickets. So that’s kind of unusual behavior for Mick and [his wife]; they would normally [be] just, like, ‘Yeah, dude. Everything’s cool. Whatever.'”
Corabi continued: “I don’t know if he’s embarrassed or he’s maybe… Who knows? Maybe he’s angry and maybe he’s being told not to say anything to anybody. Maybe there’s gonna be a lawsuit. I don’t know. But I just know how those guys operate, and I would not be surprised if they didn’t say, ‘Mick, look. You’re in pain. We’ve got John 5. We’re gonna bring him in.’ Maybe throw him a bone — like every time they tour, throw him some money — but ‘we’re gonna move forward with this guy.’ It wouldn’t surprise me.”
Corabi later clarified: “Now, this is all a theory. I know about as much as you guys do. But personally, I don’t believe a word of that statement at all.”
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