Rob Zombie hit the stage for Louder Than Life 2022 with original guitarist Mike Riggs in place of John 5 and everyone was a little confused. As it turned out, Riggs had quietly rejoined Zombie's band as John 5 quit to go join Mötley Crüe. In an interview with The Jasta Show, John 5 revealed that he still hasn't spoken to Zombie since his departure, but notes that there isn't any bad blood between the two.
"We're not on bad terms. And Rob wished me well. And he was, like, 'Go get 'em,' and all that stuff. So we're not on bad terms, but we just have not spoke; we haven't spoken to each other. But he's doing great. He's got a great new band, and he's kicking ass out there. But we just haven't talked. I don't think there's any bad blood or anything. I mean, 17 years and things like that, but it was just time to…"
On Riggs rejoining Zombie's band, John 5 said he had no hand in the matter. But he's thrilled that the guy is back.
"No. I think what happened was we played Louder Than Life [in September 2022], and I told Rob that I was joining Mötley Crüe. And we had two shows to do — we had Louder Than Life and we had Aftershock. And so I told Rob, and then we went to go do Louder Than Life, and I saw Riggs kind of standing on the side. And I thought, 'Oh, that's great. I think Riggs would be incredible.'
"He did great work on the earlier tours, and I just thought it was a wonderful idea. So I even said to Rob, I was, like, 'Rob, if he needs anything, if he wants cabinets, if he needs this or that or anything I can do to help,' I wanted to help in any way. But then Aftershock, I guess Rob didn't want me to play Aftershock. So Riggs played that one.
"What's so strange about it is the public had no idea what was going on. And that's what was so strange, is that, all of a sudden, here's Aftershock and then I'm not there. So everyone was, like, 'Well, what's going on?' But I think people figured it out and it was fine and wonderful. It was a weird transition, but that's okay.
He added: "I think Rob, he's doing awesome, and I think the band is awesome. And I think it's a wonderful band and people are enjoying it. And that's what it's all about. It's all about people having fun and enjoying the music, and that's what's happening."
