This week, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger sang the praises of newly minted Motley Crue touring member John 5's guitar ability when it comes to playing the enduring hair metal band's classic tracks.

Two weeks ago, founding Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars revealed he would retire from touring with the group. Subsequently, Crue announced that John 5 (Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper) would take his place on their upcoming tour.

But before that, Kroeger got a sneak peek at what he called John 5's "flawless" Motley Crue guitar chops on a Mexican vacation to celebrate Crue drummer Tommy Lee's birthday. That's what the Nickelback singer-guitarist told 101 WRIF this week.

"John's incredible," Kroeger said. "He brought his guitar [with him to Mexico]. 'Cause we were there for … five days. So on one of the nights, John brought a guitar out. And a lot of people were heading to bed. And it was just like, John and Tommy and myself." (via Blabbermouth)

The Nickelback frontman continued, "Now I'm allowed to say that he's gonna be filling in for Mick for the rest of the tour. And so he just sat there and played every single Motley Crue riff that's ever been written and recorded flawlessly. Flawlessly. You don't need to put on music when you've got that kind of talent just sitting right there. I mean, he was just running the gamut, and it was fantastic."

Kroger didn't let the situation go to his head, however. "It's really strange, though, being friends with Tommy, and [Motley Crue bassist] Nikki [Sixx] shows up," he added. "So there's Tommy and Nikki there. … The 13-year-old fanboy in me — I'm trying to suppress that, push it down. [Laughs]"

See Motley Crue's tour dates for 2023 below. Get tickets here.

Chad Kroeger on 101 WRIF - Nov. 9, 2022

Motley Crue 2023 Tour Dates

Feb. 18 – Mexico City, Mexico @ Foro Sol
Feb. 21 – Monterrey, Mexico @ Estadio Banorte
Feb. 25 – Bogota, Colombia @ Parque Simon Bolivar
Feb. 28 – Lima, Peru @ Estadio Nacional
March 3 – Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Bicentenario
March 7 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Allianz Parque
March 9 – Curitiba, Brazil @ Estadio Couto Pereira
March 11 – Porto Alegre, Brazil @ Arena Gremio
May 22 – Sheffield, England @ Bramall Lane
May 25 – Monchengladbach, Germany @ Sparkassen
May 27 – Munich, Germany @ Koenigsplatz
May 29– Budapest, Hungary @ MVM Dome
May 31 – Krakow, Poland @ Tauron Arena
June 2 – Prague, Czech Republic @ Prague Rocks
June 3 – Hannover, Germany @ Expo Plaza
June 7 – Solvesborg, Sweden @ Sweden Rock
June 9 – Hyvinkaa, Finland @ RockFest
June 11 – Trondheim, Norway @ Trondheim Rocks
June 14 – Copenhagen, Denmark @ Copenhell
June 18 – Dessel, Belgium @ Graspop
June 20 – Milan, Italy @ Ippodromo
June 23 – Lisbon, Portugal @ Passeio Maritimo
June 24 – Rivas-Vaciamadrid, Spain @ Auditorio Rios
June 27 – Thun, Switzerland @ Stockhorn
July 1 – London, England @ Wembley
July 2 – Lytham, England @ Lytham
July 4 – Dublin, Ireland @ Marlay Park
July 6 – Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park

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