Hollywood Undead, described by The Guardian's Peter Lester as “the Katy Perry of rap-metal,” began with a song posted on the social networking site MySpace in 2005. Within three months, they had over a million plays and an astounding 440,000 friends.
“We were just a bunch of loser kids who sat around our friend's house all day, and we started making music and recording it on a computer,” said Shady Jeff, a former member of Hollywood Undead, in an interview with the New York Times a few months after their initial online success. (This was just before he left the band for good, leaving it with six members.) "In a matter of weeks it got huge, and it kept on getting bigger and bigger. It's crazy. If you look at our page, it's like we're a huge band that's toured a hundred times.”
“I knew that I didn't want to try and go to college or anything. That was never in the game plan,” vocalist Johnny 3 Tears (formerly known as The Server) told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “So I was like, 'Okay, what can a guy like me, who isn't particularly smart, who isn't particularly driven, do?'”
Writing on the Wall
Hollywood Undead received so much attention that their single “No. 5” was featured on the first MySpace compilation album. Their first album, Swan Songs, was supposed to be released under the MySpace record label, but MySpace pressured the group to censor or alter its often obscene lyrics, which feature plenty of lines about alcohol, drugs, partying, smoking, sex, sodomy, swearing, homophobia, sexism, guns, violence, arson, genocide, anarchy, and self-harm.
“They basically came to us and said they weren't going to put out the record unless we chopped half of it off,” Johnny 3 Tears told the New York Post. “They had highlighted lyrics that had to be changed and complete songs that had to go. We felt like the rug got pulled out from under us.
“We went through hell to get that record out,” he also said.
As a result of the controversy, Swan Songs (with songs produced by Danny Lohner of Nine Inch Nails; Don Gilmore of Linkin Park; and Deuce of Hollywood Undead, who has also released solo work) wasn't released until 2008 under the A&M/Octone label, complete with a Parental Advisory "sticker" as part of the cover art. The album sold 21,000 copies in the first week. The band also made their live debut in 2008 at the Virgin Mobile Festival, joining acts such as Nine Inch Nails, Kanye West and Bob Dylan.
“I think performing is the best thing about being in a band, personally,” said Da Kurlzz, one of Hollywood Undead's original members, in an interview with Shave magazine.
“It’s nice seeing people sing your lyrics. You think up something in your head and then it gets mirrored back to you – you can’t beat that feeling,” added guitarist J-Dog.
Hearts for the Heartless
On their MySpace page, the band (whose members are all in their early to mid-20's) lists among their influences designer jeans, cigarettes, tattoos, subway sandwiches, and riding bikes drunk. As their name implies, another big influence for them is the city of Hollywood. “This city literally chews people up and spits them out. In Hollywood, there are aspiring actors, artists, crack heads, gang bangers, taggers, and homeless people. They all add to the culture,” said J-Dog.
Perhaps part of their mystique is the masks they choose to wear, leading to comparisons with Slipknot and Kiss. “In the beginning we didn’t want people to know what we looked like,” said J-Dog. “You know, when you wear a mask you can get away with whatever you want. Obviously, with the Internet, hiding your identity is impossible to do.”
Despite their risqué lyrics, they claim that their goal is expression, not corruption. “Some kids will come up to us and be like 'oh I’m a badass, I’m drinking and driving' or 'I’m taking a bag of mushrooms' and, it’s like, that’s not really what we want to hear,” said Da Kurlzz.
“Our music and lyrics are just a communication of our lives. That's the best way to define it. It's all extremely and explicitly honest about stuff we go through-love, hate and pain. People see that honesty, and they respond to it,” explained Johnny 3 Tears.
B*tches Always Know
Their popular single “Undead” is featured on the Madden NFL 09 soundtrack. Their song “Young” is featured as one of the 20 bonus downloadable tracks in the music video game Rock Band 2. An instrumental version of “Undead” is also featured in a trailer for the new G.I. Joe movie. Also, an instrumental version of “Young” is featured as the backtrack to a 2009 cinematic trailer for the video game Velvet Assassin.
Their new album, Desperate Measures, will be available in stores October 27, 2009. It's set to include three new songs, three cover songs, and live footage from shows in Arizona and New Mexico.
“We saw them as a diamond in the rough that we could really build,” said A&M/Octone President James Diener.
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