Hollywood Undead is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California.
They released their debut album "Swan Songs" on September 2, 2008 and the live CD/DVD "Desperate Measures" on November 10, 2009.
Their second studio album, American Tragedy, was released on April 5, 2011, and their third album, Notes from the Underground, was released on January 8, 2013. Day of the Dead, released on March 31, 2015, also preceded their fifth and currently final studio album V (October 27, 2017).
All members of the band use pseudonyms and wear their own unique masks, most of which are based on a generic hockey mask design.
The group currently consists of Charlie Scene, Danny, Funny Man, J-Dog, and Johnny 3 Tears.
The real names of the band members are:
Charlie Scene - Jordan Christopher Terrell
Danny - Daniel Murillo;
Funny Man - Dylan Alvarez;
J-Dog - Jorel Dekker;
Johnny 3 Tears - George Reagan.
Team building
The group was formed in 2005 through the recording of their first song "The Kids". The song was posted to the band's MySpace profile.
Initially, the idea to form a rock band belonged to Jeff Phillips (Shady Jeff) - the band's first scream vocalist. Jeff during the recordings acted as the person who fought for a heavier sound.
A lot of positive feedback about the first song made the guys seriously think about the formation of a full-fledged group.
The group soon expanded with the arrival of George Reagan, Matthew Busek, Jordan Terrell and Dylan Alvarez.
The song "The Kids" was originally called "Hollywood" and the band was simply Undead. The members of the collective called themselves that, referring to the appearance of the children of Los Angeles, who always walked with disgruntled faces and looked like "undead".
The guys wrote only two words on the CD: "Hollywood" (the title of the song) and "Undead" (the title of the band).
The musicians betrayed this disc to Decker's neighbor, who thought that the group was called Hollywood Undead. Everyone liked the new name, so it was adopted unanimously.
Jeff Phillips later left the band after a minor conflict. In interviews, the musicians only said that Jeff was too old for the band and he wouldn't fit them.
However, it is now known that the guys maintain a warm relationship with Jeff and no longer conflict.
"Swan Songs", "Desperate Measures", и "Record Deal" (2007–2009)
The band worked on their debut album Swan Songs for only a year. It took another two years to find a record company that would not censor their songs and albums.
The first such company was MySpace Records in 2005. But still, the label tried to censor the work of the group, so the guys terminated the contract.
Then there was an attempt to collaborate with Interscope Records, where there were also problems with censorship.
The third label was A&M/Octone Records. Immediately, the album "Swan Songs" was released on September 2, 2008.
The work peaked at number 22 on the Billboard 200 in its first week of release.
It also sold over 20 copies. The album was re-released in the UK in 000 with the addition of two bonus tracks.
In the summer of 2009, Hollywood Undead released the B-Sides EP "Swan Songs" on iTunes.
The next release was a CD/DVD titled "Desperate Measures" which came out on November 10, 2009. It includes six new songs, live recordings from "Swan Songs" and several cover tracks. The album peaked at number 29 on the Billboard 200.
In December 2009, the band received the award for "Best Crank and Rock Rap Artist" at the Rock on Request ceremony.
Deuce Care
In early 2010, the band announced that vocalist Deuce had left the band due to musical differences.
Hints of the singer's departure were noticed even when he did not take part in the Vatos Locos tour. After a few weeks of touring, the band asked longtime friend Daniel Murillo to replace Deuce.
This happened shortly after Daniel was casting for the 9th season of the American show American Idol.
Daniel decided to withdraw from the show, preferring to work with Hollywood Undead.
Previously, Murillo was already the vocalist of a group called Lorene Drive, but the band's activities had to be suspended due to Daniel's departure to Hollywood Undead.
Deuce later wrote a song called "Story of a Snitch", which was directed against the band members. In it, Deuce claimed to have been kicked out of the group despite being the main lyricist. According to him, he wrote every verse and every chorus of all the songs.
The band members stated that they did not want to stoop to his level, and simply ignored the accusations from the former vocalist.
In January, the guys saw that Daniel is doing pretty well with both live performances and recordings in the studio.
They announced that Murillo was now the band's official new vocalist. Later, Daniel got the pseudonym Danny.
The band members said that such a seemingly simple pseudonym did not appear due to a lack of imagination.
It’s just that all their pseudonyms are connected with their past, and they have known Daniel for a long time and simply cannot imagine that he can be called something else.
Not much was known about Deuce's exit situation until it was brought up by interviewer Brian Stars on YouTube.
Johnny 3 Tears and Da Kurlzz told an interviewer that the band had to constantly cater to Deuce's every whim while on tour.
After that, the group asked not to touch on this topic anymore, since it has long been over.
A journalist from rock.com interviewed Charlie Scene and J-Dog where they decided to explain the latest events leading up to the split. The guys said that the former vocalist wanted to take a personal assistant with him on tour, although none of the guys have one.
Moreover, Deuce wanted the band to pay for it. Naturally, the musicians refused.
In the end, Deuce just didn't come to the airport and didn't answer the phone, so Charlie Scene had to play all his parts at the concerts.
Later, Deuce himself decided to clarify the story. According to him, he himself paid an assistant to set up their equipment during performances.
After the departure of Deuce, the band released their second EP, Swan Songs Rarities. They also re-recorded several songs from Swan Songs with Danny on vocals.
"American Tragedy" (2011–2013)
The band soon began writing material for their second studio album, American Tragedy.
On April 1, 2010, the band launched their own horror and thriller radio station, iheartradio.
In their interviews, the guys announced their intention to record their second album in the summer of 2010 and release it in the fall. James Diener, head of the band's record label, planned to release the next album in the fall of 2010 and believed that this would lead the band to greater success.
The band also confirmed that producer Don Gilmour, who also worked on their debut album, has returned to produce the new album. Recording wrapped around mid-November and the band began mixing the album the day after Thanksgiving.
The musicians began a marketing campaign for the second album. They supported the album with the Nightmare After Christmas Tour featuring Avenged Sevenfold and Stone Sour.
On December 8, 2010, the band released the cover art for the album's first single titled "Hear Me Now". The track was released on December 13 to radio and on the band's YouTube page, and was made available online as a digital single on December 21.
The lyrics of the song are about a man who is in a state of depression and hopelessness, which creates a very dark atmosphere.
Within the first two days of release, the single peaked at number two on the iTunes Rock Chart.
On January 11, 2011, the band announced that the upcoming album would be titled American Tragedy. They released a preview of the album on their YouTube page the next day.
On January 21, the new song "Comin' in Hot" was released as a free download.
It was also revealed in the trailer for "Comin' in Hot" that the new album would be released in March 2011.
In an interview, the band announced that the official release date for the album would be March 8, 2011, but as of February 22, 2011, it was announced that the album had been pushed back to April 5, 2011.
On February 6, 2011, the band released another song titled "Been to Hell" as a free download. J-Dog said he would continue to release "samples" of music for free download until the release of the album.
American Tragedy proved to be more successful than their first album, Swan Songs, selling 66 copies in its first week.
"American Tragedy" also peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200, while "Swan Song" peaked at number 200 on the Billboard 22.
The album also reached number two on many other charts, as well as number 1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. The album was quite successful in other countries as well, peaking at number 5 in Canada and number 43 in the UK.
To continue promoting the album, the band began Tour Revolt along with 10 Years, Drive A and New Medicine.
The highly successful tour ran from April 6 to May 27, 2011. After the tour, the band played several dates in Europe, Canada and Australia.
In August 2011, the band announced that they would be releasing a remix album containing songs from American Tragedy. The album includes remixes of the tracks "Bullet" and "Le Deux" from fans who have won a remix contest.
The winners earned money, the band's merchandise, and the recording of their track on the EP. A music video was released for the "Levitate" remix.
"Notes from the Underground" (2013-2015)
After extensive touring throughout 2011 promoting their second studio album American Tragedy and their first remix album American Tragedy Redux, Charlie Scene announced plans to release a third studio album in late November 2011.
He also stated that the album would sound more like Swan Songs than American Tragedy.
In an interview with The Daily Blam's Keven Skinner, Charlie Scene revealed more details about the album's details. He revealed that the album may feature collaborations with guest artists.
When asked about the masks, he replied that the musicians would also update their masks for the next album, as they did with the previous two albums.
Charlie also explained that the third album would be released much earlier than American Tragedy, stating that it would be released in the summer of 2012.
The release took place on January 8, 2013 in the US and Canada.
