Generating Momentum

The job description fit, and so did the hockey mask.

"I knew that I didn't want to try and go to college or anything. That was never in the game plan," Johnny Three Tears chuckles to himself. "So I was like, 'OK, what can a guy like me, who isn't particularly smart, who isn't particularly driven, do?' "

Well, the answer was obvious: adopt a masked persona, start a hip-hop influenced rock band with your childhood buddies and rhyme about Bob Saget, getting drunk and having sex with moms for a living.

Hence, Hollywood Undead was born.

The hard-living California sextet is a teen boy's id writ large, rowdy and libidinal, with eyes up every skirt.

It's high art, in the most literal sense -- doubt these dudes would ever be down with some random drug testing.

But the band's grass-roots marketing savvy and largely self-built fan base underscores the fact that this is more than a bunch of wild-eyed stoners with their pants around their ankles.

Long before they ever had a record deal, the group used the Internet to release material and cultivate a massive community around themselves. They're among a growing legion of young bands using various new media outlets to build a buzz independent of any record company middlemen.

On their MySpace page, the group has been able to rack up an astounding 8 million plays of their songs, while amassing more than 440,000 "friends" on the site.

They also licensed their first single, "Undead," to the immensely popular "Madden NFL '09" video game, which brought them even more exposure.

"I don't play video games, I'll be honest, so I didn't understand the magnitude of that," Johnny says. "But then I get, 'I heard you on Madden. Madden, Madden, Madden,' all the time. It was a much bigger deal than I thought it was."

Taken together, the band was able to generate considerable momentum before their debut album, "Swan Songs," was released this past September.

"No one knew what was going to happen when our record was coming," Johnny says of the uncertainty over whether the band's Internet presence would translate to something more tangible. "A click and a listen, what does that communicate in terms of actual sales? We had no idea. But the first week we released our record, we sold close to 25,000 copies, which is pretty good. That's when I was like, 'OK, so this does mean something.' "

"Swan Songs" would end up debuting in the Billboard top 25, a solid achievement for a new band.

And it marked the end of a long, pothole-strewn road for the Hollywood Undead, who spent years getting the album together and repeatedly got snared in music industry red tape.

"We went through hell to get that record out," Johnny says. "We went through three record labels. We were rich one second, poor the next, rich, poor. And all we wanted to do was go out and play, but you can't go out and play, 'cause they own the music. It was just a terrible time. So when I finally had the actual CD, you really do breathe a sigh of relief."

With a CD finally out, the group has been able to hit the road for the first time. Unlike many bands, who make the rounds in dive bars and veterans' halls for years, gradually building up a following, the Hollywood Undead established their audience first on the Web before attempting to tour, avoiding the financial perils of attempting to crisscross the country in pursuit of fleeting crowds.

"We have a very good fan base without the five years of touring and playing to 10 people," Johnny says. "As opposed to going out and grinding it out, we were just making music and putting it out directly to our audience, which saved us a lot of hassle. Now, on our first tour, we're selling it out and we don't have to worry about that sort of thing. We were fortunate to have an audience before we hit the road."

As he speaks, Johnny comes off as a pretty thoughtful, well-spoken dude.

He doesn't seem like the kind of guy who pays the rent by frequently waxing poetic about his genitalia.

Still, he insists that there's little difference between him and the man behind the mask.

"All the songs and all the music that we put out there is just reflections of ourselves," Johnny says. "It's not like, 'OK, I'm this dude now.' Who we write about is who we are."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.