Bass guitarist Johnny 3 Tears talks touring with Falling in Reverse, industry sharks and the ‘game’ of music
I had sort of anticipated my conversation with Hollywood Undead would flow similar to most. A polite smattering of small talk at the start, then the usual press release-style answers to the questions everyone asks.
My conversation with bass guitarist Johnny 3 Tears turned out to be anything but that.
When Johnny 3 Tears—whose real name is George Ragan, jumped onto our Zoom call, he looked exactly as I thought he would. Covered in tattoos from head to toe, he had these massive arms that looked like they could snap a guitar neck in half. He was dialling in from his now adopted home of Nashville, having left Los Angeles two years prior.
“Everybody moved here during COVID,” he said, his voice thick with a touch of frustration. “You could still record here, but LA was locked down. So, all these people started moving here. I had to get away from these arseholes!”
Ragan was just about to board a flight to Australia for Hollywood Undead’s tour with Falling in Reverse, and despite the excitement of the tour, there was no hiding his dread about the long-haul flight ahead.
“Man, I’m dreading that flight,” he groaned. “If it wasn’t for that damn flight, we’d go to Australia every other year. The main reason I hate flying now is I quit drinking. I used to get hammered to make it bearable, but now I’m just aware of everything. I’ll probably take a Xanax, but it’s still awful. It’s worth it, though.”
This tour marked Hollywood Undead’s fourth time supporting Falling in Reverse, and in Ragan’s eyes, it was bound to be one of the easier ones (flight aside).
“We’ve known each other off and on for a while,” Ragan explained, referring to the band’s relationship with Ronnie Radke and Falling in Reverse. “It’s kind of incestual, the whole metalcore thing. Ronnie [Radke], like us, is into hip-hop.”
Hip- hop has of course been a key influence in Falling in Reverse’s sound. Seamlessly blended rap and rock in their music, Hollywood Undead forged a unique sound that was unlike anything else in the scene. When I asked Ragan if it was intentional, he shook his head.
“Not at all,” he said, the words almost slipping out before he had time to think about it. “I grew up a hip-hop fan. Wu-Tang was the shit. Nas, Ice Cube. I was in Highland Park, and the gangster stuff was more the reality. I wasn’t into metal at all. Later I got into post-metal and grunge. Emo, dark stuff. That’s where we found our sound. We just listened and let it shape us.”
Their seminal 2008 album Swan Songs came from these diverse influences. Blending rap, rock, and a raw energy that managed to find a home in the category of ‘rap- rock’. But Ragan insists it wasn’t the band’s plan to fall into the rap-rock category.
“That album was never meant to be rap-rock,” he said. “Danny Lohner produced it, and we were actually trying to make something industrial. But, you know, it ended up as it did. I don’t see us as a rap-rock band.”
Looking back, Ragan reflects on how Swan Songs feels now, more than a decade later. “That was half my life ago,” he laughed. “I listen to it now, and I cringe at some of it. A lot of it is cool, though. There’s an innocence to it. The world hadn’t beaten the shit out of us yet. Our hearts hadn’t been stepped on!”
“Have your hearts been stepped on since?” I naturally ask.
Upon hearing my question, Ragan briefly cocked his head to the side, thinking about how to respond correctly. “What I will say is as you get older you realise life isn’t what it’s always cracked up to be.”
I could tell Ragan wanted to say more. But I could also see the debate within his mind as to whether he should. He was clearly weighing his words carefully.
“When we wrote ‘Undead,’ Swan Songs had just been shelved. We’d gotten all this money from Interscope, but we were screwed over. ‘Undead’ was basically a diss track to the industry at that point. We were pissed. That’s when we realised that a lot of people pretend to be your friends as long as you’re making them money.”
That’s when I brought up Chappell Roan’s emotional speech at the 2025 Grammys, where she called out the industry for failing to support its artists, especially the younger ones. I wanted to know if Ragan had felt that same pressure throughout his career.
His response was blunt. “Swan Songs sold four or five million copies, but we only got 16% of that,” he said, shaking his head. “Then your lawyers take a cut, your managers take a cut, and you’re taxed. A lot of people think we’re rolling in it, but we’re not. The only way to make money is on the road, selling t-shirts.”
Despite his frustration with the system, Ragan was quick to add that he doesn’t think all record labels are inherently bad—just predatory. He pointed to Jimmy Iovine, who signed them to Interscope, as an example of the complex nature of the business.
“Jimmy’s a cool guy,” he said. “But he’s also a businessman who wants to make money off you. It’s not personal; it’s just the way it works.”
Then, Ragan turned to a subject that’s a bit more personal to him: insurance. Musicians are often faced with bizarre realities, and one of them is the struggle to qualify for health insurance if they’re not making enough royalties.
“If you don’t generate a certain amount every year, you don’t get insurance,” he explained. “You need to make $30k in royalties every six months. That’s $200k in royalties for the label. If you don’t, you don’t qualify. A poor musician is fine—they’ve got Medicaid. Rich musicians are fine. It’s those of us in the middle who really struggle.”
After years in the business, Ragan’s view of the industry has shifted. He’s seen the ugly side but also understands the game. And, despite everything, he still plays it.
“It’s a game,” he said with a knowing nod. “The guys who screw you over are the ones who’ll show up at your baby shower. They’ll fuck you, but that’s the game.”
Hollywood Undead are currently touring Australia with Falling in Reverse. They are also performing side shows in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. Tickets can be purchased here.
RELATED
MORE IN Features
