Interview with Dylan Alvarez (AKA Funny Man) of Hollywood Undead

Ahead of their trip to Australia for SOUNDWAVE 2015, Hollywood Undead front man, Dylan Alvarez, aka ‘Funny Man’ spoke to AMN’s Paul Dwyer.

Paul: Hi Mate. Thanks for taking the time to chat to us. What have Hollywood Undead been up to lately?

Funny Man: We’ve been in the studio the past few months, or the past year! You know from the end of last year to most of this year, just wrapping things up and getting ready for its release so… just been spending my time there! …As well as a couple of one-off shows too.

Paul: Ok, so more recording than gigging at the moment?

Funny Man: Yeah more recording, when we have offers to play one off shows, we tend to take them if we have time to step away from the studio, but we always make sure we’ve got a nice big chunk of work done before we go out so that way we’re not stressing out.

Paul: Well it’s been announced that you’re coming to Australia for SOUNDWAVE next year…

Funny Man: YEAH MAN – I’m very excited because one year we were supposed to do it and Eddie Van Halen got sick or something like that and he couldn’t make it so they had to cancel the tour so that was a bummer, but we ended up having a successful “club date” tour so yeah, it was fun!

We got a chance to explore a bit, I went to the Sydney Opera House and checked out an Opera & I got REALLY trashed so it wasn’t… I don’t remember too much, other than getting hissed at for leaving half way through the Opera! It was like a big ‘no-no’ in that world!

Paul: Do you know if you’re going to get time to explore a bit when you’re here next year? Or will it be all work & no play?

Funny Man: Ummm, I don’t know how long we’re out there for, so not too sure on how much time I’ll actually have to really explore, but last time I was there I got to check out a few things and I think I saw enough!

Paul: Fair enough. For Soundwave, you’re playing on the same stage as Faith No More, Sound Garden and Incubus, just to name a few. Have you played with those guys before?

Funny Man: We’ve played with Faith No More. They did like a “reunion tour” and we played with them down in Nottingham so that was pretty cool. You know, I grew up on them and one of the guys in our band is a huge Mike Patten fan, so to be able to share the stage with him is kind of an honour. And people tell me I look like Mike Patten a bit so… (laughing)

Paul: Haha really?

Funny Man: Yeah, Yeah it’s pretty bitchin’! We kind of have the same look goin’ on, you know the slick back and the moustache and yeah it’s a compliment! It’s cool, especially when you’re getting laid because of it, you know what I mean?

Paul: Hahaha ok! So what do you prefer between playing your own headline shows and the festivals with a heap of other bands?

Funny Man: oooh, Umm, I like the mixture of both. You know, the festivals are a great time because there are bands that are playing that you like to see and it makes it interesting. The festival tours are a lot easier to deal with but it’s always nice to have your own shows, with your own intimacy with your own fans and crowd, but with the festivals there’s a big mixture of different fans out there, it’s good because you’re gaining new fans. You know, as much as some are there to see you, there’s the other ones that are there to see other bands that are like “Oh wait, let’s check these dudes out, I like them, I’m gonna buy their album” so that helps, that’s the beauty of the festivals man.

Paul: Do you know if you’ll be doing any of your own side-shows while you’re here in Australia?

Funny Man: Umm, I think, I’m not sure how many, but I think there’s like 3 headline show gigs that we’re doing after the SOUNDWAVE festival. I think we’re gonna be out there for a little over a week. I’m not sure, I think there’s like 7 shows all up.

Paul: Oh good, it’s a long way to come for just the 4 shows!

Funny Man: Yeah well how many days is the festival? Hahaha I don’t even know how many days it is!

Paul: Haha, well it’s a 2 day festival, hitting 4 cities, but you’re only playing one day for each city!

Funny Man: Oh… cool, Yeah, right! Well yeah then we’ll be able to do a bit of our thing while we’re there too!

Paul: When you’re on tour, you guys spend a lot of time together and have for a long time, do you ever get sick of each other?

Funny Man: Yeah, we all get along really well. We all grip together so we know when to push each other’s buttons and when to stop and all that shit so, you know there are times when we could get sick of each other but we kind of forget about it because we care and all look after each other. We’re like one big family, man, so we take care of each other.

Paul: Is that the same as when you’re writing? I mean you all sing and you’re all very versatile so during the writing process, are the verses and raps written specifically for one member, or is that selection come later on, after a song’s been written?

Funny Man: Well, it all depends on what we’re writing at the time, for that particular song. It could be about that person, it could be about someone else, but whatever comes out, comes out, we just sort of go with how it flows and that’s just how it goes.

Paul: And you’ve mentioned a new album on your social media pages, due out around the same time as SOUNDWAVE, what can we expect from that?

Funny Man: Well the way I look at it is, we’re writing a new chapter, with all the shit that’s been going on with us in the past few years, so it’s like we’re writing a new chapter but rewriting the first so we’re kind of leaning back towards what we did with “Swan Songs” but we’ve matured a lot throughout the years, you know & I think the mixture of the two will give it a nice blend of what we did with the past three records coming in to this fourth record.

Paul: Looking forward to it. Well thanks for taking the time to chat to us at The Australian Musicians Network. Enjoy the rest of your day and I’ll catch up with you when you’re down here in Australia.

Funny Man: Cheers Paul. Yeah catch you then. Peace!