George Ragan (born on June 24, 1981), better known by his

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Johnny 3 Tears (acronymized as J3T), is an American musician who sings and plays bass guitar for the band

Hollywood Undead Hollywood Undead is an American rap rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2005. All of the band members use pseudonyms and previously wore their own unique mask, most of which were based on the common goaltender mask, hockey goalten ...

Early life

Ragan grew up in a rough neighborhood of

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

that was heavily affected by street gun violence, drugs, graffiti, and gangs (particularly the

18th Street gang The 18th Street Gang, also known as , , , or simply in North America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Culture of Mexico, Mexican) street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest street gangs in Los Angeles, with around 30 ...

). In preschool and kindergarten, he was close friends with some of his future Hollywood Undead bandmates, including Charlie Scene (birth name Jordon Terrell). Ragan's parents regularly gave him books for Christmas to aid his education. At the age of 17, Ragan graduated from high school while at juvenile hall for firearm possession.

Career

With Hollywood Undead

Ragan co-founded

in 2005; the band started out by posting their music to

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

, and their popularity on the platform landed them a deal with MySpace Records after

Tom Anderson Thomas Anderson (born November 8, 1970) is an American technology entrepreneur and co-founder of the social networking website Myspace, which he founded in 2003 with Chris DeWolfe. He was later president of Myspace and a strategic adviser ...

took notice and invited the band out to dinner. In 2008, Ragan assisted in writing the band's breakthrough single "

Undead The undead are beings in mythology, legend, or fiction that are deceased but behave as if they were alive. A common example of an undead being is a cadaver, corpse reanimated by supernatural forces, by the application of either the deceased's o ...

", which reflects an expression of the band's frustrations after getting into the corporate side of the music industry. The song "Pour Me" (from the 2011 album '' American Tragedy''), in which Ragan does all the rapping, contains introspective lyrics that chronicle his battle with alcohol. In 2012, Ragan helped write the song "

We Are We Are may refer to: * We Are (Jon Batiste album), ''We Are'' (Jon Batiste album), 2021 * We Are (The City Harmonic album), ''We Are'' (The City Harmonic album), 2015 * We Are (Lucy Spraggan album), ''We Are'' (Lucy Spraggan album), 2015 * We Are ( ...

" as a means to inspire youth and teen fans; he started by writing the chorus for the song.

Solo career

On May 14, 2021, Ragan released a solo album titled ''The Abyss'' under the moniker "George Ragan the Dead Son". On March 27, 2024, he featured on the song "Vendetta" by TX2.

Musical influences

Ragan has cited his ten most influential albums as '' Sea Change'' by

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

(2002), '' Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)'' by

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

(1993), '' Pretty Hate Machine'' by

Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...

(1989), ''

Relationship of Command ''Relationship of Command'' is the third studio album by American post-hardcore band At the Drive-In, released on September 12, 2000. The album combines an aggressive edge with a melodic drive, harmonious, emotive vocals, and surreal lyrics. Whil ...

'' by

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (drums ...

(2000), '' Generation Rx'' by

Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards), and ...

(2018), ''

For Those That Wish to Exist ''For Those That Wish to Exist'' is the ninth studio album by British metalcore band Architects. It was released on 26 February 2021 through Epitaph Records. The album was produced by Dan Searle and Josh Middleton. Composition Style and themes ...

'' by

Architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

(2021), '' Now Or Never'' by Giggs (2020), ''Ghøstkid'' by Ghøstkid (2020), '' Who Do You Trust?'' by

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

(2019), and ''...If You Don't Save Yourself'' by Zero 9:36 (2021).

Other ventures

Since 2010, Ragan and Hollywood Undead bandmate J-Dog (birth name Jorel Decker) have run a

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

business together called "Dove and Grenade". They began by

growing Growing may refer to: * Growth (disambiguation) * Growing (band), an American noise band * ''Growing'' (Rina Chinen album), 1998 * ''Growing'' (Sleeping People album), 2007 * ''Growing'', a 1961 autobiographical book by Leonard Woolf See also ...

in a few garages in the

North Hollywood North Hollywood is a neighborhood and district in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles, California. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, El Portal Theater, several art galleries, and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Th ...

and Sylmar neighborhoods of Los Angeles. After the 2018 legalization of cannabis in Oklahoma for medical usage, Ragan and Decker moved their company's operations eastward to

Lindsay, Oklahoma Lindsay is a city in Garvin County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,840 at the 2010 census. It once promoted itself as "The Broomcorn Capital of the World" but no longer uses that slogan, as broomcorn is no longer raised in the a ...

in 2019.

Personal life

In an interview with ''Cryptic Rock'', Ragan stated that he regularly meditates, and that he enjoys exploring the culture of places that he visits on tour. Around early 2020, Ragan moved from his native Los Angeles to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

for a "change of pace".

References

{{Hollywood Undead Musicians from Los Angeles Rappers from Los Angeles Businesspeople in the cannabis industry 1981 births Living people