Hollywood
Undead’s Johnny 3 Tears is not worried about performing on the same
stage as the likes of Linkin Park, Tool or Alice in Chains on Saturday
at KROQ’s Epicenter ’09 rock festival in Pomona.

“We performed with [Linkin Park] twice in Japan and there were
a lot of bands. This is the same kind of vibe. It would be different if
it was direct support.”

Hollywood Undead is scheduled to perform at 2:35 p.m. Saturday on the main stage at Pomona’s Fairplex.

“It’s
kind of surreal,” said the rocker, who doesn’t divulge his given name.
“We worked for five years trying to get signed and the second we let
that go we’re like, ‘Let’s do this for us now …”‘

Now, the band is part of the mix at Epicenter ’09, which starts at noon on Saturday.

Not
bad for a relatively new Hollywood band that has had its mix of rap,
metal and industrial tunes featured on KROQ radio recently.

“On radio in the last year we’ve been played on 30 or 40
radio stations,” he said. “It meant more to be played on KROQ because
that was my home town, and people I knew grew up listening to it.”

The band’s sound, which has been compared, sometimes disparagingly, to Limp Bizkit and even Insane Clown Posse, is memorable.

“I’d
rather be in this band which is original and new and (ticks) people off
rather than the thousands of bands I can’t tell the difference
between,” he said.

Ultimately, the group is making music they want to make and fans enjoy it.

The six-member
group’s album “Swan Songs” was recorded three years ago and was
originally set to be released on Myspace Records in 2005.

But the group was told to make changes on the album because of its explicit content so they left.

“They felt like, ‘You guys are cussing on purpose’ but it’s the way people talk and feel,” he said.

The group’s next record will be darker, he said.

“We have more rock songs on the record. It’s more of a darker hip-hop element … with darker, more serious subject matter.”

KROQ’s EPICENTER ’09

Starring: Linkin Park, Tool, Alice in Chains, Hollywood Undead, Atmosphere and more

Where: Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona

When: Noon to 11 p.m. Saturday

Cost: VIP $125, regular ticket $79.50 plus fees

Information: www.ticketmaster.com