Welcome to Part Two of the HMR Heavy Metal America Spotlight story. This time we take a look at; Funhouse.
Funhouse -No not the famous 90s kids wacky-warehouse gameshow – the hair metal, imaged obsessed Funk Rockers from Hollywood!
Metal/Heavy Pop/Funkthrashers, Funhouse were bold, colourful and vibrant and stood out like sore thumb in Glam-ridden LA. They were even armed with their very own Mascot, Alfee The Clown (Move aside Eddie!) who was 
apparently so cool that even Dangerous Toys stole the clown logo and passed it off as their own (Tut-Tut!). Alfee's appearence changed with the bands sound - when they were Glam Punk, Alfie had tight jeans and a leather jacket, and when frontman Chris Hazard started dressing like a clown, Alfee got some dreads and a stripey outfit to match.
Funhouse formed in 1986 after growing up in LA during the "KISS years" . Consequently they were heavily influenced by the early LA metal scene at this time with the likes of Motley Crue, W.A.S.P and Guns N' Roses quickly carving houeshold names for themselves. The band were in their own words "raised on a diet of both English and American Punk, Batcave Goth, Rockabilly, some early Metallica and a bit of Finnish Glam." This resulted in a band who recognised that both image and sound needed to be highly charged, progressive and heavy.
Local promoters helped the band to carve themselves a niche to differentiate the band from other 'strip' bands.
The band graced stages with big name bands including Suicidal Tendancies, Slayer, Soundgarden, Guns N' Roses, White Zombie, Motorhead, Megadeth, The Nymphs, L.A Guns, The Damned, NOFX, Danzig and Jane's Addiction!
Heavy Metal America released the bands debut album 'Generation Generator' in 1990 to rave reviews and numerous column inches in all the big magazines of the day - Metal Hammer, Metal Forces, Raw Magazine and Kerrang! Magazine - check out some of the press clippings we found in the great HMR Archive!
Unfortunately, after this release the band disappeared... and that was the sadly the end of Funhouse. Former Funhouse lead guitar player Marc Vachon now designs very rock apparell for numerous rockstars including Slash, Scott Weiland, Alice In Chains, Papa Roach and Buckcherry! You can check out Marc's designs at the following location.
Music-wise, Funhouse have been decribed as a mix of Motley Crue meets Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but you can be the judge for yourself by watching the video below. We're sure that you'll agree that Funhouse had a very striking and unique image!
