Simply Unstoppable
The Used Have Overcome Plenty To Get Here

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>> The Used want you! >>

>> For Orem, Utah natives The Used, to say that they’ve had a busy year would be a vast understatement.   They spent last summer on Ozzfest and Warped, which seems almost an impossible task.  From Ozzfest, singer Bert McCracken has found himself mentioned in mainstream media because of his relationship with Kelly Osbourne.  Since then, the band has toured almost non-stop, garnering new fans around the world.

Most importantly for McCracken and his mates, guitarist Quinn Allman, bassist Jeph Howard and drummer Branden Steineckert, they’ve got some serious hits on their hands.  Their first single, “The Taste of Ink,” founds its way up to number 35 on the modern rock charts, and their self-titled debut has been as steadily climbing the charts as well, breaking into the top 100.  Their current single, “Buried Myself Alive,” is now in heavy rotation on rock radio, and the album has a few more singles to go.

The Used’s sound is a tough thing to define, which may explain why they were able to be so successful on both Ozzfest and Warped.  At times, they sound like the next great metal band; at other times, their as emo as you can get.   Then again, on “A Box Full of Sharp Objects,” McCracken goes back and forth between styles, which, intentionally, doesn’t allow the band to be categorized.   Some critics have been a bit dismayed at their inability to fit The Used into a set compartment, but what has happened is that their varied deliveries have generated a wider appeal.

For a group of guys that have fought drug addiction, homelessness and the lack of what anyone would call a ‘scene’ in their hometown, the angst, urgency and complete passion that the band champions is obviously not contrived – what you hear is honesty, dedication and unabridged pain.

In the midst of their meteoric rise, guitarist Quinn Allman called in to tell us what it’s like to live the rock star life:

>> Live, from Orem, Utah... >>

VOX: You guys survived Warped and Ozzfest, all in one summer.  How tough was last summer?
Quinn Allman: It was lots of tough love…but it was great, all in all.  You do get a little pressed near the end.  I forgot what home was like.  It was really tough at the end, but then coming home feels great, having clean clothes, your own bed…but then we're home for two and a half weeks and it's time to get back out on the road.

VOX: Your sound, to me, is really a hybrid of emo, metal and rock.  What do you guys see it as?  What influences you?
QA: Well…I'm not really influenced by metal, but I do like hard music, but more along the lines of Refused, Jawbox, At The Drive In, that stuff.  We're more just a rock band, I think, just straight-ahead rock.  Maybe more emo…on the emo side, I like Jimmy Eat World, Promise Ring, Milemarker…the Jade Tree [Records] stuff…   Bands like that are doing new things and using different sorts of song construction, and I think that's what interests me about them and is sort of an influence.

VOX: Sounds like [singer] Bert [McCracken] came away from Ozzfest with something…
QA: He came away with a little girlfriend.  For me it's like, outta sight, outta mind.  Friends, family, other people, they ask about it, but it's like, we're not thinking about it that way.  To me, to us, he not "Kelly's boyfriend," he's my friend, and the singer for our band.  If it overtook the music, then it might be a different story, but it hasn't.

She's really cool, actually.  He has a soft side and I think she appreciates him for it.  She's seen a lot of shit, a lot of chaos, but, you know, she's got a great sense of humor about everything.  She's really funny.

VOX: Has the whole Osbourne's/Kelly connection been a distraction for the band?
QA: We take a little different approach to it - we're kids form Utah who've been put, or put ourselves, into a certain situation.  We could let it all fuck our band over, but I just don't see us…I don't see it happening.  I think if something did happen, it would be a short discussion and that's it.

>> "You're going to get a raw, raw performance..." >>

VOX: With your album is out and climbing the charts, has anything changed for the band?
QA: My expectations have changed, for myself and I guess I see our potential…the potential to do a lot more.  That's probably the biggest thing.  I think we also have a lot more knowledge of how the industry works, a better knowledge of it, anyway.

VOX: You guys are from Utah.  It can't have been easy to form a rock band.
QA: It wasn't the easiest thing.  You've got to deal with religion and college and stuff like that.  You're trying to find people who aren't going on a [Mormon] mission and who can jam on a Sunday afternoon.  But, you know, I'm the person that I am because of where I'm from and I'm proud to say that this is home.  I think it makes you humble and appreciate some things a little more.

VOX: Let's talk about the music - tell me about "A Box Full of Sharp Objects."
QA: It's kind of a metaphor - what it's describing is that everyone has a great talent or love of some kind, like for us with music, we can use that as our weapon, in a way, to get across what we want to say.  It's our box of sharp objects…it's not a bad thing, but it's just, like, you have something that you're really good at, and you can use it to achieve something or get a point across or something like that.  It's your 'weapon,' something you can use.

VOX: Is there something you would like people to take away from your music?
QA: I want them to feel we're at eye level with them.  We came from nothing - a year ago we were in a garage, and we worked hard and here we are.  I want people to know they can achieve anything they want…I want them to be inspired.  Love us or hate us, but be inspired.

VOX: What should fans expect when they get to see The Used live?
QA: They should expect to see…we just try to go crazy.  Like with Rage Against The Machine, you could just watch it and go, "Holy shit!" because of the energy, not just because it sounds good.  You're going to see a fucking raw show.  We might break some strings or something, but you're going to get a raw, raw performance.   >>