The Used is a band that sits near and dear to my heart ever since the ’02 release of their first, and self titled, album which features personal favorites “Blue and Yellow”, “Maybe Memories” and “On My Own” (the first song I could ever play on guitar and sing at the same time). And so, it was quite a personal honor to converse with the front man, Bert McCracken, at the sold out Vans Warped Tour in San Francisco, which boasted 20,000+ in attendance. Bert shared with me the band’s message and motivations, as well as their current creative endeavors. The mindset behind their latest album, Vulnerable, is described as follows on the band’s website:
Vulnerability is commonly defined as “the inability to withstand the effects of a hostile environment.” It can be a time frame, when “defensive measures are reduced, compromised or lacking” or more personally, the soul-shaking moment when we stare in a mirror, finally seeing every last flaw. The answer is to somehow find the strength to heal, repair and improve, and for the Used, music is that salvation.
Turning personal adversity into art is the Used’s trademark, and the band’s fifth full-length, Vulnerable, was a record that simply had to be made.
When we sat down to talk, there were still a few hours before their scheduled set time. The air was laid back, and as relaxed as it could be amidst a horde of tour buses with droning engines struggling to keep their occupants cool on the unusually warm day in the city. Come show time, however, it was an entirely different scene all together. Masses of people converged on the main stage at the culmination of the day long event, where The Used played a completely solid set of old favorites as well as tracks from their latest release. Waves of raised arms swayed back and forth within a sea of jumping bodies, that simultaneously rose and fell to the beat. A solid row of security marked the border between the chaos and the stage. The awkward space sandwiched between the two filled with frantic cameras trying to capture all the energy. The atmosphere was intense. And the show? …entertaining as hell.
Check out what Bert had to say, and keep up to date on The Used on their Facebook and website.
video filmed and edited by John Foy
photos by Tina Barnes
