The used

Thrasher Magazine, March, 2005 by Stain

WHAT DO YOU GET when you cross guttural screaming vocals fused with melodically mesmerizing riffs, blended with assaults, arrests, and addiction to drugs? An exploding hybrid that defies definition yet is readily scarfed up by metal and scream-o aficionados. Straight out of Utah, the Mecca of the Mormon religion, The Used cast aside conservatism and deliver a powerful sonic counter reaction. Spawned out of tension and tragedy, The Used just released a full-length entitled In Love and Death. The Used remain true to their hard driving edge without even a hint of a sell out. I mean, how many major label's acts do you know that have links to skate sites on the band's website? And you thought the only good thing to come out of Utah was the Mormons.

In the special thanks section of the album you rub your success in the face of all the losers you went to school with. Why?

It goes out to all the people who honked at me from their cars as they drove past me while I walked to school. During high school I never had a car; in fact, no kid in my family has ever had a car. My parents didn't even care if we went to school. They slept and we had to walk to school. I'd usually get a ride or I'd try to hitchhike or walk to school, and it wasn't close either. Kids from my school would drive by me while I was walking or hitchhiking and blow their horn at me--but they wouldn't stop to pick me up, they were just messing with me. Then I'd get to school and see them in the hall and they'd be like, "Hey, what's up man?" like they were friends or something. It used to piss me off. So I thanked them on the album as a way of saying, "Hey, what's up man?" back at them. We're from God's Country and not to stereotype, but there are a lot of religious people in Utah, and because it's against the law to hitchhike they won't give you a fide. But they still want to think that they are the good people. Your song "Blue and Yellow" is obviously a song about drugs.

It might have a reference to drugs but it was meant to be more of a reference to when Bert and I were sitting down thinking about those two colors, blue and yellow. Those colors are the colors of our two individual personalities. See how a yellow and a blue, two different types of people, come together and mix really well. The song's about friendship and about how Bert and I are really tight bros.

The best song is the hidden mystery track. What's the story behind that one?

Out of the blue in London we paid like the worst, crummiest stripper to surprise Bert in the studio for his birthday. She was like 300 pounds; it's on our DVD and you can see the whole thing. Her name was Rolly Polly. Bert was singing "On My Own" in the studio recording when she walked in. It looked like she was wearing a nice dress--like a nice dress your Grandma wore, and we thought, "Maybe she works at the studio or something." She looked like she could work there. Then Bert was like, "Excuse me, can I help you? Is there something wrong?" And she was like, "No." And he goes, "I'm fucking tracking. What the fuck? You don't just fucking walk in while someone is recording." She was 55 or 60 years old. We paid her to do the embarrassing stripper thing to Bert, and it was priceless! The song "Bulimic" sounds Fugazi-ish.

When I first met Bert that's when he first showed me Fugazi. A lot of my friends were listening to it and I was in this band where we tried to learn this Fugazi song. I didn't like it but once it's in your head it influences your writing. I worship Jawbox and Fugazi influenced them too, so I guess you're correct. I think Bert had a girlfriend that was bulimic at one time. But he worked the concept into a song about throwing up or getting rid of his drug habit. For example, the lyric, "Each drag is a drop of blood ..." you get the idea.

There's a lot of screaming on your record. Is it more like Korn or like Cannibal Corpse?

Cannibal Corpse, because if Bert and I were going to sit down and listen to a record it would be Cannibal Corpse. But definitely not Korn.

"Sharp Objects" sounds like it's a body mutilation song.

Bert wrote the words about a weird Frank Zappa song--"Black" something. He was talking about music like the notes between the measures, but whatever people get out of the words in a song is cool with me, artistic interpretation and all. The song is not about mutilation, but people interpret it that way constantly. Art is to be interpreted, but the direction and vision that Bert and I had for "Sharp Objects" is basically the same.

What happened between The Used and Ozzy's daughter?

Bert was dating Kelly Osborne. He was just fucking around with her and it was nothing serious, nothing official. They were just fucking around with people and the media, but Sharon Osborne called Bert and threatened him, saying, "I'll kill you or have you killed if you talk shit about my daughter or try to ever see her ever again." And you don't mess with Sharon Osborne.

Words of wisdom to the skaters of the world?

I'm not a spokesperson. I just want kids to be inspired by my music. A lot of me is reflected in the music I write. I want kids to see that they can be an individual. See how they can take something simple and regular and tweak it and go left field with it. That can include skating or whatever. Take the dare to be inspired to do their own thing.