The Used

Wed 21st Dec, 2011 in Features

You would be forgiven for feeling a little intimidated by the likes of Bert McCracken. Reliving the collection of music videos The Used has produced over the past decade, I was somewhat disconcerted by the prospect of speaking to the man who in one, violently stabs a person to death. He presents himself in a shroud of black (eyeliner, hair, t-shirts, jeans, tats) and has been known to projectile vomit mid-song due to the intensity of his screaming.

Some of Bert’s more colourful accolades include an onstage mouth-kiss with Marylyn Manson; Falling offstage mid-set and breaking his arm, wrist and hand; And a cameo on The Osbournes during his relationship with Kelly. However, McCracken is a disarming antithesis of his onstage persona; laughing along merrily and even dropping, “the pleasure is all mine” into the conversation like he would everyday.

As part of the Utah four-piece, McCracken has had a long and successful career. The Used have released four – soon to be five – gold and platinum albums, toured the world and conquered the punk-rock scene since 2001. Here, he talks about his pending visit to Australia, watching the porn version of The Osbournes with Kelly and what he considers to be the worst way to die.

Are you looking forward to playing the Soundwave?
Oh I can’t wait. Australia is one of my most favourite places in the whole world to be, let alone play. There are so many cool bands on the bill and we haven’t played in Australia in a while so really looking forward to it.

What do you like about Australia?
The people are just really chilled out. There’s a lot of good energy and a really relaxed vibe. It’s a beautiful place in general and I’ve got a lot of friends and family there. My wife is Australian. The first time we toured over there she was working for Warner and I snagged her up [laughs].

You share a lot of yourself in your songs and your interviews, and tend to be pretty candid. How does it feel having so many people know so many intimate details about your life?
Oh, I only pretend to let people in. I’ve only really let people see about five per cent of me. In a way though, I think that half the reason people can relate to a person like me, is that I’m a regular kid from a regular small town and the reason why I make music is because I love music and I’m a fan first.

My friend and his buddy have the lyrics ‘I’d rather waste my time with you; tattooed down their sides.
Oh nice!

Yeah, so your words obviously mean a lot to them. How does that make you feel knowing your lyrics, that are personal to you, mean so much to your fans?
It’s lovely. It’s honestly very, very flattering and it blows my mind how many hardcore fans we have and how passionate people feel about the music. With my lyrics, I’ve always tried to write about things that are personal to me, but I’ve also tried to keep it general enough so that people can relate to it in any possible way to things that are happening in their own lives.