Jeph Howard - The Used (24/10/2013)
For some, The Used may be a band that triggers memories of MySpace, choppy hair and above-head-looking-down “selfies”. From those times, many of us have moved through our phases (looks like mum was right about that hairstyle) and on with our lives. We have aged, possibly graduated, and it is likely that we now cringe upon the mere thought of that point in our life.
Try as you might try to suppress that version of you, there has been no suppressing The Used at any point over the past thirteen years that have occurred since their formation.
The band has come a long way since you last jammed out to All That I’ve Got and I Caught Fire full blast in your poster-clad bedroom, not caring about what your parents thought. They’ve been banned from Canada, produced some incredible music under their brand new label, been unbanned from Canada and now they’re heading back to Australia very soon for this year’s Warped tour.
Jeph Howard, bass legend of The Used, is rightfully proud of just how far this group of musicians has come.
“Being in a band is hard. It’s really tough – no joke. The music’s the easy part. That’s what’s funny. Once you start with all this other stuff, it makes it very difficult. And for us to last as long as we have, if we could get awards for that, I would accept it. It’s hard for me to take awards for anything, but that’s what I would take an award for. That we’ve lasted thirteen years.”
He says that although he prefers headlining tours, festivals are still important in that there are a lot of people who didn’t even know they were coming.
“There’s so much more publicity with festivals than there is with normal tours. Everybody comes out like ‘Oh, I haven’t seen them in forever! I didn’t know they were still touring!’ It’s like, ‘well, yeah, we still are.’
“Unfortunately at festivals we don’t have that much time and we have to keep it shorter. But, you’re still gonna hear your favourites.”
Aside from playing bass, there was a time when Howard was also recognised for his incredible base-jumping skills. He, along with front man Bert McCracken, guitarist Quinn Allman and drummer Dan Whitesides, would often entertain fans with quirky YouTube videos but lately we haven’t seen much candid online activity from The Used. The YouTube channel is much more music-focused and McCracken deleted both his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
“I’m so sick of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vine,” says Howard. “You could name anything. What happened to mystery? What happened to not knowing anything about somebody? And having that as exciting. Everybody knows every detail about every single band and to me it’s not as fun. I try to avoid it. I agree to some point, it’s fun. But I think we’re shying away.”
You generally won’t find tour photos or daily updates of #foodporn on Howard’s Instagram profile. Although he isn’t an advocate of social media, he occasionally keeps followers updated with images of beautiful places he has visited, thought provoking quotes and snippets of life away from the stage.
“I try to keep it away from the band as much as possible. I’m sure I’ll still put stuff on Instagram of me being somewhere in the world”.
Lately, The Used has been turning focus to greater and more pressing issues than social media. Their brand new EP, The Ocean Of The Sky features some tracks that bring to surface some deep subject matter. McCracken’s raw vocals accompany music videos that paint confronting images of war and corruption behind nations, politics and major corporations.
“I think a lot of the lyrics on the record are based on all of our interests in what’s going on right now. There’s a wave coming. It’s not just a wave; it’s a giant storm. It’s all about us learning more about it and us as people knowing more and coming together. ‘Cos people are good – large corporations are bad. Where I’m at in this country is kinda sketchy. You can see it if you’re here, and a lot of people are talking about it."
“I won’t go into too many details. I am being recorded not just by you but by other people. It’s a time and place where you should keep your eyes open. Shop local. Do your part.“
But The Used is bringing the fire to the storm. And maybe Tom Cruise.
“We are bringing lots of fire,” said Howard of their return to Australia. “We’re bringing famous people. Tom Cruise will be there to announce us. Hugh Jackman’s coming. He might be playing a song or two with us.”
Howard assures The Used fans that they will be back in the future for a headlining tour, but for now the band are gearing up to share the stage with the likes of Russell Crowe.
“He is sitting in for Quinn [Allman, guitarist] that whole show. And the main guys from Breaking Bad will be there too, doing sign language.”
You don’t want to miss out on this.
Jess Morman
Try as you might try to suppress that version of you, there has been no suppressing The Used at any point over the past thirteen years that have occurred since their formation.
The band has come a long way since you last jammed out to All That I’ve Got and I Caught Fire full blast in your poster-clad bedroom, not caring about what your parents thought. They’ve been banned from Canada, produced some incredible music under their brand new label, been unbanned from Canada and now they’re heading back to Australia very soon for this year’s Warped tour.
Jeph Howard, bass legend of The Used, is rightfully proud of just how far this group of musicians has come.
“Being in a band is hard. It’s really tough – no joke. The music’s the easy part. That’s what’s funny. Once you start with all this other stuff, it makes it very difficult. And for us to last as long as we have, if we could get awards for that, I would accept it. It’s hard for me to take awards for anything, but that’s what I would take an award for. That we’ve lasted thirteen years.”
He says that although he prefers headlining tours, festivals are still important in that there are a lot of people who didn’t even know they were coming.
“There’s so much more publicity with festivals than there is with normal tours. Everybody comes out like ‘Oh, I haven’t seen them in forever! I didn’t know they were still touring!’ It’s like, ‘well, yeah, we still are.’
“Unfortunately at festivals we don’t have that much time and we have to keep it shorter. But, you’re still gonna hear your favourites.”
Aside from playing bass, there was a time when Howard was also recognised for his incredible base-jumping skills. He, along with front man Bert McCracken, guitarist Quinn Allman and drummer Dan Whitesides, would often entertain fans with quirky YouTube videos but lately we haven’t seen much candid online activity from The Used. The YouTube channel is much more music-focused and McCracken deleted both his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
“I’m so sick of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Vine,” says Howard. “You could name anything. What happened to mystery? What happened to not knowing anything about somebody? And having that as exciting. Everybody knows every detail about every single band and to me it’s not as fun. I try to avoid it. I agree to some point, it’s fun. But I think we’re shying away.”
You generally won’t find tour photos or daily updates of #foodporn on Howard’s Instagram profile. Although he isn’t an advocate of social media, he occasionally keeps followers updated with images of beautiful places he has visited, thought provoking quotes and snippets of life away from the stage.
“I try to keep it away from the band as much as possible. I’m sure I’ll still put stuff on Instagram of me being somewhere in the world”.
Lately, The Used has been turning focus to greater and more pressing issues than social media. Their brand new EP, The Ocean Of The Sky features some tracks that bring to surface some deep subject matter. McCracken’s raw vocals accompany music videos that paint confronting images of war and corruption behind nations, politics and major corporations.
“I think a lot of the lyrics on the record are based on all of our interests in what’s going on right now. There’s a wave coming. It’s not just a wave; it’s a giant storm. It’s all about us learning more about it and us as people knowing more and coming together. ‘Cos people are good – large corporations are bad. Where I’m at in this country is kinda sketchy. You can see it if you’re here, and a lot of people are talking about it."
“I won’t go into too many details. I am being recorded not just by you but by other people. It’s a time and place where you should keep your eyes open. Shop local. Do your part.“
But The Used is bringing the fire to the storm. And maybe Tom Cruise.
“We are bringing lots of fire,” said Howard of their return to Australia. “We’re bringing famous people. Tom Cruise will be there to announce us. Hugh Jackman’s coming. He might be playing a song or two with us.”
Howard assures The Used fans that they will be back in the future for a headlining tour, but for now the band are gearing up to share the stage with the likes of Russell Crowe.
“He is sitting in for Quinn [Allman, guitarist] that whole show. And the main guys from Breaking Bad will be there too, doing sign language.”
You don’t want to miss out on this.
Jess Morman