The Used Bring More Than Two Decades of Pop-Punk to Revolution Live

While Utah is not often considered a musically rich state, bassist Jepha says the Beehive State's isolation was key to the formation and success of the Used.

"We're all from an hour outside Salt Lake City. In the late '90s, you had a lot of local bands who'd play together with nothing in common. There'd be a pop band playing followed by a hip-hop band, then a metal band," he tells New Times.

There also weren't a lot of venues. "You'd play house parties, skate parks, veteran halls, anywhere you could," Jepha adds. The lack of choices meant anyone who could play an instrument or had a love for music got to know each other. But still, when the Used started, Jepha and the two other founding members couldn't decide on a singer.

"We were dropouts from a lot of other bands. The three of us wrote songs and used songs like 'Maybe Memories' to audition singers," he explains.

Finally, in 2000, Bert McCracken, a longtime band acquaintance, joined as frontman. Success came very soon after that.

Barely a year after forming, the band signed to a major label, and by the time the sophomore album, In Love and Death, was released, the Used began a streak of landing four straight albums in the top ten.

Jepha remembers very clearly when he realized their band had made it. "It was when we played our first Warped Tour," he says of the traveling music festival, which the band first performed in 2003. "Before that, we were renting cars from family members to tour. All of a sudden, we were like, we can do this."

Still, Jepha quickly points out that he and the rest of the members of the Used will never rest on their laurels. "You can always get better. I always want to get better as a bassist, to be able to play more complicated songs. I want to get better at writing. You're never perfect, and you always try to be more original and inspiring."
Throughout the decades, the Used has gone through different routes to write and record its music. "When we started out, we sat in a room jamming. It could take an hour or a month in that room. It's not very efficient. Now, if someone has an idea, we record that part of the guitar line, then we'll add dummy drums and go from there. There's less nitpicking that way, but I still prefer jamming to find a song."

Thankfully, he finds more fulfillment when he plays live, as the Used will do when the band stops at Revolution Live on Friday, October 4.

"When you record, that's it, but in live shows, you can change things up, especially as the bass player. I'm in the background, so nobody notices if I'm playing something different. I won't change a main riff, but changing things up adds spice. We laugh and joke on stage. Playing shows is where we have fun. Waiting around and traveling is the work on tour."

This time, the band will try not to have too much fun while playing in Florida, as previous tours to our state have led to trouble. "No one's gotten eaten by an alligator," Jepha jokes before adding seriously. "We've had three arrests in Florida. Bert got arrested for smoking pot on stage, then another time for swearing on stage for inciting a riot. Then a guitarist got arrested for loitering."

Somehow, the Used survived. "We've been around since 2000. There have been ups and downs. We've been angry with each other, but we always get past it and come out the other end."

The Used. With Plain White T's and Raue. 6 p.m. Friday, October 4, at Revolution Live, 100 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-449-1025; jointherevolution.net. Tickets cost $53.50 via ticketmaster.com.