The Kids Are Alright

Just announced as one of the headline acts on Vans Warped Tour's Australian return, The Used are currently reacquainting themselves with the travelling road show once more. The melodic post-hardcore four-piece from Utah have just walked off the stage at the Virginia Beach leg of the American Warped Tour and Bert McCracken is vibing on the long-standing punk rock institution. As military planes fly above he talks about what the festival symbolises to him.

“I guess in my mind it really represents a common bond between artist and fan, or artist and patron if you will. I think the feeling of equality and everyone getting together because they love music is a really powerful thing. There's a real common bond on this year's Warped Tour, kinda thinking deeper and maybe trying to change the world a little bit. Giving a shit.”

And for the 31-year-old, it means everything to be able to give back to fans at an event that helped his passion for music burn in the beginning. “I went to Warped for like four or five years [as a punter] and I loved it, it was like my one chance during the summer to get out and feel like I was part of something,” he recalls with a smile. “So I understand how it is out here.

“The first time I ever went to Warped I think I was twelve or thirteen and I got right through the gates and I went straight to the front of the very first show – I can't even remember who was playing – and immediately I went up for an epic crowd surf and somebody pulled off both my shoes and I just loved it – loved it. And I still walk around with no shoes, still looking for that motherfucker that stole my shoes!”

The success of their self-titled debut record saw The Used thrust onto the festival bill in 2002 when the band members were barely in their twenties, and since then they've been included on the Warped line-up six times, including the last two years.

“I feel really blessed to have fans that still give a shit after twelve, thirteen years – it feels really good,” admits McCracken. “It's immensely humbling and I think because we gave a shit from the beginning and we do this because we love music and we understand that there's absolutely nothing that separates the fan and the artist – we are one, we're all one – and I think that's why The Used has remained somewhat successful; as successful as anyone would ever dream to be, that's for sure.”

As a music lover first and foremost, it's this grounded mindset that has positioned McCracken as one of the most iconic and popular figures in punk circles. “It's such a logical, rational feeling to want to have everybody feel equal,” he reasons, “although it's kind of a myth of our culture that there's a 'rock star' up on stage that's somehow more important than the people who love the art that he's created. So I think from day one we got it and it separates The Used from [the pack], and I think there's a lot of other bands out there that feel the exact same way as we do and it's a great time for music in that aspect, for sure.”

It's also a great time for The Used to be announced on a national (or thereabouts) tour Down Under as McCracken won't have to venture too far from his own backyard. The frontman has just tied the knot with an Aussie and will be soon calling Sydney home. “I'm really excited about living there man, becoming a dual citizen and getting my fucking Straya on!” Yep, Bert's going to be one of us – “[You] know it! But we all are one the same aren't we? We really all are bits of stardust.”

With two weeks of downtime at their disposal earlier in the year and new musical ideas still flowing through their veins, The Used jumped into the studio to cut some tracks, writing, recording and producing five songs that have just been revealed to the world as The Ocean Of The Sky. Working as a bridging release between their 2012 LP, Vulnerable, and a forthcoming full-length slated for early 2014, the EP shows a band who aren't perfect, and McCracken likes that. He likes that the band were at liberty to include all the mistakes, the kind that give songs character, and admits: “It's nice to be able to breathe. It's nice to have no one looking over your shoulder while you are creating,” referencing The Used's label independence on their own imprint, Anger Management Music Group.

“The songs are really full of a lot of deep and quick sonic messages, so dig deep, there are a lot of secrets in there,” he stresses of The Ocean Of The Sky. “We kept it real stripped down and we kinda wanted to pay homage to what we loved growing up and that's like Nirvana and Sonic Youth and lots of really noisy stuff, so it's kinda noisy but if you can take it you'll love it. It requires some heavy thinking at times and in some ways it could be offensive, but it's only to provoke thought. Trust me, you can listen to it over and over and you still won't discover everything, because I've studied some really tricky semiotics and some stenography and deep subliminal messaging, so be a part of this fresh new world of positive thinking that you never could imagine you could be a part of!” he guffaws.

At this moment the four-piece are only playing one track off the EP live, opening stand Iddy Biddy, but the frontman says that the singalong the song is generating is electric, and they can't wait to incite the same levels of passion when they bring their abrasive love-in to Australian stages later this year.

“I think The Used are one of the bands [where] we break it down into such a simplistic idea during our live show that it's really all about smiling and the escape that is a rock show, being able to feel free and be yourself and not have to worry about anything else in the world like money or power or religion or anyone judging you. The Used plays with all of our hearts and we're really honest about what we believe in and we're convicted in our passion for music, so we hope you enjoy.”