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The Used.
 On the lips, play lists, mix tapes and t-shirts of kids the world over, The Used are pretty much the band of the moment. They graduated from support to headlining act for the Vans Warped Tour in just one year, pop up frequently on both alternative and mainstream radio and video request shows, have two amazing albums under their (studded) belts and they sold out their one and only Australian show in a mere matter of minutes earlier this year. But you think you know your favourite band? Think again. See, the band's bassist Jeph Howard has found the perfect way to trick all you fans and walk namelessly through the crowds of people who idolise him. And, over the phone as he sits in the bathroom of their tour bus as it speeds down some highway in the middle of nowhere, he's more than happy to explain that the answer is simple: grow some facial hair.
"Man, it was so stupid," gushes Howard. "It was Warped Tour, we'd played a whole bunch of cities and I just decided to stop shaving, and had this really rugged beard going and suddenly nobody knew who I was. I mean, I've got the same tattoos and the same hair but for some reason the beard just fooled everybody and I was wandering around these shows like some regular person, nobody came up to me. It's been such a long time since I could do that. Even after I shaved the beard and just kept the moustache for a little while there was nothing. But then I got sick of that and shaved that off too and suddenly I was recognisable again. Go figure," he laughs. "It's still strange to me to have people want to walk up and talk and stuff. It seems like only yesterday we were still nobodies trying to get our band off the ground."
The band aren't nobodies anymore though: their self-titled debut album had record companies fighting over who'd get to sign them, while their latest effort 'In Love And Death' saw them rework and refine their sound, and the fans have certainly lapped it all up. "When it came time to go back into the studio, it wasn't like some sort of mental effort or anything. We just figured it was time, we knew what we wanted to do, how we wanted it to sound and John Feldmann was again the obvious choice of who we wanted to work with - he's always willing to work towards making things sound the exact way we want, which is great."
However, the months and months of touring and work took a slight toll on the band, and Howard found himself a little detached from his band mates. At the beginning of their career, they'd been inseparable. Now, everybody seems to have their own things going on. "But it's not a bad thing," Howard assures me. "If anything, I think this is why our band has worked out so well. Instead of all having one brain and doing the same thing, you have four of us as totally different people, with our own ideas and tastes and everything. Our music is just one big mix of so many different things."
The Used have been part of the Warped festivities for a few years now and were an obvious choice for the latest variation of the famous outdoor festival: the Taste Of Chaos tour. Soon to hit our shores, Taste Of Chaos went across the United States earlier this year with one of the most amazing line-ups anybody could wish for. But while it's like a smaller version of Vans Warped, there's one main difference that makes Howard one happy camper. "Outdoor shows are so overrated," he states, quite matter-of-factly. "I definitely prefer indoor shows. But that's the basic idea behind Taste Of Chaos. We wanted to bring together a bunch of bands and the same sort of fun and craziness that Warped has, only better because it's indoors. So things sound better, venues can be better and you get to have things like light shows and stuff like that. So it looks ten times better, you know? You guys are in for some pretty amazing stuff."
Ryan Smith
 | The Used play at Taste Of Chaos at the Entertainment Centre on Sun 23 Oct, alongside Funeral For A Friend, Story Of The Year, Rise Against and more. |
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