The Way It Used To Be
by Tina Whelski
All it took was new management, a new producer, and a new album for The Used to re-familiarize themselves with their old way of making music. The Used’s fourth studio album, Artwork, is due out on September 1 on Reprise Records, and it marks a turning point, or possibly a returning point, for the band.
The Orem, Utah band was certainly appreciative of its rising success. They spent eight great years touring and appearing at major festivals like Warped Tour, Ozzfest, Leeds, and Taste of Chaos, while selling more than two million albums in the U.S. alone.
But band members Bert McCracken (vocals), Quinn Allman (guitar), Jeph Howard (bass) and Dan Whitesides (drums) missed how simple things used to be. They needed a change.
So they severed ties with their management. And ended their relationship with John Feldmann, who produced The Used’s past three albums (Lies For the Liars, as well as 2004’s In Love and Death and 2002’s The Used, both of which were certified gold).
Then they connected with producer Matt Squire, who let them create the sound they’ve wanted from day one. A dirty sound that The Used calls “gross pop.” The result is a band that’s closer than ever. And an album that’s made The Used feel new again.
The Used’s Quinn Allman picked up the phone in Munich, Germany to tell The Aquarian Weekly about the new album.
AW: You said that Artwork’s first single, “Blood On My Hands,” “Sums up everything about The Used.” Why is that true?
Quinn Allman: Because it’s everything. It’s heavy and it’s dark. And it’s got this bouncy rhythm to it. And the lyrics are just, I don’t know. They’re brutal. They’re just great. That was the song that when we were done, we were like, “This will be our first single.”
How would you compare The Used of 2002, releasing your first album, to The Used today?
Well, we’ve learned to endure a lot of the bigger picture things that happen. I mean we got kicked around by our management and we were kind of put into the corner. And we had always worked with John [Feldman]. And it was just this routine that we were sort of placed into. But in the beginning it was never like that. It was just about Bert’s lyrics and my guitar and it was that simple. It just turned into this—it just became a little methodical. And now, we’ve got new management. And we got a new producer. We just did things the way we wanted to do it. So it’s a lot more like the beginning now.
Sort of returning to that simplicity?
Yeah. There’s just more of a true collaboration within the band. Which is great. Everybody gets along great. Things are better than they’ve ever been.
Let’s talk about Artwork. Where were your heads when you started writing?
We were done with bending over backwards for our manager at the time. We were doing Taste Of Chaos, which was a tour we paid for as a band. But the money that went into it went to our management. That sort of kicked us down a bit. We were out there touring, doing all this work. But then it was for someone else’s benefit. As soon as that came to surface, this is all during 2008, we rented a house and we just worked and tried to write as much as we could. We just focused on going into the studio with as many of the songs written beforehand as we could, you know. Just go in there and do it. We got really picky and took our time and did exactly what we wanted. We always wanted just like a messy, big and heavy pop sound. And I think we got it.
You made changes in the studio this time around. You worked with producer Matt Squire instead of John Feldman who produced your last three albums? What did Matt bring to the record that was different?
He had a little bit more of a laid-back, pop approach. He’s worked with a lot of pop bands so he understands that world. It’s not something we were really looking for. I mean none of us have even listened to the bands that he produced…so it wasn’t really based on anything that he’d done. We just heard that he was really easy to work with. He was laid back and cool. And that was exactly what he ended up being. You could see in the studio that we had a game plan…He just let us take all that stuff that we learned with John and compound it and let us just do our own thing. And totally trusted us. At first we were talking about “gross pop,” the sound that we wanted the record to be, and how we’ve always wanted it. And he was like, “I get that. I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be yet, but I get what you mean.” And we were like, “O.K. cool. That’s what we want.” …He wasn’t trying to run everything and do it a certain way. John likes to hear things his way. And you go “O.K.” and you try and you’re like, “I don’t know.” And he’ll say, “Just trust me. If you don’t like it tomorrow, we can change it.”
Were there any unexpected moments that made their way to the album?
Yeah. Some songs, “Empty With You,” and “Blood On My Hands,” just came out. Those were written in like two days. It was pretty crazy. I brought an idea in. We did the scratch drums. Scratch guitar. Scratch bass. Did some keyboards. Bert was in the other room writing lyrics. “Empty With You,” the same thing. It was pretty cool. The songs just came out of nowhere. They were the last two songs we wrote for the record.
What track do you personally think is going to be the most fun to play?
“Men Are All The Same” is going to be fun. We jam that one…It’s a lot heavier live than it sounds on the record. “Born To Quit” is really fun. “On The Cross” is cool. “Watered Down.” I don’t know. It will be a surprise to see which ones work out.
What does it feel like to share your songs for the first time?
I don’t really think about it too much. Generally if I’m happy with it then people accept it…It’s like drawing a picture and hoping it goes in the Guggenheim or the Louvre or something like that. And is appreciated. You can never have those kinds of intentions. It’s cool because when your efforts are sincere, people can see that.
What bands are you excited about right now?
I’m into a little bit more organic music at the moment, like folk fusion stuff. Animal Collective is a pretty cool band. I love Bright Eyes and Cursive and all the Saddle Creek bands: Rilo Kiley, M. Ward, Iron and Wine. I’m also into Converge. Converge is still a band that kicks my ass. I think that’s the best rock n’ roll band that’s around right now. I’ve fucking eaten through every one of their albums. They’re fucking amazing. People don’t realize it.
Can you pick a song on Artwork and describe what you like about it?
The song “Watered Down” came about from me and Dan driving from the studio or something one night talking about rhythms that carry on through different generations. You’ll hear them, but you won’t realize it. So that beat in “Watered Down” is just doo doo doo bah, doo doo doo. It’s got like a 50’s kind of feel. But then it’s also in a lot of 80’s music too. We were just talking about songs that have that beat and how funny it was. And then we went to our practice place and he started jamming that. And I made a little loop over it. And it was pretty much that right there.
How did you choose Artwork as the title for the CD?
Well, originally Bert had written it on a folder with some art that we were turning in to our label. He just wrote “Artwork” on it with a big silver pen. It looked so cool…Just the way Bert had written it and everything. We started to talk about how ironic it was that life is art. And life is work. It’s just funny how they seem like opposite ideas or whatnot…It’s just kind of there to ponder…It seemed to be right with, like I said, getting new management, taking over all the decision-making in the band—a lot more of the work that goes into it. It seemed fitting.
Listen for Artwork on September 1.
All it took was new management, a new producer, and a new album for The Used to re-familiarize themselves with their old way of making music. The Used’s fourth studio album, Artwork, is due out on September 1 on Reprise Records, and it marks a turning point, or possibly a returning point, for the band.
The Orem, Utah band was certainly appreciative of its rising success. They spent eight great years touring and appearing at major festivals like Warped Tour, Ozzfest, Leeds, and Taste of Chaos, while selling more than two million albums in the U.S. alone.
But band members Bert McCracken (vocals), Quinn Allman (guitar), Jeph Howard (bass) and Dan Whitesides (drums) missed how simple things used to be. They needed a change.
So they severed ties with their management. And ended their relationship with John Feldmann, who produced The Used’s past three albums (Lies For the Liars, as well as 2004’s In Love and Death and 2002’s The Used, both of which were certified gold).
Then they connected with producer Matt Squire, who let them create the sound they’ve wanted from day one. A dirty sound that The Used calls “gross pop.” The result is a band that’s closer than ever. And an album that’s made The Used feel new again.
The Used’s Quinn Allman picked up the phone in Munich, Germany to tell The Aquarian Weekly about the new album.
AW: You said that Artwork’s first single, “Blood On My Hands,” “Sums up everything about The Used.” Why is that true?
Quinn Allman: Because it’s everything. It’s heavy and it’s dark. And it’s got this bouncy rhythm to it. And the lyrics are just, I don’t know. They’re brutal. They’re just great. That was the song that when we were done, we were like, “This will be our first single.”
How would you compare The Used of 2002, releasing your first album, to The Used today?
Well, we’ve learned to endure a lot of the bigger picture things that happen. I mean we got kicked around by our management and we were kind of put into the corner. And we had always worked with John [Feldman]. And it was just this routine that we were sort of placed into. But in the beginning it was never like that. It was just about Bert’s lyrics and my guitar and it was that simple. It just turned into this—it just became a little methodical. And now, we’ve got new management. And we got a new producer. We just did things the way we wanted to do it. So it’s a lot more like the beginning now.
Sort of returning to that simplicity?
Yeah. There’s just more of a true collaboration within the band. Which is great. Everybody gets along great. Things are better than they’ve ever been.
Let’s talk about Artwork. Where were your heads when you started writing?
We were done with bending over backwards for our manager at the time. We were doing Taste Of Chaos, which was a tour we paid for as a band. But the money that went into it went to our management. That sort of kicked us down a bit. We were out there touring, doing all this work. But then it was for someone else’s benefit. As soon as that came to surface, this is all during 2008, we rented a house and we just worked and tried to write as much as we could. We just focused on going into the studio with as many of the songs written beforehand as we could, you know. Just go in there and do it. We got really picky and took our time and did exactly what we wanted. We always wanted just like a messy, big and heavy pop sound. And I think we got it.
You made changes in the studio this time around. You worked with producer Matt Squire instead of John Feldman who produced your last three albums? What did Matt bring to the record that was different?
He had a little bit more of a laid-back, pop approach. He’s worked with a lot of pop bands so he understands that world. It’s not something we were really looking for. I mean none of us have even listened to the bands that he produced…so it wasn’t really based on anything that he’d done. We just heard that he was really easy to work with. He was laid back and cool. And that was exactly what he ended up being. You could see in the studio that we had a game plan…He just let us take all that stuff that we learned with John and compound it and let us just do our own thing. And totally trusted us. At first we were talking about “gross pop,” the sound that we wanted the record to be, and how we’ve always wanted it. And he was like, “I get that. I don’t know exactly what it’s going to be yet, but I get what you mean.” And we were like, “O.K. cool. That’s what we want.” …He wasn’t trying to run everything and do it a certain way. John likes to hear things his way. And you go “O.K.” and you try and you’re like, “I don’t know.” And he’ll say, “Just trust me. If you don’t like it tomorrow, we can change it.”
Were there any unexpected moments that made their way to the album?
Yeah. Some songs, “Empty With You,” and “Blood On My Hands,” just came out. Those were written in like two days. It was pretty crazy. I brought an idea in. We did the scratch drums. Scratch guitar. Scratch bass. Did some keyboards. Bert was in the other room writing lyrics. “Empty With You,” the same thing. It was pretty cool. The songs just came out of nowhere. They were the last two songs we wrote for the record.
What track do you personally think is going to be the most fun to play?
“Men Are All The Same” is going to be fun. We jam that one…It’s a lot heavier live than it sounds on the record. “Born To Quit” is really fun. “On The Cross” is cool. “Watered Down.” I don’t know. It will be a surprise to see which ones work out.
What does it feel like to share your songs for the first time?
I don’t really think about it too much. Generally if I’m happy with it then people accept it…It’s like drawing a picture and hoping it goes in the Guggenheim or the Louvre or something like that. And is appreciated. You can never have those kinds of intentions. It’s cool because when your efforts are sincere, people can see that.
What bands are you excited about right now?
I’m into a little bit more organic music at the moment, like folk fusion stuff. Animal Collective is a pretty cool band. I love Bright Eyes and Cursive and all the Saddle Creek bands: Rilo Kiley, M. Ward, Iron and Wine. I’m also into Converge. Converge is still a band that kicks my ass. I think that’s the best rock n’ roll band that’s around right now. I’ve fucking eaten through every one of their albums. They’re fucking amazing. People don’t realize it.
Can you pick a song on Artwork and describe what you like about it?
The song “Watered Down” came about from me and Dan driving from the studio or something one night talking about rhythms that carry on through different generations. You’ll hear them, but you won’t realize it. So that beat in “Watered Down” is just doo doo doo bah, doo doo doo. It’s got like a 50’s kind of feel. But then it’s also in a lot of 80’s music too. We were just talking about songs that have that beat and how funny it was. And then we went to our practice place and he started jamming that. And I made a little loop over it. And it was pretty much that right there.
How did you choose Artwork as the title for the CD?
Well, originally Bert had written it on a folder with some art that we were turning in to our label. He just wrote “Artwork” on it with a big silver pen. It looked so cool…Just the way Bert had written it and everything. We started to talk about how ironic it was that life is art. And life is work. It’s just funny how they seem like opposite ideas or whatnot…It’s just kind of there to ponder…It seemed to be right with, like I said, getting new management, taking over all the decision-making in the band—a lot more of the work that goes into it. It seemed fitting.
Listen for Artwork on September 1.
Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly (August 27, 2009 issue).
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