2012 is shaping up to be a big year for Utah’s rock band The Used. They are hitting our shores as part of Soundwave Festival and will be releasing their highly anticipated album Vulnerable through Hopeless records in March. The Used are a band who know what they want and dare to dream.
Before the release of Vulnerable, The Used cut ties with Warner Records and began working together with Hopeless Records to create Anger Music Group.
“We have been wanting to do things on our own for a very long time now. We were with Warner for way too long and things just got way too complicated. So when the record label started falling apart, we got this chance, we knew it was perfect timing,” explains front man Bert McCracken. “We thought about instead of just starting a record label in general, but we wanted to do something a little bigger, with more freedom. We started Anger Music Group which is actually an art Production Company which will deal with everything from physical art to fashion to film to food. Everything that has anything to do with creative art.”
This creation of Anger Music Group allowed them more freedom when it was time to write Vulnerable, allowing the record to have a new defined sound. “We kind of had the ability to do whatever we wanted to do. It sounds like a lot of different things that we love. It has some r’n’b, some serious pop influences, some hip hop influences, and a lot of different types of songs. It’s a really, really diverse record. I think it has strong emotional ties to the first record, you know being more than just who you are and daring to dream. It is one hundred percent different from all of our records and I think it’s the best one.”
In previous years The Used have sold out Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion which holds crowds of 5,000 and have headlined the Australian leg of the Taste Of Chaos tour not only once but twice. This year The Used are part of Soundwave Festival which has sold out in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. They are also playing a sold out Sidewave in Sydney with fellow American’s A Day To Remember and England’s You Me At Six. The Brisbane Sidewave is on its way to selling out.
“It feels great I can’t wait. It’s been a while since we have played an actual tour. We have been doing little ones offs in like South Africa, America, Malaysia and a few other places but it’s going to feel good being part of something, and the fact people are excited about it is epic. We have heard so much good feedback with our Twitter and our Facebook, we can’t wait. We are just as excited as you.”
One of the main factors in their success is their ability to dream and their willingness to try. When asked if they could share one piece of advice McCraken replies, “Dare to dream, this is what this whole record is about. At times that we are at our most vulnerable we are the most likely to dream big and go for it and succeed most of the time. Don’t give up on your dreams. I dunno. Life finds a way. It’s really cheesy and corny but it’s true; it’s what I believe and how I feel.”
When The Used first formed in 2001 McCraken knew it was meant to be and that they would be making music for years and years. To this day he still believes that they will making music for years and years to come. With the release the awaited release of Vulnerable and already sold out shows McCraken exclaims, “Our time to shine now. We are going to kick arse in 2012.”
Vunerable will be released on March 30, 2012 via UNFD/ Hopeless records. You can also grab the single ‘I Come Alive’ from iTunes and check The Used live in action on the Soundwave Festival juggernaut.
