Latest / HEAVY Music Interviews / Used But Never Abused With JEPHA From THE USED

Transcript

Used But Never Abused With JEPHA From THE USED · HEAVY Music Interviews

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: My name's JEFFA or Jeff whatever you'd like to call me.
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: I played base in the US.
• 0:04
  Speaker 2: I'm hanging out here with my dogs right now, excited
• 0:07
  Speaker 2: about this Australian tour coming up. That's like a month long,
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: a little bit over a month long. It's pretty long
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: out there. Hopefully I'll get citizenship and we'll have to
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: come back.
• 0:18
  Speaker 3: That'd be great, wasn't it beautiful?
• 0:22
  Speaker 4: Thanks for joining us, right, I appreciate your time.
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, of course. Man.
• 0:26
  Speaker 3: As you say, the US kick off your twenty five
• 0:28
  Speaker 3: year anniversary tour of Australia in less than one month, down, bro.
• 0:31
  Speaker 4: So the first show is in Melbourne on August is seventh.
• 0:33
  Speaker 4: So how are you feeling.
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: I'm excited. I'm ready to go.
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: We just ended a full US version and we went
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: to Europe for a few dates, and then we took
• 0:45
  Speaker 2: this month off and now I'm already itching to go
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: back out and you know, moved to Australia for a bit.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: Eleven out of the twenty one shows are already sold out, mate,
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: which by my mathe is more than fifty percent.
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: Like that's gonna be a good feeling before you even leave.
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: How you've known that so many people are supporting you
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: somewhere so far away.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really exciting. It's the best part, I guess
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: the best part for our singer. Our singer lives in Sydney.
• 1:11
  Speaker 2: He's been out there for about ten years now, and
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: we he always has to come over for us to
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: rehearse and practice and everything, and so he's always jet lagged. Now,
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: So like the big jokes on us now is that
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: we're all flying over and we're going to be jet
• 1:24
  Speaker 2: lagged and fuck the whole time, and he's going to
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: be spot on. So I'm really excited about the whole tour. Man,
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: it's gonna be great.
• 1:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: Well, you've got to add a number of extra shows
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: as well as upgrade several venues. Right, So, had you
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: initially planned to spend that much time here or was
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: it more a case to the fantasies wouldn't.
• 1:40
  Speaker 4: Let you leave.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we didn't expect this much.
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: We didn't expect it to go this long and to
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: have like multiple dates being added and a lot of
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: places selling out, Like you were saying, like that's all
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: not a shock, but you know, it's it's all better
• 1:57
  Speaker 2: than we imagined, and we're really excited to be coming back.
• 2:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, now you're going to during a minimum of three
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: shows in each capitol city, playing your first three albums
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: used in Love and Death and Lives for the Liars
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: in their Anxiety. So was there a reason you showed
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: those three albums specifically or was it more a case
• 2:13
  Speaker 3: of that the first three you made so that obvious joys.
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we did another one of these about ten years
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: ago that we did the first two records back to back,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: you know, and so we thought for the twenty five one,
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: we might as well do the first three because it
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: kind of fits in that theme, like another ten years
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: from now and we'll do.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: The first first four, you know, does a joke?
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Actually I would love that, but yeah, we just wanted
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: to follow it because it's it's rare for us to
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: play most of these songs live, and especially so the
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: third record Lives for Liars. Most of that record, I
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: bet maybe a third has ever been played live besides
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: us touring on it now. Yeah, So it's it's kind
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: of fun for like the Daehard fans to be able
• 2:54
  Speaker 2: to see how these songs they've wanted to hear and
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: we've never played, you know.
• 2:58
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I did a.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: Rough tally up toobra of the shows that aren't sold
• 3:01
  Speaker 3: out and what albums you're playing at them, and it
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: seems it out of the three albums, Lives for Lives
• 3:05
  Speaker 3: is the least popular with five shows not sold out,
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: followed by the used on three shows and In Love
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: and Death with Jew So that's actually quite interesting.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: It's very interesting. It's the diehards like the third one
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: more than the first two.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Usually, well, it kind of depends, actually, because everyone has
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: their favorite record.
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: The fourth record actually.
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: Is one of the ore underground, Like most diehard fans
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: like our fourth record the most, I'd say, but we're
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: not playing that one, so that doesn't count.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: It all really depends.
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: It's a difficult game back and learning the album's cover
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: to cover. I can't imagine when you first write them
• 3:39
  Speaker 3: that you ever thought you're going to play the whole
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: thing one day, let alone all three of them.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it was definitely interesting.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: You know, we played a little different live everything just
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: we got you know, we're better musicians and sometimes jazzing
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: it up is way fun.
• 3:56
  Speaker 1: And there's a difference between a live setting and a
• 3:58
  Speaker 1: recorded setting.
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: Something sound better recorded and something sounds better live, so
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: some stuff most people are not even gonna notice.
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: But we jazz stuff up a little bit live just
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: because it feels and sounds better. That's great.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: But relearning, I mean, the man just the rehearsals for
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: the first tour it was like two weeks long. It
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: was like pounding out three records a day, which is like,
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: I mean, your brain goes a little crazy after trying
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: to trying to like play like thirty five songs in
• 4:25
  Speaker 2: a row, you know what I mean, like to get
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: trying to get solid on that many songs. It's really
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: tough on the brain. You know, you get so exhausted
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: at the end of the day.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: But it was really good. Everything turned out well, and
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: that first tour was so good, so we're excited to
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: bring it now.
• 4:40
  Speaker 3: I want to briefly run through each of the albums
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: and tell us about your memories of making it. So
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: start with your Self Taught, a debut from two thousand
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: and two.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: I'm self titled.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: I was terrified, obviously, because you know, I've got pretty
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: bad anxiety, and growing up, I wasn't really used to
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: being in situations nobody is, I guess being in a
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: situation like that where you fly to a different state
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: to record with someone that you barely even know, and
• 5:06
  Speaker 2: you know what I mean, And he's kind of his
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: personality at the time flashed with mine, which is interesting,
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: which is a good thing looking back.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we worked our ass off on that record, sitting
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: in just sitting in a.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: House together for like twelve to fifteen hours a day,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: just jamming and writing and trying to come up with
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: ideas and you know, do stuff that just felt right.
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: And that's why that record has such weird vibe to it.
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: I think as we just ashed on it for so long,
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: some of those songs.
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: That album was pretty big for the band mate.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: So when you finished it, like did you were you
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: quietly confident that you'd actually hit something in special with
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: that all?
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: You most surprised when when paper tip the way they need.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: I thought we hit something so both both ways, I
• 5:52
  Speaker 2: would say yes too, but we hit something really special,
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: I felt like, but personal from my own personal opinion,
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: how I'm warning this improperly here, So my own personal
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: vibe was, I thought we were doing something really special
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: that felt really good to me, and I know we
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: all separately felt that way. You know, we all separately
• 6:10
  Speaker 2: felt like, this is really cool and this is really interesting, and.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: We really like what we're doing.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: We weren't really sure how other people were taking it
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: until we started touring on it, and we could see
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: it started sparking things in people, and people getting excited
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: about stuff and excited about these songs and just you know,
• 6:27
  Speaker 2: interested in you know, the us. You can't really tell
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: that when you're at home in your basement.
• 6:33
  Speaker 4: You know, looking at four of damp Wolves.
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Like we were happy, But what does
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: that mean? You know?
• 6:41
  Speaker 4: All right?
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: The next album is our two thousand balls in Love
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: and Death. Tell us more about making of that, Yeah.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: And Love and Death.
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: So the scariest part about it in Love and Death
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: is that you know, you have your entire life to write.
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: Your first record, and then your second record.
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: You have like two years, you know, which sounds like
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: a long time, but not not when you're just all
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: of a sudden touring like NonStop.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: And we had a lot of we had a lot
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: of stuff kind of written, and we had a lot
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: of jams written and actually listening to the song listening
• 7:15
  Speaker 2: on that record was our second song that we ever wrote.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: That one just got lost. It was on a.
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: Tape somewhere, So we had some stuff that was saved,
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: you know what I mean, and some jams that were
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: like kind of ready. That was the first time that
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: we had a lot of That was where I felt
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: more pressure to have the The record itself felt way
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: more pressure than the first one because the first one
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: we were just kids putting the stuff that we worked on.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: You know, no, there's no pressure at all, and then
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: all of a sudden, we have label that's you know,
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: like trying to listen in and trying to hear you know. Luckily,
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: at the time though our label like paired and uh
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: really pushed us, and they weren't trying to pressure anything.
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: There was nothing going on. This is also before the
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: Internet was going crazy with burning and all that stuff,
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: so there wasn't that like, you know, like stuff wasn't
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: gonna get lost online or their labels weren't shrinking.
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: Into what they are now. This was it was still
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: kind of pre that, you know.
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: Yeah, nice and then how the next one that lives
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: for Lives in two thousand and seven.
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: Lives Photo Liarses started a little bit more pressure.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: That's when the label started having more burning problems started
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: showing up, and the labels started shrinking, and then we had,
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: you know, people in different states. Sort of everything was
• 8:25
  Speaker 2: getting you know, condensed into something, and so there was
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: definitely a little bit more pressure on also, not because
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: It's in Love and Death did better than we thought
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: and better than our label, you know. So it was
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: it was almost like we we passed that hump of
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: doing like a one record and nothing.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: You know.
• 8:43
  Speaker 2: We did two records and the second record ended up
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: being more loved than the first record in so many ways,
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: you know. So it was it was for us, timing
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: was everything on all this, you know. And so then
• 8:52
  Speaker 2: we got to our third and it was it was
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: probably not as much pressure as normally most bands would
• 8:59
  Speaker 2: get on their third records, seeing how our first two
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: did really well, you know, and so they kind of
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: just let us be mostly, But yeah, honestly, it was
• 9:09
  Speaker 2: it was definitely there's a little bit more tension on
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: this record within the band, considering everything that was happening.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: And that's when we lost our drummer too, because he
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: wasn't on the third record. So it's definitely like a
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: little bit of a mix up. Because we toured a
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: lot for those first two records. Man, it's a lot
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: of work. Yeah, they really just pushed us non stop.
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: Yeah it was. It was nuts, man, each of those albums.
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: So your sound change and expand a little bit made like,
• 9:36
  Speaker 3: was that more case of you guys trying to find
• 9:38
  Speaker 3: your own sound and your own musical identity or is
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: it more experimenting.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: We so as a band, all members, including the older
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: members and the newer members were we're kind of all
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: over the place with like musical likes and musical influences,
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: and we have things like you know, that kind of
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: converge you know, together and we have things that kind
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: of overlap and and but as a whole, we just
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: we just kind of throw out ideas, and no idea
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: is ever a bad idea. It's all worth trying out
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: and seeing where it goes and seeing what it you know, what.
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: It pops in.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: So musically, I think it's just always been that thing
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: to where we're not afraid to do anything.
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: Because here's the other.
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: Thing too, No matter what we do, we're not afraid
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: to do anything because no matter what I repeated this,
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: no matter what we do, Bert Bert's voice is so
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: burt that you know, it's him, you know. It doesn't
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: matter if he's singing on a you know, if he's
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: like singing on another band's record or something like can
• 10:40
  Speaker 2: you hear him pop in?
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: It's like, oh, well, that's Burt, you know.
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: Like it.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: We're very lucky because not a lot of bands have that.
• 10:45
  Speaker 2: That personality. To me, that personality means everything, you know,
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: So no matter what we do musically, it's never going
• 10:52
  Speaker 2: to matter because Bert is always going to front the
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: band and sound like Burt, and so it's going to
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: collect everything back together and that.
• 10:58
  Speaker 4: Mkes sense now running out of time, bro, So I'll
• 11:01
  Speaker 4: leave you with this one.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: Like I read a quote from you that said, to
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: everybody who has been there from the beginning or is
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: just starting out your adventure with this, thank you. He's
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: to the next twenty five years. Like, surely you're not
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: thinking that far right. Twenty five years? Man, I got time.
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: I got nothing else to do, man, So hopefully I'm
• 11:19
  Speaker 2: still doing this in twenty five years.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: I'd be really happy about that.
• 11:22
  Speaker 3: So I said, oh, Jeffer, well, thanks very much for
• 11:25
  Speaker 3: your time.
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: Bro.
• 11:25
  Speaker 4: The tour picks off August seventh.
• 11:27
  Speaker 3: There's only ten of the twenty one shows with tickets left,
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: and I believe they're going quick.
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: So if you want to catch this Life to History,
• 11:33
  Speaker 4: get your tickets now.