The Used

BIOGRAPHY

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The Used (2001-present): a Punk band from Orem, Utah, USA.

orming in Orem, Utah, USA in 2001, The Used started out with the membership of Branden Steineckert (drums; of-Rancid), Quinn Allman (guitar/backing vocals) and Jeph Howard (bass/backing vocals) with vocalist Bert McCracken joining soon after when he was invited after the band held "terrible" auditions with others. These first efforts would result with a demo album recorded in drummer Steineckert's bedroom titled simply Demos from the Basement that was sent to producer John Feldmann from the ska group Goldfinger who liked it and helped find the act a label; several labels replied but 'Reprise' got the nod in early 2002. There was a problem, however, their name Used was already taken so the word "The" was added to distinguish them from the other act, not overly creative perhaps, but it was enough to get around any trade disputes.

Their self-titled debut album, produced by John Feldmann, arrived on June 25, 2002. Three tracks, The Taste of Ink, Buried Myself Alive and Blue and Yellow received charting status; the album as whole certified gold. To support the album, The Used went on to play the Warped Tour, Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution as well as Box Car Racer's first and only tour employing touring guitarist, Greg Bester.

When McCracken's ex-girlfriend died of a drug overdose during pregnancy with his child in 2004, the incident inspired the name of the act's sophomore release, In Love and Death (2004) as a reference to the tragedy he dealt with; Hard to Say, though written some years earlier, was the track used as the reference to his ex-girlfriend but it only received the designation upon release of the album. The gold certified album also featured Under Pressure (a Queen and David Bowie cover song performed with My Chemical Romance) as a bonus track on the re-release in 2005.

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Steineckert left in 2006 to later go on to join Rancid; Dan Whitesides (ex-The New Transit Direction) would replace him.

The live double-album Berth (2007) followed. The album featured their performance at the Taste of Chaos 2005 tour in Vancouver, Canada; the included DVD was the video of same concert with a documentary of the band and four music videos.

Shallow Believer EP (2008) was then released containing B-sides but was only released on digital music stores.

The Used founded their own record label 'Dental Records' in 2011 after parting ways with 'Reprise' (now a division of 'Warner'). Ahhh... but once again they ran into trade name problems when it was discovered that name was already taken as well, so they settled with the name 'Anger Music Group' to release Vulnerable (2012); The Ocean of the Sky EP (2013) followed.

Imaginary Enemy (2014) arrived on their new label 'GAS Union'.

2015 saw Quinn Allman taking a one-year hiatusguitarist Justin Shekoski (of-Saosin) became his replacement as touring member for subsequent tours; he would become a permanent member of the band by the end of the year when Allman announced his departure, though later he claimed that decision was that of the band and not he. Live & Acoustic at the Palace (live; 2016) and The Canyon (2017) followed.

In an unprecedented and sudden move in 2018, Shekoski suddenly vanished from the band's Facebook page and promotional photos. It was later revealed that he was no longer in the band, "due to personal and artistic differences". The departure was not an amicable one, however, for The Used issued a restraining order against Shekoski after he parted ways with the band; Shekoksi reportedly threatened to hang himself in the middle of a show as "retaliation", claiming the band ruined his life and stole all his creative work. Joey Bradford (ex-Hell or High Water) would be his replacement for Heartwork (2020) and Toxic Positivity (2023).

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