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The Used My Day w/ Jeph Howard & The Used Ok, I'll admit I own my fair share of discs friends have burned for me over the years. One of those discs happens to be The Used debut self titled album. It was 2002 and having already given up on mainstream radio 5 years prior, all I was really listening to were records that were made in the early 90's and college radio. One afternoon shortly after practice, a friend handed me a CD with scribbling on it that resembled 'The Used'. He said "This is going be your new favorite band". Being somewhat of a music nazi at the time, I tossed the CD into the backseat of my car and forgot about it for a few months. One day while searching for old french fries under my car seats, I found the CD and popped it into the player. Sure enough, after only a couple tracks The Used was quickly becoming one of my favorite bands. By the end of the day, I was singing along to most of the record, which didn't leave my CD player for a long while. Fast forward 6 years to February 24, 2008 and the first annual Musink Festival in Orange County, CA hosted by Kat Von D. The side door to the concert hall slowly opens and Jeph Howard pokes his head out and greets us with a timid smile and friendly hello. He leads us in and onto the stage floor and tells us that they just started doing their sound check and should be done in a bit. After a short conversation Jeph joins Quinn and Dan and they begin playing Hospital, Pain, Liar Liar (Burn In Hell), and a few others. Moments later Bert walks in and The Used start going through the set for the night. At times forgetting how songs started on the records and repeating parts till they sounded right. Even joking around and doing their best to throw each other off with false starts, no starts, and rocking out the "metal poses" as Bert later described them. Once soundcheck was done, the rest of the guys greeted us, introduce us to the crew and it was time to grab some lunch.
After going through a few choices of vegan restaurants in the area, everyone finally opted for the catering provided by The Slide Bar. One of the crew guys recommended the mac and cheese saying it was pretty much amazing. I can't speak for the guys, but it was pretty amazing. As the band walked out through the back door leading to their trailer, they were greeted by a small amount of gasping fans holding digital camera's, all awkwardly walking towards the guys like a scene out of Night of the Living Dead, but instead of brains they were asking for pictures and autographs. After a few minutes of meeting with the fans, the The Used tour manager gave the band a few instructions as they were lead into their trailer which was stocked with beer, water, chips, salsa, and Nascar playing on the television set. This trailer was the place where The Used would pretty much spend the remainder of their day. Throughout the day Jeph, who looked rather bored, would mention how he wished he brought his Wii along. Even before they could grab some lunch, the road manager had them signing drum heads, posters, various other objects, then off doing a interviews with various publications.
After the impromptu meet and greet with fans, Bert walks in with a bag that screamed Happy Birthday on the outside. Excitedly Bert tells us that he actually got some cool things for his birthday! Among some of the gifts were a book full of foreign swear words and a thumb wrestling ring, which quickly became a huge hit with everyone in the trailer who dared challenge the already undisputed wrestling champion Bert McCracken (Click here to see the YouTube video). Even the press that came in to photograph and interview the band found themselves grappling thumbs with the champ. Throughout the day, if you were anywhere near the trailer you were sure to hear "1, 2, 3, 4, I declare a thumb war!" coming from inside the trailer. As the band sat outside catching up with old friends who had come out to meet them, a crowd was gathering on the other side of the fence, quietly staring at their every move, as if they were looking into an exhibit of sleeping lions at the zoo. Occasionally you would hear a voice yell out from the pit of autograph seeking teenagers with cameras in hand, looking to take that next Myspace picture, "Bert!" "Jeph!" During down time, each member of the band would eventually make their way towards the crowd and spend a little time talking and hanging out with them.
As the day slowly went on, I watched the band interact with each other and the people around them inside that trailer. Bert and I talked about how much we loved "Saw IV" and how fucking awesome that opening scene was, Jeph wishing he had brought his Wii and telling us how excited he was about this new video game he bought that involved scuba diving and photographing fish. And the other guys excitedly watching previews on TV for an upcoming movie and joking about NASCAR and how boring it was. As all this was going on around me, I started to see these guys in an all new light. They weren't these super giants who's music I sang along to in the car or seen at shows and on television for years. They weren't these made up media stories about how they're all out of their fucking minds and complete assholes. As cliche as it sounds, they were just a bunch of regular guys who happen to write great songs. A bunch of jokesters who try to find ways to kill that mind-numbing time between soundcheck and show time.
Feeling like a total piece of shit, I put my camera down for a while and thought "This is probably the last thing these guys want. Some photog they just met following them around snapping away during these private moments." I thought about how much I hate having my picture taken when I'm not expecting it or even when I am expecting it! I stopped photographing while they ate lunch and interacted with their friends outside. Even passed on the opportunity to follow Jeph into Kat Von D's trailer and photograph them while they met. Though my assignment for the day was to follow Jeph around and be his shadow, that was something I just couldn't do. I'm sure I'll get shit in the future for passing up on such an opportunity and for passing on a chance to meet an artist who's work I respect, but I think about the scumbag papparatzo's invading these people like a pack of wild ravenous dogs and its just something I can't bring myself to do. It finally took some reassuring from my friend who also happens to be close friends with Jeph and the other guys in the band, that they were aware of my assignment for the zine and was assured that they agreed to it and that it was cool.
As show time neared, I pulled my camera back out and started shooting the band and their pre-show rituals. Bert with a plastic bag over his head warming up his voice in the other room, Quinn bashfully smiling at the camera while warming up with an acoustic guitar, Jeph plucking away at his bass while friends watched and conversed with him. Dan beating away at the carpet with his drum sticks and their tour manager periodically walking into the trailer announcing, "10 minutes guys", "5 minutes guys". As everyone but the band left the trailer I made my way to the front of the stage and met up with my fellow photographers and the thousands of kids behind us, all awaiting The Used to finally hit the stage.
If you've been to any Used show, you know these guys are amazing live, and put everything they have into their performance. You don't need me telling you this. They played songs from Lies for the Liers, In Love and Death, their self titled album, and brand new songs from their newest EP. A moment that stood out was when Bert brought out a couple who got engaged on stage between songs. I couldn't help but think about all those videos I had seen in the past of couples getting engaged at crowded events, only to be told "No" by the would be bride and the guy looking like a douche in front of everyone, as he makes that walk of shame away from center stage. Lucky for this guy she said "Yes" in which Bert later replied "Invite me to the divorce". The Used invited me into their private space and let me photograph a side that not everyone on the outside gets to see. I went in as a star struck fan and left feeling like I had made a few new friends. They thumb wrestle, they get excited about photographing fish underwater and the simple little gifts that fans bring them to shows. The backstage wasn't crowded with naked girls running around with chocolate syrup smeared across their tits, but with close friends who came out to support them and help them pass the time with laughs and new stories about the most random of things. >> Click here to check out the entire photo journal << Be sure to pick up their latest release Shallow Believer on iTunes! -------------------------------------------------------- For more info, show updates and music
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