My good friend Mahsa recently got a chance to catch up to the Used's bassist, Jeph Howard, for a quick interview. Click READ MORE to read Jeph's thoughts on Ozzfest, Utah, and more. For more info on the Used, please go to TheUsed.net. You can click here to read a review of their debut album, also.
MAHSA: How did you guys meet each other?
JEPH: Branden and I were in a local band that played shows with Bert's band, our band sucked and broke up. We started another band with Quinn, that band even sucked worse, so eventually it broke up as well. Finally after trying out many singers we remembered Bert and called him. After that, everything just fell into place.
M: What was Ozzfest like?
J: Beer, mullets, topless girls and guys…hee hee…it was fun, we made a lot of friends and fans, big crowds! I hope we can play next year.
M: How did you like playing the Metro in Chicago and what do you think of the whole "scene"?
J: It was a great show, I had a fuck load of fun! My Chemical Romance played before us and the crowd loved them, then we went on and it was one of my favorite shows on this tour. The kids were fucking amazing. I could hear the crowd singing louder than Bert.
M: As a band, what are your individual and collective influences?
J: We're all very diverse people as far as music goes, but I think basically we just love great songs and songwriters.
M: What are you listening to now that isn't like the music you play? What would be a surprise to know you listened to?
J: I'm listening to Jurassic 5 "Power In Numbers", Jamiroquai "Synkronized", Dillenger Escape Plan (w/ Mike Patton) "Irony Is A Dead Scene", Coalesce "012 - Revolution in Just Listening" and Lovage "Music To Make Love To Your Old Lady By".
M: What is the music scene like in Utah, where you're from?
J: It's hard, especially in Utah County where venue's go up and down with a month or two. There are a lot of amazing bands in Utah, hopefully other band's will be getting signed as well.