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Bert McCracken
Background information
Birth name	Robert Edward McCracken
Born	February 25, 1982 (1982-02-25) (age 28) Orem, Utah
Genres	Alternative rock Post-hardcore Emo Screamo Hardcore punk Punk rock Alternative metal
Occupations	Singer Songwriter Musician
Instruments	Vocals, Piano, Trumpet, Guitar
Labels	Reprise Records
Associated acts	The Used

Robert Edward McCracken (born February 25, 1982), known professionally as Bert McCracken, is the lead singer of the American rock band The Used.

Biography

Bert McCracken was born in Provo but grew up in Orem, Utah, USA, and was raised in a Mormon family, living as a member of the straight edge community until age 15. He has three sisters (Katie, Melanie, Rachel) and one younger brother (Joseph Taylor). (See liner notes for The Used and In Love and Death.)

He attended Timpanogos High School for a brief time, before dropping out at 16. Before joining The Used, he played the trumpet in a local band called I'm With Stupid, starting at age 12.

The eldest son of the household, Bert enjoyed a happy home life as a child, but as he grew into a teenager his and his parents' views conflicted. He rebelled against his parents and against their Mormon religion by going to other churches. As a teenager Bert was against drugs and he edited a straight-edge magazine, "Drugs Suck ," until engaging in a physical bout with fellow straight edgers, thus driving the drifting 15-year-old in a different direction, encouraging him to experiment with drugs ^[1] He became addicted to crystal meth, then continued his self-destructive behavior by dropping out of high school; soon after, he was kicked out of the house at the age of 16. For some time he was homeless until he found enough money for an apartment, moving in with girlfriend Kate.^[2] After the relationship fell apart he was again living on the streets and sinking deeply into drug addiction, until he finally chose to return to his parents' home in late December of 2000.^[1] Bert credits his childhood best friend John Schueler with keeping him sane during this tough time. ^[1] In January 2001, when the band called Dumb Luck (which later became The Used, then consisting of Quinn, Jeph and Branden) were looking for a singer, Quinn remembered Bert and he was invited to try out. After being given music that the band had written without words, Bert wrote the lyrics to what would become "Maybe Memories" and returned the next day with a newly recorded version of the song. The band welcomed him immediately, and renamed themselves "Used". They were eventually discovered by John Feldmann and signed to Reprise Records; they became "The Used" when it was discovered that a Boston band had already trademarked the name "Used". On June 25, 2002 they released their self-titled debut album.

.

2006-2007 and Lies for the Liars

McCracken at the band's show in Saskatoon SK on 2 December 2009.

In the first half of 2006 the band took a break from touring and settled down to write their new record. During this time Bert, whose naturally ginger-blonde hair he had dyed jet black since first joining The Used at age 19, dyed it back to blonde. The previous year, he had moved from Orem, Utah to Los Angeles, California, soon moving in with his Australian fianceé Alison. The city, he found, fascinated and disgusted him at the same time. "I met the most fake people I had ever come across on the whole planet," McCracken recalled. "They’re all just liars, and they're so used to doing it, half the time I don’t think they even know they’re lying. Being in that environment had a direct effect on the tone of this new record, which is a little more vicious, but in a strange way, also more loving and caring." ^[3] Such an environment invoked many songwriting ideas for the lyricist, inspiring songs such as "Pretty Handsome Awkward" and "Liar Liar (Burn In Hell)."

At the beginning of August 2006, The Used's drummer Branden Steineckert was kicked out of the band, for reasons that to this day are not entirely clear. While Quinn Allman has used the term "creative differences," Bert has hinted at more personal sources of discontent with Steineckert by describing it as a "conflict of personality" between band members other than himself (as he "loves him to death"). ^[4] Branden therefore did not take part in recording the drum tracks for Lies for the Liars; Good Charlotte's drummer Dean Butterworth served as the band's temporary drummer for the recording, after which Dan Whitesides was hired as Steineckert's permanent replacement. In July 2008, Bert married long time girlfriend Alison Schneider in a private ceremony in Los Angeles.

2008-2009

On August 31st, 2009 The Used came out with their 4th studio album named "Artwork".

Discography

The Used

• 2001: Demos from the Basement [Demo]
• 2002: The Used
• 2003: Maybe Memories [CD/DVD]
• 2004: In Love and Death
• 2007: Berth [CD/DVD Live] (Recorded in 2005, Released in 2007)
• 2007: Lies for the Liars
• 2008: Shallow Believer [EP]
• 2009: Artwork

Outside of Music

Bert appeared on the MTV show The Osbournes while he was dating Kelly Osbourne.

Collaborations

• 2002: Goldfinger featuring Bert McCracken - "Open Your Eyes" - Open Your Eyes
• 2002: Goldfinger featuring Bert McCracken - "Spokesman" - Open Your Eyes
• 2002: Goldfinger featuring Bert McCracken - "Woodchuck" - Open Your Eyes
• 2004: My Chemical Romance featuring Bert McCracken - "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison" - Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
• 2004: Linkin Park featuring Bert McCracken - "Faint" (Live) on Projekt Revolution
• 2005: Goldfinger featuring Bert McCracken - "Ocean Size" - Disconnection Notice
• 2005: Street Drum Corps and Bert McCracken - "Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)" - Taste of Christmas
• 2006: The Distance featuring Bert McCracken - "At Least I'm Good At Something" - The Rise And Fall And Everything In Between
• 2008: Goldfinger featuring Bert McCracken and Monique Powell - "Handjobs For Jesus" - Hello Destiny

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Blender- "I'm Out Of My Head!" http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?id=1051
2. ^ "The Dirty Dozen" http://www. . /sex/d12/bertmccracken
3. ^ trig.com - theused
4. ^ "Backstage With Bert" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jMO8j15zfI

External links

• Bert McCracken profile at the Internet Movie Database
• Bert McCracken profile at the Notable Names Database
• The Used official website

From Wikiquote

Bert McCracken at a concert in 2005

Robert Edward McCracken (born February 25, 1982), professionally known as Bert McCracken, is the lead singer of the American rock band The Used.

Sourced

• It's always fun to climb into a dress when you're having a party, right? So we were having a party and I did just that, I poured myself into a dress. When I woke up - and I woke between the kitchen cabinets - I wasn't wearing the dress any longer. No idea where it went. It was a nice dress as well, a little black number. Do I look good in a dress? Always.
  • On the oddest experience while at a party, reported in WENN staff (December 6, 2007) "The Things They Say", World Entertainment News Network.

• I cry all the time. In fact, I cried when we were at the Islington Academy. I got a bit teary-eyed at the crowd's reaction to our show. We were playing a song called On My Own and the response from the audience just got to me. Sometimes the love in the room is so overwhelming that I just cry. I'm not ashamed of that.
  • WENN staff (October 17, 2007) "McCracken: 'I Cry All the Time'", World Entertainment News Network.

• No matter how many times people try to pick my lyrics apart ... nobody will really understand what these songs truly mean to me because I would rather not get into it.
  • Jonathon Moran, Lawrie Masterson, Brett Debritz (May 13, 2007) "Inside Entertainment", Sunday Mail, News Limited, p. 2.

• We definitely didn't want it to be anything like our first or second records. We wanted to experiment more than we ever had and take any new idea and run with it as far as we could.
  • On The Used's album "Lies For The Liars", reported in Market Wire (May 3, 2007) "Band to Unleash New Album -- "Lies For The Liars" -- on Reprise Records May 22nd and Join the Warped Tour for Select Dates This Summer", AP Alert - Financial, Associated Press.

• Yeah, I'm definitely a completely different person onstage than offstage. It just comes from inside me. Everything that has happened to me up 'til now has everything to do with who I am today. It feels good to just be able to get on stage and release lots of suppressed emotion, things that aren't necessarily on the outside of who I am.
  • Peter Wood, Neala Johnson, Joanna Vaughan (October 13, 2005) "Chaos Reigns", The Advertiser, p. 60.

• Whether the color of your skin is black, white, yellow, brown or purple -- the extent of this tragedy is so incredibly devastating that we had to do something.
  • Statement about Hurricane Katrina on website of The Used, reported in L. Martinez (September 10, 2005) "Rockers plug in for Katrina", Ventura County Star, p. 1.

• So like we say, our weakness is our strength too. It maybe makes it hard as hell on a day-to-day basis. There's (always) some kind of tribulations or trials going on with us, whether it's in our inner camp or just inner demons of our own. It's definitely not an amazingly functioning unit at all times. There's no bull---t with that. Behind the scenes is as interesting as what people are seeing up front.
  • Alan Sculley (September 2, 2005) "The Used Overcome Conflicts, Achieve Success", The Press of Atlantic City, p. 23.

• I just kind of thought about doing this my whole life. I never doubted myself once. I've always been singing, and I've always wanted to be on tour with a rock band.
  • Eric R. Danton (September 1, 2005) "McCracken Had No Rock Doubts", The Hartford Courant, The Hartford Courant Co., p. 5.

Members of the group The Used in 2007: From left to right: Quinn Allman, Dan Whitesides, Bert McCracken, Jeph Howard

• I've rebelled against all types of conformity throughout my life, not just Utah's conservative culture. I rebelled against the Mormon church by going to other churches. I rebelled against my parents by not eating meat. I rebelled against my friends and myself by doing drugs. And I rebelled against everything that was holding me down by playing music with these guys.
  • Paul Stewart (July 10, 2005) "The Used gladly sold their souls", The Sunday Telegraph, News Limited, p. 20.

• Put your arm around the buddy next to you. And if you don't have any friends, I'll be your best friend in the whole world.
  • Statement to the audience at a concert, reported in Patrick Donovan (June 3, 2005) "Scream it out loud: Cover Story", The Age, p. 2.

• I'll never be bothered if I don't have a hit because you look at the songs that are hits and they're none of my favourites. Just the fact that we do have fans waiting here, that's exciting enough.
  • Stephen Downie (May 20, 2005) "Second coming", The Courier-Mail, News Limited, p. 51.

• I'm very self-destructive. I take it way too far most of the time. I'm the type of person who likes to jump into things hard. I do know my limits and I'm continually learning more about myself, as far as being hungover the next day or saying things that I don't mean or ruining other people's good times.
  • Mike Osegueda (March 29, 2005) "Appetizing chaos - The bands involved with the tour make sure they live up to the name", The Fresno Bee, p. B1.

• I would say that I was just as anxious to leave Utah as any other kid in any other part of the world wants to get out of where they're from. It's definitely a hard place, especially if you're an artist. There's not much support for art, especially rock 'n' roll music. It wasn't really about escaping Utah, though. It was about getting out and being able to do what I wanted to do with my whole life. And now I am.
  • Daniel Durchholz (March 10, 2005) "Top billing at Taste of Chaos: Can the Used get used to this?", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. 16.

• I think about it sometimes, but it definitely doesn't bother me because genres are meant to last and we're a rock 'n roll band and screamo, emo, grunge, punk, prog ... it s still rock 'n roll to me. I think that we're four really talented dudes, and I'm ready to take on the whole world. I'm not afraid.
  • On his "singer emo poster-child status", interview in John Benson (March 4, 2005) "Emo disorder It's not called chaos for nothing, says nonheadlining headliner", The Plain Dealer, Cleveland Plain Dealer, p. 4.

• I'm going to give you a nice, romantic kiss on the lips.
  • Statement made to the audience before diving into the crowd at a concert, reported in Thomas Lake (February 21, 2005) "It may look like chaos, but it's music to their ears The Taste of Chaos concert draws a lively crowd and continues today", The Florida Times-Union, p. B-1.

Bert McKracken (2005)

• I kind of wanted to open it up a little bit more this time and kind of expose a little bit more of my vulnerable side. The most important thing for me was to share exactly how I felt because I'm sure there are thousands and thousands of people who can relate.
  • On his music and lyrics relating to the audience, interview in Susan Carpenter, Los Angeles Times (November 5, 2004) "Whisper To a Scream The Used's Heartfeld Lyrics Are Half-Sung, Half-Shrieked", Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PG Publishing Co.

• If there is a God, he or she or it or whatever higher power there is is behind us so long as we're using our music in an inspirational way. I'm here for a reason, and I was given a talent, so I'll continue to try to use it.
  • Staff (November 5, 2004) "Who's your homeboy? To devotees of The Used, Bert McCracken is a higher power", Home News Tribune, p. E4.

• When people hear our record, they're not going to be able to put us into the 'New Metal' category or the 'pop-punk' category or the 'aggressive emo' category. I think people will be able to take it for what it is.
  • On the release of The Used's album "In Love and Death", interview in David Lindquist (August 6, 2004) "Rising star reserves right to mingle on kids' level - Bert McCracken appears with the Used at X-Fest", The Indianapolis Star, p. G16.

• When my body gets so overexerted with energy, I just keep going and going.
  • Jason Bodnar (July 30, 2004) "Rap, rock, metal collide in Projekt Revolution", Bucks County Courier Times, p. 1E.

• Everything influences you in the way that you present your art to other people and the way that you create your art for yourself. Life is pretty much the influence, so growing up in Orem, Utah, and growing up in the church is obviously a huge factor in it for me. But there's a few others in my band that weren't raised in the church. So it's a combination of a lot of things.
  • Brian Orloff (July 24, 2003) "Get Warped - AFI", St. Petersburg Times, p. 22W.

• This is a song about the reason we all came down here today, and that's because we (expletive) love music. This is a crowd-surfing song.
  • At a concert, commenting to the audience about The Used's song "Burning in the Aftermath", reported in Jason Newell (July 8, 2003) "Teens chill at hot concert", Inland Valley Daily Bulletin.

• When I hooked up with them I was still going to Narcotics Anonymous. But they were never into drugs. If it weren't for the band, I think I'd still be getting high.
  • Jim Farber (March 11, 2003) "Our Kelly's Mormon boyfriend", New Zealand Herald, Wilson & Horton Ltd., p. 6.

• My voice does get a little gruffy every once in a while, but I've never lost it 100 percent. I do try to warm up my voice before I go out there, but it's more of a nonchalant approach to taking care of it. Just some scales - deep throat valve sounds and what-not. I never like to stress out about it or worry about teas.
  • Steve Knopper (January 30, 2003) "Far, Far From Utah for The Used", Newsday, Newsday Inc., p. B33.

• Classifying rock music is an easy way for kids to identify with it. A band like Finch screams and sings, so they classify that with the Used because I scream and sing. But at the same time, we are worlds different. When I was listening to Nirvana, I never got involved in the fact that they were grunge-rock or whatever people were starting to call it at the time. I was raised listening to many different things. But everything has to be put into a category. That's fine with me. The music says enough.
  • G. Brown (January 3, 2003) "Screams catapult Utah's The Used", The Denver Post, The Denver Post Corp., p. FF-02.

About

Jeph Howard performing with The Used at a concert in San Francisco, California in 2007

• Bert is super kind, a super sweetheart, but he's pretty crazy at the same time. He's a little manic, but he definitely has a great heart and a great soul. He's just a little bit hard to hold down. Which is good. It's a great quality for a frontman.
  • Jeph Howard, bassist for The Used, reported in Dave Wedge (March 21, 2007) "MUSIC: The Used thrives in chaotic universe", Boston Herald.

• When I was dating Bert (McCracken), we were like two best friends. And we ended up doing everything together and it was so much fun. It was a really good time. And this (2003) has been such a horrible year for me that I sometimes thought I'd like to go back to that and be with Bert, but then I suddenly realised that's not what I wanted. I don't even know him as a person. And more than that, I don't even like him. It's like they say that you don't know the devil but you know he's evil. I know what that means — I don't know Bert but I know that I don't ever want to see him again.
  • Kelly Osbourne, in Harry Shaw, Bruce Kavanagh (2004) The Osbournes "Talking": The Osbournes in Their Own Words, Omnibus Press, ISBN 1844494047, p. 76.

• We were tired of writing music that sounded like everybody else, and we were stuck in this rut for so long of just trying to emulate our favorite bands. We're just going to write stuff that feels good, sounds good. And if other people don't like it, oh well. Then we remembered Bert from just playing shows with his band. So we gave him a call and he happened to not be in any bands. The timing was like perfect.
  • Branden Steineckert, former drummer for The Used, on recruiting McCracken to the band, reported in Alan Sculley (July 4, 2003) "Getting used to reality", The Columbian, p. F9.

External links

Wikipedia has an article about:

Bert McCracken

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Bert McCracken

• Bert McCracken at the Internet Movie Database