McCracken, Burt

Bert McCracken was born in Provo , but grew up in Orem , Utah , USA and raised in a Mormon family. Bert has 3 sisters - Katie, Melanie and Rachel and a younger brother - Joseph Taylor. Before he turned 16, Bert attended Timpanogos High School for a short time. Until the age of 15 he was a member of the Straight Age Society. Before joining The Used, he played the trumpet in a local band called “I'm With Stupid” from the age of 12.

The eldest son in the house, little Bert enjoyed a happy family life, but when he grew up, his own points of view began to diverge from his parents. He rebelled against his parents and against their Mormon faith, attending other churches. Teen Burt was a staunch opponent of drugs and became the editor of the magazine for Straight Agers - Drugs Suck my Dick. After Bert's participation in a fight with fellow Straight Agers, the life of a 15-year-old drifting in different directions encouraged him to experiment with drugs ^[1] . He became addicted to meth ; his self-destructive behavior continued; he was kicked out of school; shortly after, he was kicked out of his home at the age of 16. He was homeless for a while before he found enough money for housing and settled with his girlfriend Kate. After their relationship ended, he again began to live on the streets and was deeply immersed in drug addiction. Before finally returning to his parental home at the end of December 2000, Bert entrusted his best childhood friend, John Scheler, to follow him and keep him sane in this tough time ^[1] . In January 2001, when a group called Strange Itch (which later became The Used and consisted of Queen, Jeff and Branden) was looking for a lead singer, Queen mentioned Bert, and he was invited to try his hand. After perceiving the music that the group created without words, McCracken wrote the text for the upcoming Maybe Memories, Bert's autobiographical song, and returned the next day with a freshly recorded version of this song. The team immediately accepted it, and they renamed themselves “Used.” In the end, they were spotted by Goldfinger producer and vocalist John Feldman and signed to Reprise Records . The name “The Used” was finally assigned to them after they learned that there was a certain Boston team that had already registered the name “Used”. On June 25, 2002, The Used presented their debut self-titled album.

2003-2004 and In Love and Death

Alcohol and some forms of drug addiction continued to haunt Bert. According to one interview, he drank 2 bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey daily. Constant traveling and alcohol did not mix well. After a long delay, during a tour in support of his debut album, on a show in Covington, Kentucky, on May 27, 2003, he crashed onto the stage. He still managed to perform the song “ On my Own ” lying on the stage before he was rushed to the hospital. After being taken to the hospital and treated for severe chest pain, frequent bouts of nausea and vomiting, a consultation with several doctors diagnosed Bert with acute pancreatitis , a serious inflammation of the pancreas caused by the digestion of pancreatic tissue by its own enzymes. Subsequently, the condition - alcohol abuse or gallstones - forced McCracken to give up alcohol for several months. He stopped using hard drugs in 2005. On July 4, 2004, ex-girlfriend of McCracken Kate died of a drug overdose while pregnant with their child.

Relationships with My Chemical Romance

During his performances with the band My Chemical Romance , which Bert admired for a long time, McCracken became a close friend with MCR frontman Gerard Way . The two groups collaborated more than once, and McCracken mentioned My Chemical Romance in the first track of In Love and Death 's album “ Take It Away ” with the quote “And I've lost all doubt in a chemical romance”. In early 2005, they co-recorded a cover version of the song “ Under Pressure ” by Queen and David Bowie , which was dedicated to the deceased girlfriend Sarah Mailer (Bert was so attached to Sarah that he even got a tattoo in her honor). All proceeds were donated to charity to support tsunami victims in Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004. . McCracken also participated in the recording of the track “ You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison ” ^[2] from the MCR Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album.

2006-2007 and Lies for the Liars

In the first half of 2006, The Used decided to take a break from the tour and sat down to record their new album. At this time, Bert, who naturally had light red hair, dyed from charcoal black (he had had black hair since 19 years old - since joining The Used) back to light color. After that, most fans began to compare Bert with the late Kurt Cobain , the lead singer of Nirvana , finding a huge resemblance between them. The previous year, Bert moved from Orem to Los Angeles to be closer to his fiancee Alison. The city, according to his admission, charmed and at the same time aroused disgust - “I met the most fake people I have ever encountered on the whole planet,” recalled McCracken. “I think that half of the time they themselves do not know what they are saying, they are all just liars, and they are very used to it. Staying in such an environment had a direct impact on the tone of the new record, which is a bit more vicious, but in a strange way, also more gentle and caring. " Thus, the environment inspired most of the ideas for writing lyrics, inspired to write songs such as “ Pretty Handsome Awkward ” and “ Liar Liar (Burn In Hell) ”.

In early August 2006, The Used drummer Branden Steinekert was kicked out of the band, and the reasons for this are not completely clear to date. Queen Allman explained this as "creative disagreement." However, Bert hinted at more personal reasons for Steinekert’s discontent, describing it as a “personal conflict” between members of the group except himself (because he “loves him to death”) ^[3] . Therefore, Branden did not participate in the recording of drums for Lies for the Liars - Good Charlotte drummer Dean Butterworth served as a temporary drummer for the record, and after Dan Whiteside was accepted into the group as a constant follower of Steinakert.

• 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, introduced in 2007)
• 2007: Lies for the Liars
• 2008: Shallow Believer [EP]
• 2009: Artwork
• 2012: Vulnerable
• 2014: Imaginary Enemy

• 2002: Goldfinger featuring Bert McCracken - “Open Your Eyes” - 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
• 2008: Cute Is What We Aim For featuring Bert McCracken - “Practice Makes Perfect” - Rotation
• 2008: Cute Is What We Aim For featuring Bert McCracken - “Doctor” - Rotation

• Bert McCracken profile on Internet Movie Database
• Bert McCracken profile on Notable Names Database
• The Used official website
• Candi H. Interview with Bert McCracken . AltSounds Archived on October 16, 2012.