On May 7th, The Used brought the Rockstar Get A Life Tour to Irvine’s Bren Center. Along with them they brought good friends Street Drum Corps and Army of Me. With supporting acts Straylight Run and Lights Resolve, the Get A Life tour boasted not only good music, but also a full day of events that combined music, education, and extreme sports.
Lights Resolve opened the show with their gritty but classy alternative/dub/rock, followed by the punk rock version of stomp, Street Drum Corps, with special guest Adrian Young. Washington, DC’s alternative rock group Army of Me kept up the energy, and New York indie band Straylight Run rounded out the opening acts.
The Used opened up their always-high-energy show with “The Bird and the Worm,” the first single off their latest album “Liars for the Liars.” In the middle of their set, they played a medley of “Taste of Ink,” “All That I’ve Got,” and “Buried Myself Alive.” After the medley, they were joined onstage by Street Drum Corps for “Sick Parts” and the drummer’s dad for “Pretty Handsome Awkward.” They closed out with “Hospital,” but shortly returned for an encore of “A Box Full of Sharp Objects.”
We got a chance to talk with guitarist Quinn Allman.
AAM: How has 2008 been so far?
Quinn Allman: 2008 has been great. It’s been good. We spent the first few months in the studio. Actually we’ve been up in this house in L.A., just writing, and we’re almost done with this tour. We’re going to do another album and hopefully have it out by August. We’re going to have the 
summer off, and mainly be in the studio working and enjoying the California sun.
AAM: Is there a UK tour?
QA: We have a short run in Norway and Germany. Lots of festival shows. We are headlining a couple but playing with Linkin Park.
AAM: Will you be recording on the road, or waiting?
QA: Gotta wait to be done to be creative. We have countless ideas – over 100 ideas – but we have 10 songs we're going to focus on. That’s the thing: When you make a formal decision to do something creative, you can never really set out to do what comes naturally because you’re forcing it to be something. For us that’s been the case every time. We've learned a lot about the process and how we work. I’m excited to do a new record. It’s my whole life.
AAM: Do you prefer recording or touring?
QA: Recording. But they go hand in hand. Playing is such a thrill; it’s a high. To be on the road is great and I love watching the road go by. We have huge plans for 2009, and want to spend 2009 from January 1st - December 31st always on the road. We want to tour the world!
AAM: How many full-blown world tours have you guys done?
QA: We have been around the world 8 times. We’ve done it up and down left and right. In 2009, it’d be amazing to bust out a sweet record. Who knows what happens? But I wouldn’t be opposed to it.
AAM: Favorite places to play?
QA: I love the west coast. I love it out here. The weather’s always great. I love Japan. 
Australia’s amazing; they’re such nice people. To be around different cultures is probably the best. The promoters usually have a translator for us.
AAM: Why release “Shallow Believer” now instead of before?
QA: “Shallow Believer” is all the B-sides from every album. It’s sense of relief to get that stuff off your plate. The way the industry is now, everything’s in the toilet. So a lot of material is only available online, which is kind of cool ‘cause that makes it sort of hard to find. It’s good enough to be on the shelves, of course, and it sure wouldn’t hurt our financial situation either. The new stuff is going to be gross-pop. It’s not a whiny you-broke-my-heart kind of bull, it's like, “F-off and die, bitch.”
AAM: Define gross-pop.
QA: It’s going to be really melodic. Really catchy. We love all pop music. That’s where I eat, breathe, live and sleep, is in a melody. We have a natural way of bringing that together and tearing that apart. We kind of want to mix the two worlds and make a really gross pop. It’s a new genre.
AAM: Favorite songs to play live?
QA: “Wake the Dead” is probably my favorite. It’s the most difficult for me, and it’s the most rewarding
because it’s so technical. When you pull it off it feels really good. There’s a certain groove you’ve gotta lock into, and when you’re in there you can’t let it go. I’m in love with every song on “Lies for the Liars.” It just changes.
AAM: Any last words?
QA: This tour has been great. I’ve had an amazing experience with this band because of the support that we have from our fans and people. It just makes my life. It’s my life and I’m so thankful I get to do it, ‘cause that’s what I was born to do. So I just want to say “thank you” to everyone out there.
For more info check out the band and their recent release, “Shallow Believer,” at www.theused.net, and find upcoming dates for the Rockstar Get A Life Tour at getalifetour.com.
