The Used, Fred Mascherino, Say Anything, and The Color Fred

With the initial material preceding the band’s formation, after holding auditions at Howard’s abode, McCracken was invited along and he was so impressed with the quality of songs they had already worked on that he agreed to join. Shortly after this, they decided upon the band name Used, a reflection of the hardships that they had faced as individuals and the feeling they had been left with. With everything in place, the band went ahead and recorded “Demos from the Basement” and sent it to Goldfinger frontman John Feldmann. So enthused by what he had heard, Feldmann made it his mission to find them a label. In 2001 the band signed with Reprise Records.

Finding out there was another band in existence with the same name, the band added prefix ‘the’ and would become known as The Used. In 2002 they released their debut self-titled album produced by John Feldmann. Certifying gold, the album featured the singles “A Box Full of Sharp Objects”, “The Taste of Ink” and “Buried Myself Alive”. Off the back of that album, the band were invited to play at Ozzfest, Projekt Revolution and Warped Tour.

In 2004, tragedy struck as McCracken’s then girlfriend died of an overdose while pregnant with his child. His angst fed into their second album released later that year, “In Love and Death” as an open dedication to her reflected in the track “Hard to Say”. The album also produced the singles “I Caught Fire” and “All That I’ve Got”.

Two years later Steineckert announced his departure from the band as he went on to join punk band Rancid and was replaced by Dan Whitesides. Spending the majority of 2007 touring on Taste of Chaos and Give it a Name festival before releasing their third album “Lies for the Liars”. The album featured the popular tracks “The Bird and the Worm”, “Pretty Handsome Awkward” and “Liar Liar (Burn In Hell)” and peaked at number five in the US Billboard charts.

In 2011 McCracken and the band set up their own record label called Anger Music Group in conjunction with Hopeless Records, giving the band an opportunity for more room for creative control. It was through this label the band released their fifth album “Vulnerable” in 2012.

Though The Used may shy away from the term ‘emo’ band, none-the-less the band capture extravagant and expressive music producing catchy anthems which forever induce fond memories.

Though the band have been through several line-up changes, the real essence of who Say Anything are has remained constant. The current line up consists of: founding member and principal songwriter Max Bemis (vocals), Jake Turner (guitar), Parker Case (keys, guitar), Jeff Turner (guitar), Coby Linder (drums) and Adam Siska (bass).

Bemis created the band with the intention of making music with his friends nurturing music that they were passionate about. When the band self-released their debut EP “Menorah/Mejora” for free online in October 2002, despite the rough nature of the recordings their inherent talent shone through and created a battle between several record labels wanting to invest in the band. In 2003 the band signed with Doghouse Recordings, home to All American Rejects and Hot Water Music.

With the label on board, the only thing left to do was create their first professional masterpiece. Feeling the heat and pressure of trying produce something great pushed Bemis to the edge of a musical cliff as he pushed boundaries, breaking genre conventions as they experimented and incorporated math-rock and indie elements into their sound. The result would be the critically acclaimed album “…Is a Real Boy” released in 2003.

In 2005 Say Anything signed with J Records (an imprint of Sony BMG) with the hope of expanding their existing fan base while achieving their dreams of creating incredible music with the aid of big shot producers and engineers. In 2006 they re-released “…Is a Real Boy” with a bonus CD “…Was a Real Boy” under the new label giving it the mainstream exposure that it wasn’t able to reach in the first instance.

It was all go from there as the band went on to playing the seminal Vans Warped Tour festival where they won over fans with their cathartic and chaotic performances. In their prolific career Say Anything have also toured with the likes of: Biffy Clyro, Thrice, Saves the Day and Manchester Orchestra.

In the wake of their sixth album “Hebrew” released in 2014 with new label Equal Visions Records, Say Anything have meandered through genre shifts, taking the route of exploration and self-discovery accompanied by good old fashioned rock intertwined with refined orchestral stringed arrangements. Say Anything continue to push boundaries as they produce incredible masterpieces time after time.