The Used is a band that sits near and dear to my heart ever since the '02 release of their first, and self titled, album which features personal favorites "Blue and Yellow", "Maybe Memories" and "On My Own" (the first song I could ever play on guitar and sing at the same time).  And so, it was quite a personal honor to converse with the front man, Bert McCracken, at the sold out Vans Warped Tour in San Francisco, which boasted 20,000+ in attendance.  Bert shared with me the band's message and motivations, as well as their current creative endeavors.  The mindset behind their latest album, Vulnerable, is described as follows on the band's website: