Bert McCracken
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bert McCraken | ||
|---|---|---|
| Background information | ||
| Birth name | Robert Edward McCracken | |
| Occupation(s) | The Used's Lead Singer | |
Robert Edward McCracken (born February 25, 1982), professionaly known as Bert McCracken, is the lead singer of the band The Used.
[edit] Personal life
He was born into a strict Mormon family, McCracken had a happy home life as a child, with a younger brother, Joseph Taylor McCracken. As a teenager, his views began to conflict with those of his parents, and at fifteen he rejected the Mormon life. McCracken began getting into the local music scene, originally singing for I'm With Stupid and other bands. He was part of the straight edge community and frequented hardcore shows in the Utah valley area. McCracken's home life became strained at this time and Bert broke away at 16 by dropping out of high school and leaving home when he became a drug addict. He went to jail on charges of possession. When the rest of the band (Quinn, Jeph and Branden) were looking for a singer, Quinn remembered Bert and they called him. Bert was still heavily into drugs, and was still going to Narcotics Anonymous. Bert got clean and, after their first gig in January 2001, they were discovered by John Feldmann and signed to Reprise Records. After releasing their debut self titled album in 2002, they toured with the Warped Tour and Ozzfest. Bert also went through a bad time in the summer of 2004, when his recently ex-girlfriend, only known as Kate, died of a drug overdose on July 4th, 2004. She was, at the time, carrying McCracken's child.
Inside of the In Love And Death CD booklet:
I love you all, and could never forget. I would also like to say that no matter how much I ever told myself that I wasn't writing songs about you ALL THE TIME, I really was and will miss you forever, Kate.
In Loving Memory Katie 1981-2004
Katie and Bert had broken up before her death but had decided to try to remain friends for the wellness and upbringing of their baby.
[edit] Illness
On the 27th of May, 2003 Bert fell onstage during 'On My Own' and could not continue singing. He was rushed to hospital where he was diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, a severe inflamation of the pancreas caused by autodigestion of the pancreatic tissue by its own enzymes. The condition stems from alcohol abuse or gallstones. Alcohol abuse was denied by a spokesman. The Used began recording their 2nd album in March 2004.
[edit] Relationship With My Chemical Romance
Bert was close friends with My Chemical Romance lead singer Gerard Way. They recorded several songs together, including Under Pressure, a song which they jointly used proceeds from to benefit hurricane Katrina survivors. In the My Chemical Romance song, "You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison", McCracken provides backup vocals. However, in November of 2005, it was revealed in an online MTV news article that McCracken had a falling out with Way. However, McCracken has remained loose friends with the other members of My Chemical Romance. Both Gerard and Mikey Way (Gerard's brother and fellow member of My Chemical Romance) have made statements since, indicating McCracken was only joking, confessing that they remain in contact with him and nothing has happened between them."Unless someone says it straight to your face then you can never be sure.", says Mikey Way of MCR. It has also been said by Gerard that he was joking in an issue of Blunt Magazine.
There were several rumors about a 'romantic' relationship between the two. A press release in Kerrang! in which Bert said, "We want to do a video of Under Pressure where it's me and Gerard in bed together." was noted.[1]. Other rumors say the falling out was because of 'a break up', not drug use.
- In a recent interview with Blender magazine (late 2006), Gerard Way revealed the true manner of the falling out. After Gerard became sober their friendship turned sour, and soon thereafter McCracken began to trash-talk My Chemical Romance. Way stated that he hasn't spoken to Bert since the San Diego stop of the Warped Tour on June 30th of 2005. McCracken had tried to distract fans from My Chemical Romance's set with a megaphone, but failed. "It was really unfortunate" says Way. Bert declined to comment.
