The Used and Plain White T’s reflect on their respective emo legacies ahead of Midland gig

The Used. // photo credit Hunter Garrett

With the success of festivals like When We Were Young in Las Vegas, Not Just a “Phase” here in the Midwest, and Hawthorne Height’s touring mini-fest, Is For Lovers, the emo nostalgia train is chugging right along these days.

It is worth noting, however, that much like their classic rock forefathers, emo legacy acts continue to put out new material year after year, be it Plain White T’s recent self-titled ninth studio album or the Used’s new collection of Toxic Positivity b-sides, MEDZ.

Both of those bands hit the Midland on Monday, September 23, so we took the opportunity to speak with Plain White T’s lead guitarist Tim Lopez and the Used’s drummer, Dan Whitesides, to discuss being a legacy act and still touring after all these years.

The Pitch: What is it like to be in a band that’s now a legacy act?

Tim Lopez: I have to say, it feels weird to be considered a legacy act. Mainly because I still act and feel like a 20 year old. However, I’m super grateful to be in a band that has survived long enough to be considered legacy!

Dan Whitesides: It’s great! I would hope that any band that is just starting out aspires to be around and writing music until they’re old and crusty like the Rolling Stones. haha! We have a ton of great songs and a lot of die hard new and old fans so It’s great being in The Used. I’m proud of being in this band.

Plain White T’s and the Used have played quite a few festivals in that vein over the last few years. How has the response been, both from the audience and within the band, playing those shows?

Tim Lopez: If you’re referring to legacy or the emo resurgence, it has been awesome! We’ve connected with a bunch of old friends that we came up with in the scene. Everyone is at a totally different stage of life, so it has been cool to catch up. The crowds at those shows have been incredible! I think people are super nostalgic for the old pop-punk/emo scene.

Dan Whitesides: Festivals like When We Were Young and others that are kind of specific to our “genre” ask us to play and we either say yes or no. Festivals are great because you play in front of a lot of people who may not have seen you before and you usually run into a lot of friends from other bands; just a really cool environment. Usually, if we are playing a festival, it’s just a rock festival with a shitload of rock bands.

When you have a song so intimately tied to the band’s identity, where do you go from there, musically, and still stay true to both yourself and the fans?

Tim Lopez: Our band is definitely known synonymously as the “Hey There Delilah” band. Thankfully, Tom and I have always managed to write songs that were very personal to us. Those personal stories, whether love songs or heartbreak, tend to resonate with our fanbase. “1234,” “Rhythm of Love,” and “Giving Tree” are solid examples of how we’ve continued to write songs that have built our brand of music.

Dan Whitesides: We write for us. We’re never thinking about what we’ve done before or anything like that. A good song is a good song. We do what we want. I think the reason people are still coming to our shows and listening to both our old and new songs is because we write from the heart and always have.

Plain White T’s has covered so, so many songs over the years for compilations. Why try your hand at other people’s songs?

Tim Lopez: Cover songs often come at the request of a special release or radio performance. However, we very rarely incorporate covers into our live set.

Given that there are so many b-sides in the Used’s catalog, is it ever possible to decide on a setlist which will satisfy everyone?

Dan Whitesides: Nope, it’s impossible. Our set list has 19 songs, and there are songs from the beginning to the present. We will do special tours for our die-hard fans, or, like WWWY asked us to play In Love And Death, we do what we can to satisfy everyone, but it is hard. We love all of our songs, so playing older songs like “The Taste Of Ink” is as fun as playing a brand new song like “MEDZ.”

When you play Kansas City, are there specific things you remember about the city that bring you back so often?

Tim Lopez: Simple answer, BBQ! Kansas City is great and we have a history of solid shows but I have to say the food is a huge attraction.

Dan Whitesides: Well, we’re playing because the fans keep us coming back. Could you imagine if we came to Kansas City and no one showed up? Then that means Kansas City doesn’t want us. But we love Kansas City! It has good food and great people, and we’ve had lots of good shows there over the years.

The Used and Plain White T’s play the Midland on Monday, September 23, with special guests Raue. Details on that show here.