About Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men is an American rock band formed in Costa Mesa, California, in 2009. The band's line-up currently consists of drummer Valentino Arteaga, guitarists Phil Manansala and Alan Ashby, and bassist and lead vocalist Aaron Pauley. The group was founded by former lead vocalist Austin Carlile and former bassist Jaxin Hall in mid-2009 after Carlile's departure from Attack Attack!. Carlile departed from the band in December 2016 citing that a long-term health condition prompted his exit. After Carlile's departure, the band continued to pursue creating music with Pauley as the band's bassist and lead vocalist.
Since 2009, the band has released eight studio albums: Of Mice & Men , The Flood , Restoring Force , Cold World , Defy , Earthandsky , Echo , and Tether . Of Mice & Men's earlier music has been described as metalcore and post-hardcore. Their later material, however, has been considered to be more melodic and shifted over to genres such as nu metal, alternative metal, and hard rock, while retaining their original sound.
The band has played international music festivals including the Vans Warped Tour in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014 and Soundwave Music Festival in 2013 and 2015.
Of Mice & Men was founded by Austin Carlile, the original vocalist of Attack Attack!, and bassist Jaxin Hall, an import from Auckland, New Zealand during 2009 in Columbus, Ohio. Carlile and Hall searched for other members for about a month. According to Carlile in an interview, Carlile's desktop background was none other than Valentino Arteaga, drummer of Lower Definition, and Jon Kintz of Odd Project. Carlile was amazed when Arteaga was interested in playing drums for the band after being sent an invite over email. The trio then added Phil Manansala, a touring guitarist for A Static Lullaby and the line-up was set. Carlile and Hall moved to Southern California to join the others. A little while later, Kintz was cut from the band and replaced with Shayley Bourget. With a question at hand asking of the departure of Kintz in a Q&A for the group, Bourget jokingly stated, "Jon didn't cut it." On Kintz's part, he reportedly cited that the band felt he was "partying too much." After reaching 1,000,000 plays from their Myspace profile in just two months since its launch, the band uploaded a cover of Lady Gaga's song, "Poker Face". The song was mastered by Tom Denney, formerly of A Day to Remember and a copy of the demo was sent directly to Rise Records. Recognizing the band as Carlile's new musical project, Of Mice & Men was signed to the label. The group then traveled to the Foundation Studios in Connersville, Indiana on July 14, 2009, with Joey Sturgis to record their self-titled debut album.
On December 6, 2009, they had two video shoots in Ventura, California, for "Those in Glass Houses" and "Second & Sebring". The band released their debut album on March 9, 2010. The original release date was February 23, but the album was forced into a delay. A month before the official release, the album was leaked on February 10 by fans who hacked into the system. The music video for "Second & Sebring" was released on Hot Topic's website and made its television premiere on Headbangers Ball on March 15, 2010.
The band joined the "Squash the Beef Tour" supporting Dance Gavin Dance, along with Emarosa, Tides of Man, and Of Machines. Also in 2009, Of Mice & Men was support on the "Atticus Tour" along with Finch, Blessthefall, Drop Dead, Gorgeous, Vanna, and Let's Get It. After completion of the "Atticus Tour", the band supported I See Stars on the "Leave It to the Suits Tour" with We Came as Romans, Broadway, and Covendetta.
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