Of Mice and Men (band)

Of Mice & Men
Of Mice & Men at Hellfest 2017
Background information
Origin	Costa Mesa, California, U.S.
Genres	Metalcore nu metalcore alternative metal
Years active	2009–present
Labels	Rise
Associated acts	Attack Attack! Dayshell Jamie's Elsewhere Sky Eats Airplane A Static Lullaby
Website	ofmiceandmenofficial.com
Members	Valentino Arteaga Phil Manansala Alan Ashby Aaron Pauley
Past members	Austin Carlile Jon Kintz Jaxin Hall Shayley Bourget Jerry Roush

Of Mice & Men (often abbreviated OM&M) is an American metalcore band from Orange County, California. The band's lineup currently consists of lead vocalist and bassist Aaron Pauley, lead guitarist Phil Manansala, rhythm guitarist Alan Ashby, and drummer Valentino Arteaga. The group was founded by Austin Carlile and Jaxin Hall in mid-2009 after Carlile's departure from Attack Attack!. Since 2009, the band has released four studio albums. Carlile departed from the band in December 2016 citing that a long term health condition prompted his exit. After Carlile's departure the band continue to pursue creating music with Pauley taking on both bassist and lead vocalist duties.

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. The two recorded their demo "Seven Thousand Miles for What?" with the band Though She Wrote at Paper Tiger Studios in Columbus. Carlile and Hall searched for other members for about a month. They came across Valentino Arteaga, drummer of Lower Definition,Jon Kintz of Odd Project, and Phil Manansala, a touring guitarist for A Static Lullaby. Carlile and Hall moved to Southern California to join the three. 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.