Of Mice & Men

Of Mice & Men is a band that was formed in 2009, in Orange County, California under the Rise record label. Members of this band include: Austin Carlile (lead vocals), Aaron Pauly (bass/unclean vocals), Alan Ashby (rhythm guitar), Valentino Aertega (drums), and Phil Manansala (lead guitar). The band Of Mice & Men have three albums out; their latest one, Restoring Force, is a follow up to their album The Flood and it was just released Jan. 28.

Of Mice & Men were the second to last band to play at the Self Help Festival and their crowd was insane because by that time the indoor stage had finished so everyone was able to come out and at least catch the ending of their set. The fans went on for as far as the eyes could see people were everywhere. It was really surprising almost to see how many people had stuck around because at this point it was already about 9 p.m.

There were a couple fans that were kind of upset with Of Mice & Men even though they put on a great performance. There was a little bit of a miscommunication where the fans where told that they were going to be holding a signing earlier on in the day, but it turns out that the band had never been booked for one and their management team never set it up. So fans who had paid the extra money for the VIP tickets which included the meet and great and autograph sessions were pretty upset about it.

“I am obsessed with this band and I thought since I had the VIP package that I was finally going to be able to meet the band but they didn’t even show up for the signing session,” saaid Kendall Kaizer, 18. “At first I was really upset and I felt betrayed by them and I didn’t even want to watch their set, but then common sense kicked in and I knew I would hate myself if I didn’t watch the set, so I did. While I was watching the set I seemed to forget about not being able to meet them and I found myself enjoying their show still. There’s always next time to meet them, it’s not the end of the world.”

“I have been following Austin Carlile since he first started this band and I just want to say that to this day he is still one of my favorite vocalist, for a man with a heart condition he goes out there and puts himself on the line every show, and as a true fan I really do appreciate it,” said Steve Wagner, 27. “Of Mice & Men was never the same with out him and I am so glad that he is back where he belongs.”

“I was so exited to see Of Mice & Men play they were the reason why I bought tickets to this Festival, and they did not let me down,” said Andrea Jone, 21. “It was such a great atmosphere to be around, the energy was crazy! I was so glad that they played a good mixture of their old songs as well as some of their new songs off of Restoring Force, because they are such different than their older ones.”

Of Mice & Men have announced that they will be playing select dates of Vans Warped Tour, but before that comes they have to finish their American Dream Tour which all of the remaining dates have been sold out.