Valentino Arteaga - Of Mice & Men (05/12/2014)
Of Mice & Men have had a pretty massive year. Releasing their third album, 'Restoring Force', to massive critical praise, the path that the band is taking definitely seems to be the right one.
Going on to sell 51,000 copies in its first week, the band’s album became the highest charting album they’ve released, debuting at number four on the US Billboard 200, peaking at number 2 in the UK albums chart (first time to have charted in the UK), and also peaking at number 9 in the ARIA charts.
Finding themselves with an overwhelming response from fans and critics alike, the band was praised for their shift towards a nu-metal sound while also retaining their metalcore roots.
The band then proved their commitment to their craft and toured extensively in support of Bring Me the Horizon on the 'American Dream Tour' in the US, headlining a string of shows in the UK, touring Europe and then South America with A Day To Remember for a while, playing Vans Warped Tour, hitting up Reading/Leeds Festival and just wrapped up another European tour, this time supporting none other than Linkin Park.
The band’s drummer, Valentino Arteaga recently spoke to The 59th Sound while he was in Europe and had plenty to say about their fans, their music and their recent tour.
Hey there! How are you!
I’m doing well! Just sitting here on the bus about to go into the venue and we’re here in Germany on tour with Linkin Park.
Awesome! Earlier this year, I read an interview in which you guys said that Linkin Park was one of bands you all dreamed of touring with. Now that you’re actually doing that what’s it like?
It's unlike anything that we could have ever imagined man. They’re one of the biggest rock bands in the world for our generation, like, it’s awesome. They’re great dudes, they’re so accommodating. This is like the best tour that we’ve ever been a part of. We feel so comfortable. They really, really take care of us every night. Anything we need onstage, offstage, you know, they’re there. They’re kinda like big brothers or something like that, you know? They’re always making sure that we’re doing alright and that we’re enjoying ourselves and we’re like, “dude, we’re on a sold out arena tour in Europe, just completely demolishing everywhere that we go”, and it's awesome. Seriously, it’s a dream come true. It's unbelievable that we’ve been given this opportunity to tour with such an amazing band.
Yeah I can only imagine, Linkin Park were probably the most influential band when I was growing up so to be in your shoes would be insane…
Definitely! Same with all of us y’know, they helped shape the music that we make today and it’s crazy that years… decades after their first album came out, we all remember when that first record came out and now we get to see it live every night and play for their fans every night. And them too! They watch us and we’re like “Oh crap! They’re side-stage watching! Holy shit!” Ha... it's pretty cool.
Is that completely nerve racking or have you guys gotten used to it by now?
Um, there really is no getting used to it, y’know? I mean like, it's something that for us is still so new that every night is something new and exciting and we’re stoked to be a part of it. And um, I don’t know... We’re definitely not used to it but we also definitely take it very seriously and you know, head strong with it and try not to let it get to us, because at the end of the day we’re there for our music, and delivering music to hopefully new fans, and that’s the most important thing, and we definitely do that well every night. We’re used to that! So that’s something that we’re definitely used to.
Yeah fair enough! Listening as a fan, it's really been great to see you guys go from your self-titled and very metalcore record, to being one of the bands at the forefront of the nu-metal revival. Did you guys expect the change in sound to be as well received as it was?
I mean, we all knew that we felt really great about the songs that we were writing, but we didn’t know how it was going to go over with our fans. But we knew that if were honest about it and that we put every ounce of heart and passion in it that we could, and made it as real and authentic to us as possible we knew that good songs speak for themselves and our producer that we made restoring force with, David Bendeth, he really of thought that, its not about cool parts, it's not about flashy this, or this and that, it's about writing damn good songs and that’s something we really listened to and we really wanted to give to our fans. And we felt like, well were gonna make music that we want to make and we think our fans are really going to like this and hopefully it goes over well. But we definitely had no idea that it was going to be as well received as it has been, which is great for us, because, not that metalcore was uhh…
Hindering?
Yeah…yeah well, I wouldn’t say it was hindering, but I feel we’ve always had subtle nuances of what Restoring Force was about throughout our entire back catalogue, but it just took us a while to really hone in on that sound. We’re still a very relatively new band, we’ve only been around for six years, so, you know, in our first albums we were really trying to develop a sound, find a sound and latch on to something that could be Of Mice & Men . We really feel like we found that in Restoring Force and I think having that record be so well received by fans shows that we’re going on the right path, that we’re writing the music that we were meant to write, and that we we’re put together to write well.
Yeah totally, and it was an awesome record! You guys smashed it, and I…
Thank you very much! Wait till you hear the next stuff! We just got some mixes back on some new music… it's pretty phenomenal.
Yeah? 2014 has been pretty massive, and you’ve said previously that 2015 has a big focus on touring, have you guys been writing quite a lot or is a new album just in its infancy?
Oh Yeah! We’re always writing. We love making music, so as we had a little bit of time off in between tours, we booked studio time, flew our producer out and recorded some new music. Just because we we’d been sitting on some material that we really wanted to get out, and even though our touring schedule is insane and 2015 looks just as heavy in the touring area, we wanted to make sure that we got this new music recorded because we feel very strongly about it and that’s what we’re here for, music.
Of course!
It’s really cool. We’ve got some new stuff coming.
Any idea of when that’s going to be released or is it too early to say?
Sooner. Sooner definitely rather than later. I’m thinking early next year, but, not sure, nothing’s set in stone yet.
Awesome, I look forward to hearing it! So Aaron Pauley joined the band prior to recording the album and it seems he really brought some cool vibes…
Definitely!
…and he really provides an awesome contrast in the songs. I’ve always been curious though, how was it that you guys found him and how did he actually get involved with the band?
Well, we played a show in this dingy strip mall in Bakersfield with his old band, and we were on this small California tour. We didn’t have a fifth member at that point, we were going forward as a four piece and we just saw his work ethic and the saw that he held himself with music and the way that he talked about music, and just his demeanor was something that we felt like we could really connect with. From there we got to be pretty good friends with him and once he left his band and he had some time in between, we thought, “well hey, would you mind coming out on tour with us and lending your voice and lending your attitude to our group, and being a part of our touring unit and lets see what happens?” And um, he toured with us for over a year before he became a full-fledged member, but, I think we all knew from day two of touring that he was going to be a full member of our band, just because he brings such a great dynamic to our band.
His voice is amazing, he’s very versatile in all those ways, and he’s an amazing musician and a great person, and that’s something that we felt like we couldn’t pass up. That opportunity to make music with someone like that, and we didn’t know how great at writing music he was until we were all locked in the studio. You know, he came with tonnes of ideas, great ideas that we all felt really strongly about, and he didn’t really know where his place stood in the band and we were like ‘dude, you’re killing it right now! You’re awesome, this is great, like, this is your band too now’ It’s funny, the album is called Restoring force for a number of reasons, and one of those reasons was that Aaron was our restoring force for our band. He helped bring balance to what we had been doing for a while, just being a four piece and trying to take it on our own and, it felt right, but it didn’t feel like how it feels now. We feel strong… we feel like a powerhouse! It’s awesome and he really was the puzzle piece to that, and that’s important for us to definitely let our fans and let other people that now we feel like a band. Not that we didn’t in the past, but this is what it feels like to make great music that we love, that were proud of, that we stand behind, that we feel like is authentic and is exactly what we want to be doing, and we do that together, as a unit, so it's very cool.
Yeah, that’s awesome! So you’re back in Australia for Soundwave, it’ll be your, I think, fourth time in Australia?
Yep!
Is there anything that you haven’t done while you’re over here that you want to do?
Well, we’re definitely excited to come back for Soundwave, but we really want to come back and headline our own shows out there, so, we’re talking with our agent now to figure something out for that, so that’s coming soon. But just being a part of the Soundwave festival is great. We love everybody that’s involved in that, it's great to be amongst peers of other amazing, amazing bands, and it's just a good time altogether.
We love festivals, and it’s a great place to find new music and to see a tonne of their favourite bands in one day, and us being fans of music, we definitely connect really well with that and we enjoy the experience, because we know how important it is to our fans to have like 10 bands that you want to see, and getting those set times, and running around all day, and “oh where are we gonna eat, there’s no time to eat! We gotta see all these bands!”
This time you’ll be sharing the Soundwave bill with Dayshell, will that be the first time you’re playing shows with them?
Yeah! We’re excited to see how they perform and see how his new band is doing. It'' really cool man! We don’t want to separate ourselves in that sense, because we all just want to make music and we’re exciting to see how it all goes down. We’re stoked, it's gonna be awesome.
Sweet! Well Tino, it was a pleasure to speak to you and I wish you all the best for the future!
Not a problem! Thanks Fletcher, see you at soundwave!
Fletcher Crebert
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE
The band then proved their commitment to their craft and toured extensively in support of Bring Me the Horizon on the 'American Dream Tour' in the US, headlining a string of shows in the UK, touring Europe and then South America with A Day To Remember for a while, playing Vans Warped Tour, hitting up Reading/Leeds Festival and just wrapped up another European tour, this time supporting none other than Linkin Park.
The band’s drummer, Valentino Arteaga recently spoke to The 59th Sound while he was in Europe and had plenty to say about their fans, their music and their recent tour.
Hey there! How are you!
I’m doing well! Just sitting here on the bus about to go into the venue and we’re here in Germany on tour with Linkin Park.
Awesome! Earlier this year, I read an interview in which you guys said that Linkin Park was one of bands you all dreamed of touring with. Now that you’re actually doing that what’s it like?
It's unlike anything that we could have ever imagined man. They’re one of the biggest rock bands in the world for our generation, like, it’s awesome. They’re great dudes, they’re so accommodating. This is like the best tour that we’ve ever been a part of. We feel so comfortable. They really, really take care of us every night. Anything we need onstage, offstage, you know, they’re there. They’re kinda like big brothers or something like that, you know? They’re always making sure that we’re doing alright and that we’re enjoying ourselves and we’re like, “dude, we’re on a sold out arena tour in Europe, just completely demolishing everywhere that we go”, and it's awesome. Seriously, it’s a dream come true. It's unbelievable that we’ve been given this opportunity to tour with such an amazing band.
Yeah I can only imagine, Linkin Park were probably the most influential band when I was growing up so to be in your shoes would be insane…
Definitely! Same with all of us y’know, they helped shape the music that we make today and it’s crazy that years… decades after their first album came out, we all remember when that first record came out and now we get to see it live every night and play for their fans every night. And them too! They watch us and we’re like “Oh crap! They’re side-stage watching! Holy shit!” Ha... it's pretty cool.
Is that completely nerve racking or have you guys gotten used to it by now?
Um, there really is no getting used to it, y’know? I mean like, it's something that for us is still so new that every night is something new and exciting and we’re stoked to be a part of it. And um, I don’t know... We’re definitely not used to it but we also definitely take it very seriously and you know, head strong with it and try not to let it get to us, because at the end of the day we’re there for our music, and delivering music to hopefully new fans, and that’s the most important thing, and we definitely do that well every night. We’re used to that! So that’s something that we’re definitely used to.
Yeah fair enough! Listening as a fan, it's really been great to see you guys go from your self-titled and very metalcore record, to being one of the bands at the forefront of the nu-metal revival. Did you guys expect the change in sound to be as well received as it was?
I mean, we all knew that we felt really great about the songs that we were writing, but we didn’t know how it was going to go over with our fans. But we knew that if were honest about it and that we put every ounce of heart and passion in it that we could, and made it as real and authentic to us as possible we knew that good songs speak for themselves and our producer that we made restoring force with, David Bendeth, he really of thought that, its not about cool parts, it's not about flashy this, or this and that, it's about writing damn good songs and that’s something we really listened to and we really wanted to give to our fans. And we felt like, well were gonna make music that we want to make and we think our fans are really going to like this and hopefully it goes over well. But we definitely had no idea that it was going to be as well received as it has been, which is great for us, because, not that metalcore was uhh…
Hindering?
Yeah…yeah well, I wouldn’t say it was hindering, but I feel we’ve always had subtle nuances of what Restoring Force was about throughout our entire back catalogue, but it just took us a while to really hone in on that sound. We’re still a very relatively new band, we’ve only been around for six years, so, you know, in our first albums we were really trying to develop a sound, find a sound and latch on to something that could be Of Mice & Men . We really feel like we found that in Restoring Force and I think having that record be so well received by fans shows that we’re going on the right path, that we’re writing the music that we were meant to write, and that we we’re put together to write well.
Yeah totally, and it was an awesome record! You guys smashed it, and I…
Thank you very much! Wait till you hear the next stuff! We just got some mixes back on some new music… it's pretty phenomenal.
Yeah? 2014 has been pretty massive, and you’ve said previously that 2015 has a big focus on touring, have you guys been writing quite a lot or is a new album just in its infancy?
Oh Yeah! We’re always writing. We love making music, so as we had a little bit of time off in between tours, we booked studio time, flew our producer out and recorded some new music. Just because we we’d been sitting on some material that we really wanted to get out, and even though our touring schedule is insane and 2015 looks just as heavy in the touring area, we wanted to make sure that we got this new music recorded because we feel very strongly about it and that’s what we’re here for, music.
Of course!
It’s really cool. We’ve got some new stuff coming.
Any idea of when that’s going to be released or is it too early to say?
Sooner. Sooner definitely rather than later. I’m thinking early next year, but, not sure, nothing’s set in stone yet.
Awesome, I look forward to hearing it! So Aaron Pauley joined the band prior to recording the album and it seems he really brought some cool vibes…
Definitely!
…and he really provides an awesome contrast in the songs. I’ve always been curious though, how was it that you guys found him and how did he actually get involved with the band?
Well, we played a show in this dingy strip mall in Bakersfield with his old band, and we were on this small California tour. We didn’t have a fifth member at that point, we were going forward as a four piece and we just saw his work ethic and the saw that he held himself with music and the way that he talked about music, and just his demeanor was something that we felt like we could really connect with. From there we got to be pretty good friends with him and once he left his band and he had some time in between, we thought, “well hey, would you mind coming out on tour with us and lending your voice and lending your attitude to our group, and being a part of our touring unit and lets see what happens?” And um, he toured with us for over a year before he became a full-fledged member, but, I think we all knew from day two of touring that he was going to be a full member of our band, just because he brings such a great dynamic to our band.
His voice is amazing, he’s very versatile in all those ways, and he’s an amazing musician and a great person, and that’s something that we felt like we couldn’t pass up. That opportunity to make music with someone like that, and we didn’t know how great at writing music he was until we were all locked in the studio. You know, he came with tonnes of ideas, great ideas that we all felt really strongly about, and he didn’t really know where his place stood in the band and we were like ‘dude, you’re killing it right now! You’re awesome, this is great, like, this is your band too now’ It’s funny, the album is called Restoring force for a number of reasons, and one of those reasons was that Aaron was our restoring force for our band. He helped bring balance to what we had been doing for a while, just being a four piece and trying to take it on our own and, it felt right, but it didn’t feel like how it feels now. We feel strong… we feel like a powerhouse! It’s awesome and he really was the puzzle piece to that, and that’s important for us to definitely let our fans and let other people that now we feel like a band. Not that we didn’t in the past, but this is what it feels like to make great music that we love, that were proud of, that we stand behind, that we feel like is authentic and is exactly what we want to be doing, and we do that together, as a unit, so it's very cool.
Yeah, that’s awesome! So you’re back in Australia for Soundwave, it’ll be your, I think, fourth time in Australia?
Yep!
Is there anything that you haven’t done while you’re over here that you want to do?
Well, we’re definitely excited to come back for Soundwave, but we really want to come back and headline our own shows out there, so, we’re talking with our agent now to figure something out for that, so that’s coming soon. But just being a part of the Soundwave festival is great. We love everybody that’s involved in that, it's great to be amongst peers of other amazing, amazing bands, and it's just a good time altogether.
We love festivals, and it’s a great place to find new music and to see a tonne of their favourite bands in one day, and us being fans of music, we definitely connect really well with that and we enjoy the experience, because we know how important it is to our fans to have like 10 bands that you want to see, and getting those set times, and running around all day, and “oh where are we gonna eat, there’s no time to eat! We gotta see all these bands!”
This time you’ll be sharing the Soundwave bill with Dayshell, will that be the first time you’re playing shows with them?
Yeah! We’re excited to see how they perform and see how his new band is doing. It'' really cool man! We don’t want to separate ourselves in that sense, because we all just want to make music and we’re exciting to see how it all goes down. We’re stoked, it's gonna be awesome.
Sweet! Well Tino, it was a pleasure to speak to you and I wish you all the best for the future!
Not a problem! Thanks Fletcher, see you at soundwave!
Fletcher Crebert
SOUNDWAVE 2015
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - ADELAIDE
SATURDAY 21 & SUNDAY 22 FEBRUARY - MELBOURNE
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH - SYDNEY
SATURDAY 28 FEBRUARY & SUNDAY 1 MARCH – BRISBANE