Valentino Arteaga - Of Mice & Men (16/08/2013)
Returning to Australia with fellow Soundwave 2013 alumni Bring Me The Horizon and Crossfaith, The 59th Sound chats with Valentino Arteaga, drummer for Californian post-hardcore act, Of Mice & Men.
Hey Tino, How are ya?
Hi Ryan, good, how are you doing?
Yeah not bad, not bad. Where are you calling from at the moment?
I’m here at Hemmington beach, I just stopped by my barber for a haircut.
So have you guys had time to have a break in between tours?
Yeah, we are in the process of writing our new album which we will be recording this summer.
I read that you guys went into the studio in July to start the recording process. What have you done so far?
We have been doing writing and pre-production. We do that in our studio here and we have been working with our producer in New York. That process pretty much continues throughout the summer and then we will begin recording. It’s a bit of an all inclusive project we are doing.
Awesome! Have you decided on a name or any underlying themes for the new project?
We have discussed themes and it’s definitely something our fans know and can expect from us from our previous material; But as far as a name of an album, nothing yet.
You guys have announced your Australian tour with Bring me the Horizon. How excited are you to play two Australian tours in one year?
Oh we can’t wait to get over there to be honest. We have been trying to find the right time to get back overseas after following such an amazing Soundwave run, which was probably one of the coolest tours we have been able to be apart of. As soon as we were on that tour we have been talking about coming back. Seeing the response of our fans was incredible and has really grown since we came the first time with The Amity Affliction for the destroy all lines tour. It was definitely apparent that we had to come back and we have been waiting and searching for the best tour and now we are coming back with our mates Bring me the Horizon. It’s gonna be an absoloute destructive tour for sure…
In a good way, haha.
I know you have played on tours with Bring me the Horizon, but have you played shows with them before?
We played with them at Warped back in 2009 in the first time with Warped tour, but other than that we only ever saw them at summer festivals. But now it’s going to be more intimate in smaller venues, so it’s definitely going to be awesome to be able to bring both of our bands together for the Bring me the Horizon Fans as well as the Of Mice & Men fans.
So you will be coming early Spring to Australia and it’s sure to be colder than what you are used to. What do you enjoy about Australia, other than our summer?
If my dudes were on the phone with me at the moment, we would all be saying meat pies. The delicacy out there, it’s definitely something we enjoy a lot haha. We don’t really get that sort of pastry out here in California. Other than that, unfortunately we didn’t get to see that much of Australia the last time we were out there because we were on the Soundwave touring festival and getting everything done. We were so involved, we didn’t get much time to do anything for ourselves other than going to animal sanctuaries and things like that…
Are you going to have more downtime when you are here?
I think so! But I think something else we are really going to focus on is doing more press stuff and making our presence more known then what it already is. We are always trying to branch out to new fans and to you know, make new endeavors out there. We definitely won’t try and have too much down time but we will try and take advantage of what’s out there. Thankfully this year we are able to go out two times.
On the new album again, I read the Austin wants to go for a more structured new metal sound. How much do you think this will change from your old stuff and do you think the fans will have to adjust to the new sound?
What I feel Austin sort of meant by structured is that when we created our new albums before, we really didn’t go in and look at the material we had in songs, or song writing, that we were creating overall pieces of art or music. Before we had a very tight schedule; we were always on tour, you know, go into the studio when the studio time was there and get it done and get the album out. Now get more structure, we get time with our producer. We don’t have to commit to the first thing we record. We have time to structure these songs better and kind of think about it. That’s definitely what he means by structured. We can think “Is this a good song” and we can work with the producer now who is involving himself. It’s definitely helping us as musicians and we are all very excited to see what’s gonna come out of this process. The music isn’t going to change in Of Mice & Men, the heaviest parts to the most melodic, to the most beautiful thing you like about Of Mice & Men. All of that is still everywhere.
Now you have been one of the most permanent members of Of Mice & Men. How does your experience change as the lineup changes?
I personally think this is the strongest and the best that Of Mice & Men have ever been. I know everybody feels that way. It’s hard being on the road all the time and having tones of responsibilities as far as the first years of touring. It’s hard being in a band in a really small trailer and we were really busting our asses trying to get from show to show. Not everybody can handle that. Of Mice & Men is a message. There has always been an overall theme that just because we are faced with adversity, you have to overcome that and you can’t let that get you down. You can’t let that get in the way of your dream and you American dream. We can say that because we are American, but it can transcend any ethnicity – or anybody. Everybody has dreams. That’s something that when we started Of Mice & Men, all of us knew that it was going to continue and that’s something that hold true today. It means more than it ever has, now that we are taking this next step and making a new album that’s going to encumber new emotions and all those feelings that have enabled us to get here and share our music, our stories and our outlet to anybody that wants to listen.
And finally, I had to read Of Mice and Men at school. Did you all have to read it as members of the band or did you have to read it in school as well?
I had to read it in school. The name’s not necessarily taken from the book, more so the quote from Mark Twain and it just happens to be the book. It’s funny when people try and relate us to characters “uh, who’s George, who’s Lenny”. We didn’t name it after the book, we named it after the saying “the best laid plans Of Mice and Men often go awry”. You know that’s something that holds true to this day.
Ryan Hyde
Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice & Men, Crossfaith
Presented by Soundwave Touring
SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER - BRISBANE, THE MARQUEE – Licensed All Ages
SUNDAY 6 OCTOBER - SYDNEY, HORDERN PAVILION – Licensed All Ages
WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER - MELBOURNE, FESTIVAL HALL – Licensed and Unlicensed areas
THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER - ADELAIDE, THEBARTON THEATRE – Licensed All Ages
SATURDAY 12 OCTOBER - PERTH, CHALLENGE STADIUM – Licensed All Ages
Hey Tino, How are ya?
Hi Ryan, good, how are you doing?
Yeah not bad, not bad. Where are you calling from at the moment?
I’m here at Hemmington beach, I just stopped by my barber for a haircut.
So have you guys had time to have a break in between tours?
Yeah, we are in the process of writing our new album which we will be recording this summer.
I read that you guys went into the studio in July to start the recording process. What have you done so far?
We have been doing writing and pre-production. We do that in our studio here and we have been working with our producer in New York. That process pretty much continues throughout the summer and then we will begin recording. It’s a bit of an all inclusive project we are doing.
Awesome! Have you decided on a name or any underlying themes for the new project?
We have discussed themes and it’s definitely something our fans know and can expect from us from our previous material; But as far as a name of an album, nothing yet.
You guys have announced your Australian tour with Bring me the Horizon. How excited are you to play two Australian tours in one year?
Oh we can’t wait to get over there to be honest. We have been trying to find the right time to get back overseas after following such an amazing Soundwave run, which was probably one of the coolest tours we have been able to be apart of. As soon as we were on that tour we have been talking about coming back. Seeing the response of our fans was incredible and has really grown since we came the first time with The Amity Affliction for the destroy all lines tour. It was definitely apparent that we had to come back and we have been waiting and searching for the best tour and now we are coming back with our mates Bring me the Horizon. It’s gonna be an absoloute destructive tour for sure…
In a good way, haha.
I know you have played on tours with Bring me the Horizon, but have you played shows with them before?
We played with them at Warped back in 2009 in the first time with Warped tour, but other than that we only ever saw them at summer festivals. But now it’s going to be more intimate in smaller venues, so it’s definitely going to be awesome to be able to bring both of our bands together for the Bring me the Horizon Fans as well as the Of Mice & Men fans.
So you will be coming early Spring to Australia and it’s sure to be colder than what you are used to. What do you enjoy about Australia, other than our summer?
If my dudes were on the phone with me at the moment, we would all be saying meat pies. The delicacy out there, it’s definitely something we enjoy a lot haha. We don’t really get that sort of pastry out here in California. Other than that, unfortunately we didn’t get to see that much of Australia the last time we were out there because we were on the Soundwave touring festival and getting everything done. We were so involved, we didn’t get much time to do anything for ourselves other than going to animal sanctuaries and things like that…
Are you going to have more downtime when you are here?
I think so! But I think something else we are really going to focus on is doing more press stuff and making our presence more known then what it already is. We are always trying to branch out to new fans and to you know, make new endeavors out there. We definitely won’t try and have too much down time but we will try and take advantage of what’s out there. Thankfully this year we are able to go out two times.
On the new album again, I read the Austin wants to go for a more structured new metal sound. How much do you think this will change from your old stuff and do you think the fans will have to adjust to the new sound?
What I feel Austin sort of meant by structured is that when we created our new albums before, we really didn’t go in and look at the material we had in songs, or song writing, that we were creating overall pieces of art or music. Before we had a very tight schedule; we were always on tour, you know, go into the studio when the studio time was there and get it done and get the album out. Now get more structure, we get time with our producer. We don’t have to commit to the first thing we record. We have time to structure these songs better and kind of think about it. That’s definitely what he means by structured. We can think “Is this a good song” and we can work with the producer now who is involving himself. It’s definitely helping us as musicians and we are all very excited to see what’s gonna come out of this process. The music isn’t going to change in Of Mice & Men, the heaviest parts to the most melodic, to the most beautiful thing you like about Of Mice & Men. All of that is still everywhere.
Now you have been one of the most permanent members of Of Mice & Men. How does your experience change as the lineup changes?
I personally think this is the strongest and the best that Of Mice & Men have ever been. I know everybody feels that way. It’s hard being on the road all the time and having tones of responsibilities as far as the first years of touring. It’s hard being in a band in a really small trailer and we were really busting our asses trying to get from show to show. Not everybody can handle that. Of Mice & Men is a message. There has always been an overall theme that just because we are faced with adversity, you have to overcome that and you can’t let that get you down. You can’t let that get in the way of your dream and you American dream. We can say that because we are American, but it can transcend any ethnicity – or anybody. Everybody has dreams. That’s something that when we started Of Mice & Men, all of us knew that it was going to continue and that’s something that hold true today. It means more than it ever has, now that we are taking this next step and making a new album that’s going to encumber new emotions and all those feelings that have enabled us to get here and share our music, our stories and our outlet to anybody that wants to listen.
And finally, I had to read Of Mice and Men at school. Did you all have to read it as members of the band or did you have to read it in school as well?
I had to read it in school. The name’s not necessarily taken from the book, more so the quote from Mark Twain and it just happens to be the book. It’s funny when people try and relate us to characters “uh, who’s George, who’s Lenny”. We didn’t name it after the book, we named it after the saying “the best laid plans Of Mice and Men often go awry”. You know that’s something that holds true to this day.
Ryan Hyde
Bring Me The Horizon, Of Mice & Men, Crossfaith
Presented by Soundwave Touring
SATURDAY 5 OCTOBER - BRISBANE, THE MARQUEE – Licensed All Ages
SUNDAY 6 OCTOBER - SYDNEY, HORDERN PAVILION – Licensed All Ages
WEDNESDAY 9 OCTOBER - MELBOURNE, FESTIVAL HALL – Licensed and Unlicensed areas
THURSDAY 10 OCTOBER - ADELAIDE, THEBARTON THEATRE – Licensed All Ages
SATURDAY 12 OCTOBER - PERTH, CHALLENGE STADIUM – Licensed All Ages