Of Mice & Men Artistfacts

2009-
Austin CarlileVocals2009-2016
Phil ManansalaLead guitar2009-
Jon KintzRhythm guitar2009
Valentino ArteagaDrums2009-
Jaxin HallBass2009-2010
Alan AshbyRhythm guitar2011-
Aaron PauleyBass, vocals2012-
Of Mice and Men are named after the 1937 John Steinbeck novella of the same name, the only thing that separates the California metalcore band's name from the book is the use of an ampersand in the place of the word "and."
Of Mice & Men was founded by Austin Carlile, the original vocalist of Attack Attack!, New Zealand bassist Jaxin Hall, drummer Valentino Arteaga formerly of Lower Definition, rhythm guitarist Jon Kintz formerly of Odd Project, and Phil Manansala, a touring guitarist for A Static Lullaby.
Manansala told Ultimate-Guitar.com the story of forming the band:

"I met Tino and we had some drinks. I was like, 'Oh, we should just quit our bands and start a band.' Then I met Austin and eventually he got kicked out of Attack Attack! And started another band. I contacted Austin because I didn't want to be in Static so I was like, 'You know what? Let's do something.' So I contacted Tino and it was like, 'OK, let's actually do this.' It happened like that and then the band went on and we ended up having Aaron come in. I toured with all three of these people in back-to-back-to-back tours and then we all joined the band together."
Of Mice & Men frontman Austin Carlile suffers from Marfan syndrome, which is a rare fibrostic connective tissue disorder that painfully causes his body to seize up. In October 2016 Of Mice And Men pulled out in the midst of a European tour so that Carlile could seek medical treatment after experiencing pain during a show in Portsmouth.

Two months later, on December 30, 2016, Austin Carlile posted on his Instagram an open letter stating that he's stepping away from the band to focus on his health issues.

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