MUSIC INTERVIEW: OF MICE & MEN

Stopping the Drama, Squashing the Beef, Starting Afresh with ‘The Flood’

2011 has been the year that one of California’s most exciting metalcore bands stopped making headlines because of personnel changes and started making them because of the rave reviews, sold-out shows, and chart successes that everyone had always hoped for them. Backstage at the Warped Tour’s recent stop in Carson, CA, Of Mice & Men’s oldest and newest members, Austin Carlile and Alan Ashby, sat down with Buzzine’s Stefan Goldby to talk about the drama of the past year, the new stronger version of the band that it has created...and the benefits of hot-boxing the back lounge.

 

Stefan Goldby: Since the beginnings of Of Mice & Men, your story seemed to be one about constant change more than anything else: But here in 2011, things seem to have finally calmed down and your second album has also become your first Billboard Top 30 entry – That’s got to feel pretty good, but can you sum up the overall state of the band right now?

 

Austin Carlile: The state of it now is what we wanted it to be for a while. Alan and I joined in January, technically. We worked with the band in February to record the album, and then we’ve just been on the road ever since – this entire year. We like the lineup. There’s been a lot of changes: It’s been kind of a crazy ride. We’re still delirious now, but we’re really grateful that we’re here and things are how they are now.

 

SG: For you Austin, this is your second lap with the band: What do you think is the most positive difference in the Of Mice & Men: Mk. II?

 

AC: I think there’s a big positive difference. I think Alan is the biggest positive difference. Before, the band had a lot of negative things in it and things going for it, and I brought Alan in and everybody loves him. He’s like everybody’s little brother: Everybody is like, “Who’s your best friend in the band?” All guys would say, “Alan,” and he’d say, “I don’t know.” Right? [Laughs]

 

Alan Ashby: Yeah.

 

AC: But it’s cool. He brought a sense of: “Hey everybody, do what we love. Have fun.” He’s just a chill guy.

 

SG: For you, Alan, you and Austin were all set to work together in another band…

 

AC: Yeah, we had a contract and everything.

 

SG: Exactly. You were on the launch pad ready to go. So what was it about Of Mice and Men that was like, “Okay, what we are doing was great, but this could be better”?

 

AA: [Sighs] There was a lot. Austin and I were going through a lot of personal issues around that time, and honestly it just made a lot of sense. We had a lot of music that we had been writing and getting our feelings out through, and this Of Mice thing came up and we could record an album right then… and that was the most therapeutic thing for both of us – just to get all of that s*** out of our system into music. And this opportunity came up, and I met all the dudes, and they all seemed cool, and now we’re here doing this.

 

SG: One of the few constants throughout the life of the band has been (producer) Joey Sturgis: What does he bring to your music?

 

AA: I love Joey. He has a very musical mind.

 

AC: And he works well with us. If we want something to sound like how we want it, he’ll do that. He’s not gonna say, “No, don’t do this,” or change something for us or write stuff for us. We’re not Lady Gaga or (Justin) Bieber – bands like that, where they have songs given to them and they have a single, or their producer says, “I want you to do this;” they have to do it. He really works with us where if we want this, we’re gonna get that, and he’s really good. He’s a genius. He works hard. He’s recorded three albums for us.

 

SG: Is there a moment from the recordings of The Flood that stands out most in your minds?

 

AC: I think all of them.

 

AA: That one time when you started crying…

 

AC: Oh!

 

AA: That meant a lot. I thought that was really cool, actually.

 

AC: I was on the phone outside with my now ex-wife, yelling… because that’s one of the reasons I left California. She sucks. But I was on the phone outside in the snow walking around yelling, all emotional, literally crying… Sorry, Dad, I admitted to crying, but whatever. And I threw my phone in the snow, just said, “F*** it,” ran inside and burst through the door, and I was tracking right there. I was like, “Let’s finish this song,” and put on the headphones. I got on the mic literally ten seconds after I’d thrown down the phone and come inside, and I recorded the entire song – the song called “I’m a Monster.”

 

I just kind of winged it, and did the whole entire song after that situation, and it’s cool because I listen to the song now and I’m like, “I sound so pissed off!” It’s really cool because it’s real. I don’t know how many bands literally do that: Break their phone and then run inside and record the song and then it’s on the album. I think it’s pretty cool.

 

SG: So what happens when you get to revisit that moment every day on stage now?

 

AC: We don’t play that song on this tour really. The only song I really get emotional about is “Second & Sebring.” I wrote about some past stuff – my mom passing away and whatever. There are some days, when it’s just a great show, and I just feel it. Like yesterday – we were playing in San Diego…

 

AA: The day in the rain was sick.

 

AC: Yeah, the day in the rain, I went out to the crowd and played literally in the crowd. It was just raining and singing the song…

 

AA: We all ran out there.

 

AC: I love music.

 

AA: For sure.

 

SG: While we are loving things, what do you love most about this record?

 

AA: It’s real.

 

AC: It’s real. It’s talking about…from exes to family, to overcoming addictions, to love, to friendship. It just talks about everything that’s real…

 

AA: …It’s not a record just to be a band…

 

AC: Yeah…Exactly. It’s not just “We’re gonna make some music just to do it.” We want to make music that people can relate to and kids can see that, “Hey, I’m having a tough time in school, my whole world revolves around high school.” That’s how kids think. That’s how I thought. And we just want to reach out and say, “Hey, there’s so much more than being cool in high school, or doing drugs when you’re 16 years old, or thinking you have to impress boys by wearing short skirts…” I don’t know; we just touched on a lot of things on the album to connect with our fans on that level of, “There’s a lot more out there for you”.

 

SG: You said you’re not playing a lot of the new songs here at Warped. I assume that those will come into the set when you guys go out on tour afterward, but why wait until then?

 

AC: We wanted to play this Warped Tour and play our older songs, because last year I wasn’t in the band; neither was Alan, so songs didn’t sound how they should, and people complained every day, like, “They’re terrible; they’re getting ruined… blah blah blah.” So we wanted to bring our old songs back this year and play them how they’re supposed to sound, and play them for the fans that still have the first album and love the first album. And then for the rest of the year, we really want to focus on The Flood and play all our new stuff: We’re really excited about that right now.

 

SG: Warped Tour is obviously really important to you, especially coming back and doing your songs right: What is it about Warped that makes this tour so unique?

AC: It’s been around for so long. This is… what, its 16th, 17^th?

 

AA: It’s a legend.

 

AC: I watched Warped Tour like six years ago, and I was saying, “I want to do that.” Now here I am: We’ve only been a band for two years and I’m doing that. I’m playing on the same stages as some of my heroes used to play on. I think it’s really cool, being on this side of the fence and being able to do it, because it’s just a classic tour. It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever wanted to do…

 

AA: It’s Warped Tour, man!

 

SG: What or who has been the biggest surprise to you this year at Warped?

 

AC: Bad Rabbits are really…

 

AA: Not a surprise, but…

 

AC: Yeah, not a surprise, but they’re just a great band. They’re not as big as they should be. They should be the biggest band in the world.

 

AA: They will be.

 

SG: So you’re playing a slightly different set here at Warped. And you’re already planning the way the set is going to be when you guys go out on tour. But what has been the best night on stage so far this year for Of Mice & Men?

 

AC: That one night…

 

AA: Yeah, where was it, Florida? Oh my God…

 

AC: We got bras, panties, cell phones, quilts, bongs…

 

AA: All the street lights went off and the stage lights went on during the heaviest part of our set, perfectly.

 

AC: Yeah, perfectly. We were playing at night; we were the last band of the day…

 

AA: Some nights there’s just that feeling in the air, as gay as it sounds.

 

AC: It was fun.

 

AA: It’s nothing really we can control. Just sometimes…

 

AC: …Sometimes you just feel it, and everyone was smiling and laughing…

 

AA: Good mood…

 

AC: Or yesterday, I had the entire crowd… There was a circle pit around the whole entire tent, so there was like 5,000 people watching us and like 1,000 were like… I was watching them… Remember the last part? I didn’t even do that part because I was so blown away. I was like...“Oh, I didn’t even do that part.”

 

I was just like, “You’re kidding me! There’s this many people doing this!” We had as much fun as they did. If I stop singing, it’s because I’m too in awe, and that’s a good sign…

 

SG: Austin, you’ve had a break, collected your thoughts, expressed some aggression that needed expressing and generally got it all out on this new record. Yours is a pretty incredible journey over the past two years, and we haven’t even mentioned some pretty profound medical problems that you’ve overcome too – you’ve been through an amazing amount of stuff. What’s the best thing that you’ve learned from your recent experiences?

 

AC: There’s just so much. The best thing I’ve learned is just that I complain about the little things, and then I just focus on: Look where I am, and look what I’m doing, and look back at what I’ve been through, look what I’ve accomplished. Or when I see people trying to say things about me or bringing the band down or me down, or saying negative things, I just think about, “Look where I am personally; look where the band is as a band.”

 

So it’s real. I’m really grateful to be here. This is people’s dreams. We’re living the dream, and I just want to keep working harder, and it’s great.

 

SG: To finish with, it’s something we always ask everybody, and I’m always entertained by the variety of the answers: What has been the single best moment for Of Mice & Men so far?

 

 

AC: Why?

 

AA: Because I don’t think I can talk about that on a camera.

 

AC: Thousands of people are going to watch this…

 

AA: I know. That’s why I can’t say it.

 

SG: What is this, the “taunt the interviewer” answer?!!

AC: Come on, let’s hear it! Who cares?

 

AA: Okay, well for me, it was that one time we were all in the back lounge, and you know what we were doing, and I don’t think I should say this…

 

AC: I smoked pot for the first time in my entire life.

 

AA: We all did as a band…

 

AC: I don’t do that… [Laughs]

 

AA: It was the best night. We were all just laughing at each other… It was just awesome.

 

AC: We never had that moment… but the night we smoked weed…

 

AA: It was just that one night! We hot-boxed the back lounge… [Laughs] And it was just like this. Everyone was just laughing the whole time, and everyone was in a good mood. It was just awesome.

 

Of Mice & Men’s second album, ‘The Flood,’ is out now on Rise Records.