It’s been just a few days since it was revealed that Austin Carlile had rejoined Of Mice & Men, so when PropertyOfZack had the chance to interview not only he, but drummer Valentino Areaga as well, we jumped for it! In Austin’s first interview since being back in the band we discussed the truth to why he originally left, the circumstances of his return, and his confidence at the second go around being for real as well. Valentino, who provided a great opposite to Austin, spoke about touring plans, material for the new record, and his views on Austin replacing Jerry. Don’t miss this one, it’s great!

For the record, could you state your names and roles in Of Mice & Men?
Austin: My name is Austin Carlile and I am the lead vocalist.
Valentino: My name is Valentino Arteaga and I play drums.
 
Austin, not even a year ago you posted a brief, but somewhat harsh message regarding your leaving of the band. To quote, “I, Austin Carlile, quit Of Mice & Men.” Since then there have been many rumors floating around about why, including healthy and label issues. Now that you are back, can you set the record straight on the events leading up to your departure and the rumors that have since emerged?
Austin: Over Christmas break I found out that I was going to need heart surgery and the band found out that there was no way that we could skip the tours if we wanted the band to continue. So they were kind of like, “We need to keep going as a band,” so they had a fill-in for a while I couldn’t do it. So while I was out getting all the heart stuff done, the band just kept the wheels going.
 
It’s been just two days since the shocking news of your rejoining Of Mice & Men was revealed. Can you detail and walk us through the steps of how talking between you and the band?
Austin: It was just that I’m healthy once again and that I was kind of in contact with the guys and thinking that overall, it would be a really good situation to join back up and do a second album together. We talked about all the stuff that was out there and settled our differences and talked about the stuff that was in the dark in the past about me being gone and about touring. We just kind of got over it all and decided to see a really great opportunity to do another album again and to get the band back together.
 
Were there worries on your end before you rejoined the band?            
Austin: Yeah, it seemed natural. I feel like that’s where I need to be and obviously I’m here, so that’s obviously there I’m supposed to be. I think it all worked out for everybody’s benefit.
 
It seems like you were working on another project. How far along the lines into fruition was that when the change back to Mice happened?
Austin: Well, we were already signed to Rise records and we had a demo and had my friend Alan, who was playing guitar with me and programming the music. What were going to do is, Alan is joining the band now and he’ll be playing guitar and we’re just going to combine all the ideas. Like the ideas that Of Mice & Men had when they were on the road and stuff combined with the songs that I did with Alan. We’re just going to combine them into one. It all just melts together. Adding all the stuff with Shayley’s singing is going to be epic [Laughs].
 
Is the writing process for the album completely done, or is there still more left to do?
Austin: Yeah, we have writing to do. For the most part we know where we want to go. We have eight or nine songs, but we want to go there and take our time and come out with sixteen or seventeen songs and have a twelve or thirteen track CD that’s just going to make people go, “Oh wow, this is something different and new.” It’s good.
 
How would you compare the progression to the debut record?
Austin: I’d say it’s a lot more mature because we definitely know which direction we want to go in more. Even though things have been thrown together in a really crazy sense for all of this, I think it was just as nuts last year. We picked up Shayley three or four days before we went to the studio and said, “Hey, here are the songs that you need to know. Write melodies for it and sing to them.” This time we actually get to work on the songs together and write more as a complete group. I think that’ll benefit the songs because they’ll be a lot more mature and a lot smarter and more well rounded.
 
I assume that the band was writing before you, Austin, were reinstated. Did you have to do a lot of changing to vocal parts and lyrics?
Valentino: We hadn’t really written anything with vocals yet. It had just been music for the album and just getting ideas together for the direction that we wanted to go. We hadn’t even really thought about having the vocals yet because our touring schedule was so relentless last year that we had really only been able to write music because we had to do so much writing on the road. When writing music, in our experience, it’s never really been like, “The vocal part for this is going to be awesome.” We thought the vocals would come later, but we needed a direction for the music that we wanted for the next album first.
           
Are you excited to work with Joey once again?
Valentino: He was the producer for our first album and we’re really excited to go back to him. We liked the way that our first record came out and we’re really excited to do it, not necessarily differently, but we know what we want in the next record. We’re driving out to the studio to record it and we know the things that we want to change about the sound of the first record and we want to do some heavier and more melodic things. Touring on the first record and seeing what our fans like has definitely helped us with writing.
 
When would the band like to have the record released by?
Valentino: Well, we just confirmed Warped Tour today, so hopefully this summer. We don’t have a definite release date because we’re just hitting the studio.
 
Like you said, Warped was announced just hours ago. How long have the talks been going for that and how stoked are you for it?
Valentino: Since the last Warped Tour. Our agent had been talking to them about getting us on for a second year. We’re really excited. I know Austin is really excited. We had a blast last year and we’re grateful to have the opportunity again and to do it differently now. We spent the last year touring with Jerry and that year’s done and now that we’ve rekindled our friendship and understanding with Austin, it’s going to be cool to see how things are going to be this upcoming year where we are still booked solid just like last year and to actually see. We don’t want to seem like we’re seeing which choice is better, we just want to give back the most to our fans and followers. We want to deliver the best possible music that we can and give them the best form of art that we can. We felt like bringing Austin back could showcase that because our fans didn’t really get a chance to ever see him perform with us live. Because everything is water under the bridge now, we’re excited to see just how this year’s going to pan out. It’s new opportunities to the fans that can connect with us.
 
The band will be heading out on the Artery Foundation tour in March and April. Are there any nerves in terms about switching to this new setting since it’s something new for the fans?
Valentino: Not necessarily. The decision was made pretty recently because we are booked really solidly, but it hasn’t been too long since we brought Austin back. In that aspect, there is, but we know how much Austin wants this and wants to be able to play music and things just didn’t happen for us last year in that sense. Unfortunately, with the start of a New Year, there are always going to be those jitters, but we’ve all grown in the last year and I’m sure that after getting through all of that, there’s not much else to worry about regarding the lineup.
 
Are there any plans for possible overseas touring this year as well?
Valentino: Yes. We’re still getting everything figured out and I’m not sure if we can announce anything yet, but we’re definitely going overseas to multiple countries next year.
 
Austin, it’s great that everything is under the bridge now, but I think there is going to be a lot of skepticism in the public eye from fans and critics. Can you just further clarify the kind of situation that the band is in now? You did seem to undergo a few large arguments with Jerry in the summer regarding some songs and stuff like that.
Austin: I think most of the bickering that people saw or the arguments and this and that were amped up more just because that’s how it worked when things get into the public eye. As far as arguments between the band and myself, I can think of two situations and one of them has nothing to do with anything and the other one was to tell my replacement to sing that song right because he screws up the words every day. People take those two things and they blow it up and run with it and it became a huge argument. I met up with the band a couple days ago and we got in the van and started driving and I couldn’t remember the last thing we bickered or fought about because the people that are in the band have never really had problems. You’re with someone for 180 days in a row; you’re going to have arguments. I think people took those little things and blew them out of proportion.
 
It’s not a leap to say that your career has struggled with drama regarding both Attack Attack! And Of Mice & Men. Can fans be certain this time that you’re going to be here for the long run?
Austin: Yes, that’s for sure. I don’t see myself going anywhere. I don’t have a desire to go anywhere. I told the guys that by coming back, I’m here to stay. I told them that to reassure them so they’d know I wouldn’t call them one day and be like, “I can’t play that fest because my doctor just called and we’re screwed,” or go “Hey, I have to get heart surgery’ and they’d go, “What?” I wanted to reassure them with that, and also for myself because I don’t want to go anywhere and this is what I want to do and what the band wants to do. We’ve made a commitment to do this together. It would be a Rest In Peace if we decided to break-up this time. We’re not planning on going anywhere.
 
Thanks so much for your time, is there anything else you’d like to add or that we should be on the lookout for?
Austin: I just want to say thanks to all the people that supported the band without me and the band with me and the band with Shayley and the band with who cares. We just like the music. We don’t think the lineup should even matter. It just depends on how the songs are and what you love the band for, and that should be the music. We’re really excited to go back on the road and to let people hear the new songs and to let people hear the original songs. I think that’s something that we’re really going to get a hold of and run with on our headliner. Just a big thank you to everyone who has been a supporter.