NO-ONE KNOWS...
WORDS:DAN SLESSOR“I USED TO WEAR
BONDAGE PANTS”
I WANTED TO BE
MADONNA’S DRUMMER
“When I was three years old, my mom asked me
what I wanted to be when I grew up and that was
my answer. She asked me again when I was four and
my only response was, ‘Dangerous.’ But, really,
I always wanted to be involved in music.”I WAS A TEENAGE GOTH
“I’ve been through lots of phases that some
might consider embarrassing, but none of them
are embarrassing to me. In seventh, eighth and
ninth grade I only wore black, I was always in Tool
shirts and bondage pants. I ran as part of a group
and we listened to a lot of industrial music.”I USED TO STREAK. A LOT
“It was in middle school, and I honestly don’t know
why I did that. It was only ever around my friends. It
was like, ‘Dude! Let’s get naked and run down the
street!’ And someone else would say, ‘Yeah, that’s
sick!’ I never got in trouble for it, but so much of my
youth makes literally zero sense – my poor parents!”I WANT TO GET INTO
WATCHMAKING
“I’m fascinated by it, but it’s something you’d
need to go to school for, which I’m down
with because I’d actually love to get back into
education. I’ve spoken to a lot of professionals
and they all say it’s not really something you can
do on a tour bus, because there are a lot of tiny
parts that can go missing!”I’VE BEEN IN MY FAIR
SHARE OF FIST FIGHTS
“I beat people’s asses and got my ass beat. I used
to roll around with the local hardcore scene and
we’d get into fights at shows and down at the skate
park, but it’s only when the male brain turns 25 that
it actually matures and you realise in retrospect how
stupid you were when you were younger.”I TRY TO STAY INFORMED
ABOUT GEOPOLITICS
“I avoid the major news outlets because it’s so
obvious that they support this guy or that guy
and they’re really biased, but I’ll have the local
news on a lot. I don’t go to political rallies, but
I vote and I share my opinions on what I think is
good and bad with those close to me.”EVERYONE WOULD LIKE ME
TO PROCRASTINATE LESS
“If there’s something that could be done now or in
five minutes, I’ll always do it in five minutes, which
frustrates the people around me. It makes no sense,
because there’s no better time to do something than
right now, and I’m aware of that. It’s only really when
I’m being creative that I’m present in the moment.”MY BIGGEST REGRET IS NOT
TEXTING CHESTER BENNINGTON
ON THE DAY THAT HE PASSED
“We used to text and talk a lot, and we were
working on a song he was going to feature on.
Me, Phil [Manansala, guitar] and Tino [Arteaga,
drums] were literally working on the song when
we got the news. I would wager anyone who
loves him wishes they had contacted him, too.”OF MICE & MEN PLAY READING & LEEDS
AND A HEADLINE SHOW IN LONDON NEXT
MONTH –SEE THE GIG GUIDE FOR INFO16 KERRANG!From his “teenage goth” years to times when all he
wanted to do was be naked, OF MICE & MEN’s
AARON PAULEY has gone through some changes...