Interview transcript from audio abrasion.
30 SECONDS TO MARS
In support of their new album, ‘A Beautiful Lie’,
30 Seconds To Mars will head out on their first ever headlining tour, dubbed “Forever Night Never Day.” Opening bands for the tour include newcomers Aiden, Emanuel, and Keating (who will join the band for a few shows in late April). The tour begins March 4th, in Salt Lake City, UT. But, fans can visit the official tour website now, at www.forevernightneverday.com. There you will find a schedule of dates, a section to add comments about any show, and printable flyers fans can use to promote shows in their area. A very interesting feature that has been added to the site is, Text America. Guitarist, Tomo Milicevic explains what that is. “There is a Text America link, which is a really cool thing. It’s where fans can upload pictures from the show directly to our website, right away. And, people at home can see pictures from the show that is happening right then.” Instructions and help are also available. 30 Seconds To Mars’ sophomore album, ‘A Beautiful Lie’ is available in stores, now. Be sure to pick it up. And, check out the website for a date near you. Then bring your camera phone and take part in what’s expected to be the most explosive tour of the year.
While relaxing at home in preparation for the upcoming tour, Tomo was gracious enough to call us here at Audio Abrasion. We spoke about life on the road, his philosophy about what it takes to do things right, the most amazing fans in the world, and the perception that rock and roll is dying.
Where are you calling in from today?
I’m in Los Angeles. I’m at home.
Cool. You've been on a little break from touring for the past couple months?
Yeah. We stopped on the 16th. Our last show was at the Avalon here in L.A., which is really exciting, because we had never played there and we sold it out. We over-sold it out, actually, which was really exciting.
What have you doing to keep yourself busy until the new tour "Forever Night Never Day" fires up this March?
Chillin'. (laughs) Actually, it’s funny. Because, you come home and you think you’re about to be on vacation. And then you realize that that word doesn’t exist for you. While we were not touring and not playing, we were planning and doing pre-production for our headlining tour, “Forever Night Never Day”, which is our first ever, you know. So, while it’s vacation in some ways, in many many ways, it’s not.
Because you're headlining this one, can fans expect anything different this time around?
Well, for one, we’re going to play much longer. I know Jared has said it a million times; we’re like a professional opening band. So, we’re limited to a 25 to 30 minute set. We’ve never really played for longer than an hour. Even if it was our show, it wasn’t like a headlining tour. It was just kind of like a one-off, ya know? So, this time it’s going to be different because we’re going to have some production, hopefully, and it’s just all about us, this time. So, we’re really going to put it all out there.
You've actually mentioned how difficult touring can be. And, how much hard work goes into it. All total, 30STM toured for 8 months, last year. How do you keep yourself motivated to work that hard, for so long? Especially in some of the conditions you've described?
Well, you’ve spent so much time on the record. I mean every waking moment that there is. When we were making the record it was all about that. And when it came time to start touring, we were all like, “Hey man. This is it. It’s all or nothing, right now.” Because, that’s really how it is with the music industry today. You don’t get a bunch of chances. So, when you’re given the opportunity to do it, you have to go for it all the way. I just don’t want to ever look back. I know none of us do. We don’t ever want to look back and go, “Oh, we could have done more. Or, we could have done that. I wish we would have toured a little longer in that first year.” (laughs) I just don’t ever want to look back. Let’s say, everything goes to s**t. Which is a very valid possibility. And, there is no guarantee. So, if everything goes to s**t, I will know that I did everything I could. And, that’s what drives us. We just want to know that we did everything that we could. Plus, we all think that we made a great record, so we’re motivated to go out and promote the hell out of it.
Are you planning on touring the better part of next year, again?
That’s the plan. By the time we’re halfway through with our headlining tour, I’m sure we’ll have more dates booked. We’ll be doing all kinds of stuff in the summer, I’m sure. We’re fighting really hard to get a “certain tour”, but I can’t really say anything about it, yet. But, we’re fighting really really hard for it. And, if we get it, it would be a changing kind of thing. It’ll change our career a little bit.
You guys started writing material for 'A Beautiful Lie' while touring in support of the first album. So, are you writing new materials now for another project in the near future?
Well. Jared, being the primary song writing force in the band, is the type of creative person that is always writing. You know, he doesn’t schedule a time and say, “Ok. Now we’re writing songs.” If he has an idea, we’ll work on it. And, we have Pro-Tools on the bus. So, if he’s got an idea that he thinks is really good, or if he comes up to us and says, “Here. I have this. What do you guys think?” and we all think that it’s really kind of cool, we’ll just start working on it, right away. We’re all pretty good with Pro-Tools as far as engineering goes. At least to make demos. We’re not making records on our own. But, we can all run Pro-Tools really well to make pretty good demos. Like for ‘A Beautiful Lie’, when we were on Lollapalooza in 2003, a lot of demos were done just on the back of the bus. So, song writing is always happening.
Cool. Speaking of that bus, what interesting things have you learned about each others living habits while spending all that time together on the road?
Well. The other guys all figured out that I’m a dirty slob. (both laugh) You start to really really know people.
I bet.
I mean just imagine. It’s a sardine can, you know? Our tour manager said something really funny that’s actually really really accurate. He said, “It’s a 55 foot long rolling Petri dish of bacteria and sickness. Because, that’s really what happens. If one person on the bus gets sick, you are getting sick. There is no avoiding it. (Laughs) There is no magical force that you can say or do. It’s like, you are gonna get sick and you just have to accept it. (still laughing) So, that’s what it’s like. Like a gypsy caravan, you know?
Absolutely. All right, it's a couple hours before a show. Doors are open. And, fans are filling the club. What are you doing to get yourself ready to go out?
I am actually such a geek, that I’m usually practicing my guitar right before I go on stage. (laughs)
No relaxing?
No! If anything, we hype each other up. We start listening to speed metal and s**t. We’re just so high energy live, that we just like to hype ourselves up so that when we come out on stage it’s just an explosion. Because, that’s what they expect. That’s what we’ve been giving them for the past few years. Now we want to make sure that we outdo ourselves every time. As much as possible, anyway.
Has performing gotten any easier, or any harder?
Much easier. It was funny. When we started touring in May of last year, we had not been on stage for so long. We played this radio show in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 8th. I’ll never forget. They have this radio show in Jacksonville called the Mother Shuckin’ Birthday Bash. And they blow this thing up. I mean, it’s like every other commercial is about this show. So, everyone in the town comes. And, we hadn’t been on stage in like, three years. So, we got up there and we didn’t know what we were doing. We felt so awkward and so uncomfortable. Everyone was trying to move around and have some fun and we just felt like it was the last thing in the world that we were supposed to be doing. (Both Laugh) But, you know. After a few months, you get your bearings again. And you’re like, “Oh yeah. This is what I do. It’s all good.”
The band seems very dedicated and hard working. In fact, one quote I was given was, "I have never met a harder working, more passionate, or more dedicated band in my 12 years in the industry."
That’s us.
Does your dedication, passion, and work ethic come from past experiences and people in your life? Or, is it your love of music that drives you?
It’s both. My parents came from a different country. I came from a different country. I was born in Croatia. And, when you come from a different country and you see your parents start a new life, and you see what kind of work that takes to do, it kind of teaches you and programs you, that you will not achieve anything in life without working hard. And then you grow up and you meet Jared Leto, who is the ultimate workhorse. I mean, I have yet to meet someone who has the stamina of that guy. If you don’t tell him to go to sleep, he will not. You know what I mean? And he definitely motivates us to work harder, too. Because, I don’t have it in me, I don’t really feel like I do, to even keep up with him sometimes. He’s just so focused. It’s unbelievable. We never stop working for our band. When every other band in the world, after the show, will be partying and doing stuff like that on the bus; we’re designing new merch and coming up with new artwork for posters. We do all the artwork ourselves and then the guys at Virgin help us put it together. Or, they come up with ideas and then we take it from there. It’s just a constant, constant, constant rolling machine that never stops. And, I think that’s why we’ve been able to break through so many of the stereotypes. Because, I don’t think that people realize that this is not a vanity project for Jared. It’s the real thing. We play live and then crush them, you know? (both laugh)
I heard a rumor that you're a pretty good cook. Maybe even a certified chef?
I am, indeed, a certified chef.
What’s it taken to be a certified chef and when did you find time for that?
When I graduated high school, a bunch of my friends were going to go to culinary school. Because, if you are kind of like a bum, but you want to have a pretty good job, you can be a chef, you know? (both laugh) And, I was pretty much a bum. All I did was play guitar and I didn’t do much else. I did pretty good in school but I just didn’t care about school. I did good for my parents not because I really cared about it. So, when school was over, I was going to move to L.A., right away, and just start playing music. And, then my friends were like, “No. Come to culinary school.” So, I was like, “******** it.” I went to culinary school for two years, got my certification, and I was like, “What a waste of my time.” So, now I’m back to music. (laughs) It proved to be a great skill to have. Being able to cook meals is really a good thing to do.
So do you cook for the guys on the road?
No. Because, there is no way to do it. If we were to stop somewhere where I could cook, I would. But, on tour it’s kind of difficult. I can microwave a mean Hot Pocket, though. (both laugh)
30STM has been around, in one form or another, since Jared and Shannon were kids. It seems like a lot has happened in the past 4 or 5 years, though. You and Matt joined the band, you've toured your asses off, and you have a new CD out. Now, it seems like the band has gotten more attention this past year. Would you agree?
Definitely. But, we’ve also put ourselves out there more. Before I was in the band…First of all, I was a huge fan of this band. Like, I was a hard core 30 Seconds to Mars fan. And, when I got the opportunity to be in the band, it was a total dream. But, I remember when they were first out and about, that they were really kind of staying under the radar. They just wanted the music to speak for itself. Because, the obvious reaction is, “Oooh. Blah, blah, blah, whatever.” The stupid issues, you know. But, now that we’ve proven ourselves, we’re putting ourselves out there more. Because, we want people to know who we are. We have something to say.
So I've made it this long without asking. But, I want to throw in a little twist. I must have read about 6 interviews in as many months where you or someone in the band was asked about Jared's acting career. On a scale of 1 to 10, how sick of those questions are you?
I’m not sick of them at all, to be honest. Because, the fact is, Jared is a great actor. And, that’s a part of his life. To me it’s nothing to hide or be ashamed of. It’s not like he makes cheesy teen movies. You know what I mean? He makes really cool art films. Right now he’s making a movie called ‘Chapter 27’, where he gained a bunch of weight and he’s playing John Lennon’s killer. That’s not a typical role for an actor to pick. And, he picks art movies, so he doesn’t make any money. To me, it doesn’t bother me at all because I like his acting work. And, I’m a fan of it. So, when people ask me about it, it’s just like, “Yeah. That’s what he does. It’s all good.” He focuses so much time on the band. Even when he’s gone, we have so much work to do that we don’t even think about what he’s doing. Because, we’re always, always doing stuff for the band. Even when he’s not around, we’re rehearsing, coming up with stuff for the live show, and working on artwork and merch and stuff.
Can you describe the way you felt when you first heard a song of yours played on the radio?
It was pretty insane. I actually remember it pretty clearly. The first time I heard a 30 Seconds To Mars song I was a part of, on the radio, was in Jacksonville. It was the world premier of the song. They were the first station to play it. I remember our radio rep from Virgin called us and was like, “They’re going to play it. They’re going to premier the song at 5:15. And, it was like May 1st or something like that. We were all in the car. We were actually going to Home Depot to buy some supplies for some production ideas that we had for the stage. We had no money, so we had to be creative with that. We were in the car and he (virgin radio rep) called and said, “They’re going to play it. They’re going to play it.” And, when we heard that first keyboard intro, we all just start screaming like a bunch of little kids. It was so exciting because, I mean, you work really hard to make something and then who knows if anyone is even going to listen to it, you know? (laughs) Sometimes people don’t even care.
I understand that the single "Attack" almost never made it to recording. What was so difficult about the very song that ended up being the most popular one to date?
We just didn’t like it. This was the issue. When Jared played it on the acoustic guitar, we knew it was a great song. But, we could never make it happen as a band. No matter what we tried, when we played it as a full band it just fell flat on its face. It just sucked. We just knew there was no song there. And after five versions the song, “Attack” we kind of decided that maybe it was done. So when we started recording, that song wasn’t even a song that we showed people as an option to record. So, no one even knew about this song. And then one day, when we were at the studio, Jared was sitting outside with our producer, Josh Abraham, and he was just kind of joking around, being funny or whatever. He said, “Hey. Do you want to hear a hit song?” And, he starts playing “Attack”. And then after the first chorus, Josh is like, “We have to start recording that song immediately. That is the best song you have.” We were all over (done with) it. When he said that, we were laughing. We were like, “No, dude. That song is not getting recorded.” (both laugh) He was like, “No, no, really. Let me just kind of guide this one for a little while. You’ll see.” And then we all kind of all looked at each other, and talked, and we were like, “Alright, man. If he says that this is the best song, let’s see what we can do with it.” We went into the live room and started playing around with some beat ideas and the next thing you know, the song is born. It’s the first single, the first song on the record, and it got up to number 20. Obviously, we didn’t know. That’s what made Josh such a great producer is that he knew to say that.
How do you feel about the perception that Rock and Roll is dying?
I completely and totally agree with that. It’s pathetic. There’s no attitude. There’s no danger. There’s no edginess. I mean, I grew up listening to bands like Pantera and Guns and Roses. Even The Cure has more edge than most bands today. There’s no sexiness. When I see these new bands, I don’t feel that thing that I used to feel. And, it’s not because I’m a jaded musician. Because, I still get in the pit at my favorite bands shows. Ok? So, it’s not like some jaded L.A. thing. It’s just that a lot of these new younger bands, especially the shoe-gazing indie rockers, it makes me sick. It’s like, come on man. Grow some balls. This is rock.
Put on a show, right?
Yeah. Put on a show. That’s why I love Avenged Sevenfold, so much. They put on a show. They know exactly what they’re doing. It’s not like some kind of fluke that they did the rock thing, you know? And they do it so well. They wrote good songs. They have a whole edgy rock look…and show. I love it. And, kids love it. They respond and it’s obvious that they want that, you know? That’s why hip-hop is so huge. I’ve said this a million times. Hip-hop is so big, not because the music is so much better. It’s because the music is so much more dangerous and so much more rebellious for kids. Kids want rebellion. If you remember when you were little, you wanted to be bad, not for any other reason other than you weren’t supposed to. And that’s what kids want. They want something to make them feel like they’re rebelling. Rock music just doesn’t offer that. Everyone’s too cool for school. No one wants to be part of any scene because it might be the wrong scene that week. I just don’t get it. So, yeah. I totally think rock is dying and I think that bands like Avenged Sevenfold and bands like us who come out there and put on a show…bands like Muse. I mean these are bands that are larger than life to me. And, that’s what we want to be. I don’t want people to look up on our stage, when we’re playing, and just say to themselves, “I can do that.” I want people to look at our show and say, “I wish I could do that.” That’s the whole point. You go to a show and you want to see something that’s out of your reach. That’s just me though.
No. I totally agree.
I grew up listening to bands like Pink Floyd. So, maybe those bands listen to other s**t. But, to me…I don’t like it. (laughs)
Of course, the Grammy's were on last night. So, did you watch?
I didn’t watch because I was at a bunch of Grammy parties, last night. I went to the EMI party. Then we went to the William Morris party as well, afterwards. But, I TIVO’d it. So I’m going to watch it. I did catch the opening show. I thought that the performance with Madonna and the girls was great.
How much stock do you put in those kinds of awards or award shows?
I don’t care about that stuff, at all. Put it this way, I always get angry because the bands that I think should win, don’t. But, I don’t really understand how those people vote for stuff, because I’m not really interested in those award shows. So to me, I don’t get it. I would be honored to get something like that one day. But, it’s never something that I have worked for, as a goal. It’s like an excuse for all the labels to have parties. If you really think about it, it’s just like an excuse to party for a couple days. None of those people would be any different. Record sales jump after the Grammy’s for a couple days and then that’s it. I don’t know. Award shows seem like a lot of fun and all that. But, I’m much more of a homebody anyways. So, I probably wouldn’t go if I was invited. (laughs) I’d just be like, “Eh. I’d rather stay home with my chick.”
Now, you introduced to music with the violin at the age of 3. Do you feel it's important or beneficial for kids to get involved in music at an early age?
Well. This is the thing. Getting involved with music at an early age…and I know this just because it’s a proven fact. It just helps develop you. It develops your mind more. Because music is so mathematical that it kind of programs your head to think a certain way and to be more creative. I’m very, very, very happy. And, I feel very lucky that I was born into a family that was all about music. I’m from Michigan. It’s not exactly a place where people are promoting and encouraging people to go for a music career. (laughs) And, I was lucky because my parents were completely telling me that it’s totally possible and there is no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do that if I want to. My Dad made my first guitar for me because he wanted me to be able to play. So, I was just lucky that I had that kind of support system underneath me. And, obviously the result is that here I am…playing music for a living at the highest level of the game. So I say, let your kids play music. Put them in music. It will improve their school scores if that’s what you care about. (laughs)
I’m starting mine tomorrow.
Yeah. Well, it’s true. When I was in high school, I read this study where they did a test. They took two kids of the same age, equal IQ, similar scores in school and they would give both of them the same exact math test. One of them, they would have listen to Mozart for a few hours before he would take the test. And, on average, the person who listened to Mozart scored twenty percent higher on the test. The only variable factor was that the one person listened to Mozart. So, it tells you that if that guy was such a genius that he could actually program your brain to think better, then obviously there’s something to it. I also read that if you play classical music to your babies when they’re sleeping it helps develop their mind. The melody and creativity creates a certain kind of thought process, I guess. I think that’s pretty cool. It’s pretty amazing because those guys are beyond genius. Especially the classic greats like, Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. People like that still have not been surpassed, to this day, when it comes to the level of original creativity. It’s like; you want to talk about timeless classics. How about the ones that were written in the sixteen hundreds? It’s like, yeah, Led Zeppelin is great and all that, but are they going to be around three hundred years from now? (laughs)
Yeah. That’s a long time.
That’s what I mean, you know? So, there’s got to be something to it.
30STM owes a lot of its success to its really strong fan base. If you could only say one more thing to them, what would it be?
Thank you. I mean, they’re so great. Our fans are so amazing. You really don’t get to see how lucky you are until you play with other bands and you see that they don’t have that. Even bands that are much, much, much bigger than us. You just don’t understand. You cannot fathom the level of dedication that these kids have. We have a cult following the likes of Fish or the Grateful Dead or David Bowie. It’s insane how people follow us all over the world. They follow us. I mean, we have people coming from South America, from Israel, Japan, and Korea. It’s unreal. We play shows and they’re like, “We flew from Israel just to see your show tonight.” For one show. And we’re like, “Well stay awhile. Go to a couple more.” I mean they came all the way from Israel. Damn. (laughs) That’s just so flattering because we haven’t even toured over there or anywhere really, except America. We’ve only touched Canada a little bit. And, people are coming from all over the world. They just want to see us and that’s so flattering. I was a pretty gnarly music fan, meaning that I would drive places to see my favorite bands. I’ve seen Tool probably twenty five times. I followed them around a little bit. But, I never went to ******** Israel to see them. (laughs)That’s what tells me. I’ve never gotten a tattoo of my favorite band. You know how many kids have our symbols tattooed on their bodies somewhere? I mean in every city. Literally, in every city there is at least one. At least. And you can count on there being more than one. Stuff like that is not a common thing. That’s for sure. So, it’s very flattering. We have the best fans in the world. They love us. And they totally support us. They’re always there. And, we’ll always be there as long as they’re there. As long as they want us to play, we will be playing.
Excellent. Good to hear. All right, man. That's all I've got. Thanks for calling in and talking with us. The album is great. And, I'm looking forward to seeing you guys in Seattle, this April.
Not a problem. Anytime. Talk to you later, Chris.
All right. See ya.
Bye.
Guitarist, Tomo Milicevic interviewed by Christopher Wood while at home in Los Angeles on Thursday, February 9, 2006.
Contributors: Armando Gomez, Research; Mark Marti and Angela Vlas, Editors.
© 2005-2007 Audio Abrasion. All Rights Reserved.
i like that interview. had to repost it. i never came across it.
