30 Seconds to Mars may not be tearing up the radio charts and MTV just yet, but there's no denying they've generated a huge buzz in the music community. Fronted by Hollywood actor Jared Leto, 30 Seconds to Mars released their self-titled debut in 2002. Not too many actors have the talent and ability to release a follow-up. Dogstar and 40 Odd Foot of Grunts come to mind. With their latest release A Beautiful Lie, the group establishes themselves as more than just another Hollywood vanity project, with their intricate prog-rock arrangements and powerful melodic vocals. Backing Jared up in the band are guitarist Tomo Milicevic, bassist Matt Wachter, and brother Shannon Leto on drums. Shannon took some time to speak with me as the group was in the early stages of their latest tour.
RIL: If I knew absolutely nothing about 30 Seconds to Mars, how would you describe the group's music to me?
SL: 30 Seconds to Mars is the grandiosity of Pink Floyd and the energy of The Sex Pistols
RIL: Where did the band name come from?
SL: It came from...It's more of a conceptual kind of thing. It drives the music. Atmospheric.
RIL: You're running a golden ticket promotion with the sale of your new album...
SL: Yeah hold on, I'm going to walk outside. We're doing a sound check right now...(long pause). The golden ticket; I can't tell you everything, but one of the things is like a back stage pass for several shows.
RIL: Is there something special that you get too?
SL: Yeah, there's a little something else there.
RIL: What's your favorite song on the new album?
SL: You know it changes from day to day; I like "The Fantasy." "Fantasy" is really hot and has a lot of energy to it.
RIL: Are you playing a lot of songs from the new album on the current tour?
SL: Yeah, we're playing about three to four new and three to four old ones.
RIL: What has been the most memorable part of touring?
SL: Connecting with the fans. You know, getting a relationship with them. Actually, the most memorable thing is when we played one of our first shows. We had just released our first single on the internet, and when we played the show, everyone was singing it. That was pretty amazing.
RIL: Does it bother you at all if you read something negative about your music?
SL: Not really. They're either going to like it or hate it, and I can't waste the energy on people that dislike it and why. It's not for everybody, so I really don't waste my time.
RIL: When did you decide that you wanted to be a drummer?
SL: Well, my brother and I grew up with lots of instruments around us. I come from a pretty artistic family. Tthere were canvases and paint everywhere, instruments, and all sorts of stuff. It just kind of made sense. I started playing on pots and pans at a very early age, so I just kind of flowed into it. It was just a natural progression.
RIL: Do you ever want to get out from behind the kit and play something else?
SL: I do play a little guitar and piano, but I like it back there, man. I have a good time. Being a drummer, it's definitely expressive and I get to do kind of what I want. I don't have to play the exact same thing every night.
RIL: Your fans seem to think you're the hardest band member to track down before or after the show, do you think that's true?
SL: I don't know, I've never really thought about it. I mean, we do the signing and we hang out with them afterwards. I don't know, maybe sometimes I get a little quiet. Peace time after the storm.
RIL: Do you plan on touring Europe at all?
SL: We do, but we're not sure when. We are going to conquer America and then were going to go over to Europe and conquer them. We're just going to focus all our energy now on America. Maybe the summer of next year we'll be in Europe.
RIL: You have a lot of European fans, believe it or not.
SL: Yeah I know. We have people coming over from Sweden and Germany and places like that. There were actually four Swedish girls that were somewhat following us from tour stop to tour stop. They just rented a car and followed us around. Some Japanese fans, up to three at a time, would come over and rent a car and follow us around, go back, and three more would come over and do the same. It's pretty awesome, man.
RIL: Do you see yourselves headlining more shows in order to support smaller bands or would you rather open up a show for a bigger band?
SL: I would love to headline. Actually, we just found out that were going to be opening up for Audioslave, so we are really excited about that. Eventually we want to headline. We want it to be our show. There's more control of it that way. You can mess with the songs the way you like, make them longer or shorter...you know.
RIL: Your fans have been dubbed the Echelon. How did that come about?
SL: The Echelon are the hardcore fans that have been with us from the beginning. They get show privileges on our website and they get great shirts to wear...it's just the top ranking people for our fan base.
RIL: One of your fans wanted to know, would you ever or have you ever hooked up with a member of the Echelon?
SL: No and no. We're family. We're like brothers and sisters, that's incest (laughs).
RIL: What the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you to do?
SL: The weirdest thing...the weirdest thing...(long pause). There's been some weird things, but the weirdest thing has been; right after a show, this one fan wanted me to go to their house and meet their family. They wanted me to spend the night and go to church with them in the morning. She wanted me to go to church with the family. We seem to have a Christian following for some reason.
RIL: Does Jared's acting career ever have a negative effect on the band?
SL: It doesn't. The only people that have a problem with it seems to be the press and media. The fans really don't care. They come to the show, yeah it's great to meet you, love you, and that's it. A lot of our fans actually don't know who Jared is. A lot of people only know him from 30 Seconds to Mars.
RIL: Does his acting schedule ever conflict with doing something with the band?
SL: No, it doesn't. When he's off working, we're working. We're still writing away, trying different sounds, and hashing out songs. Sometimes we get to go on location with him and record some music there right there and then.
RIL: You have a tattoo on your upper left arm. What exactly is it?
SL: Its just abstract art. In fact, this artist that I use to live with used to incorporate a lot of this type of art in his work, so I asked him to send me some stuff and I just put it into this abstract piece of art.
RIL: Have you had to make any great sacrifices to become a musician?
SL: Sure. I mean, this is what I want to do. There have been relationship sacrifices of course. This band is my life, this is what I do. Everything else is kind of second. It's building a business, so I have to put all my energy into it. Therefore, it does not leave much room for anything else. There have definitely been some sacrifices over the years playing that I'm not living to regret. I take pictures, I'm a photographer. I'm also a writer, so I'm pretty content you know. If anybody has sacrificed, it's my brother. He has an amazing self career and a amazing music career, and with the music he's not getting paid a cent. He turns down millions and millions of dollars in movies so he can live on twenty five dollars a day per diem. If anybody has been sacrificing, it's been Jared, and that's commendable.
RIL: You mentioned earlier Pink Floyd meets the Sex Pistols is kind of the sound of 30 Seconds to Mars is influenced by. Are there any other bands that have influenced you personally?
SL: I like The Cure, I like the first two albums from Metallica, Led Zeppelin, The Who, early Police, and Steely Dan...just different music. My mom used to listen to Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Cat Stevens when I was young.
RIL: When the band was writing this album, or any album, where did you look for inspiration?
SL: The inspiration comes from different experiences in our lives, and they come out when they come out. It just kind of happens.
RIL: Do you have song writing session, or do you just write down something that comes to mind whenever?
SL: Well, Jared was walking down the street several years ago and he had a melody in his head. That's how a song started. Some songs you can be laying in bed and a beat comes. The thing is, you just put it out, you take it from your head, and play it through your instrument to see if it works. Then you put in other notes and melodies on top of it and see if it happens.
RIL: The next couple of questions are from fans, they're a little more diverse than your standard interview fare. Describe each band member using one word, including yourself.
SL: (Long pause) I would be "explosive," Jared would be "relentless," Tomo would be "dedicated," and Matt would be "weirdo." No, Matt would be "patient."
RIL: If you could be an animal for a day...
SL: Oh no...do I have to?
RIL: No, I didn't think that one was going to fly anyway. How about your favorite food?
SL: I go for all types of food. I don't have just one favorite. I like sushi.
RIL: Cooked or raw sushi?
SL: Raw.
RIL: There is a debate going on allegedly about what color your eyes are, are they hazel or are they brown?
SL: They change colors. They're hazel, green, yellow.
RIL: If you could play with any band that's currently in existence, who would it be?
SL: U2 or Nine Inch Nails.
RIL: If you had never gotten the band together, what do you think you would be doing today?
SL: I would probably be a photographer, a writer, or something like that.
RIL: You've done professional photography before, right?
SL: Yeah, I've thought about getting back into it again.
RIL: What are the band's plans after the current tour?
SL: We're just going to keep touring.
RIL: If you could ask one thing of your fans what would it be?
SL: Just keep having an open mind. You know, over time music changes. We always like to consider ourselves changing, never being stuck into doing the same thing as we always do. A lot of times fans don't like that, but were not about doing the same thing. Life's about change, taking risks, and all that. You know who did it the greatest? Radiohead. They did three totally different albums. U2 stayed relevant too because they changed with the times.
