by Jelena Glavic
Jared created what is known as the Echelon , a publicity street team for 30 Seconds to Mars, which helps bring friends to the shows, phoning local radio stations to request the band's songs, voting for the band in official award nominations and maintaining magazines or websites dedicated to the band.
To prove their fan appreciation even more, on their third album This Is War, the guys went all out. They generously placed all-access passes into 12 copies of the album for the surprise of 12 lucky buyer’s lifetime. As if that wasn’t brilliant enough, the bandmates decided to do something no other band has done before. They used photographs of their fans for the cover of the album, making each CD a unique individual. As amazing as this approach is, it comes as no surprise to those who know about Jared’s consistent dedication to his fans.
I spoke to lead guitarist Tomo Milicevic about their thematic third album This Is War and how they remain one of the most environmentally conscience and fan oriented bands out there.
JELENA GLAVIC: A carbon footprint is a measure of the
impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate
change. Is this a concern of yours as an environmentally-conscience, touring
band?
TOMO MILICEVIC: Of course, we always try to do whatever we can to lessen the impact we make while touring, whether it be traveling in bio-diesel busses and trucks, or using as many recyclable products as possible on tour. I suppose the best thing you can do is to keep informing people and to lead by example.
JG: What distinguishes your new album This Is War from your previous ones?
TM: This Is War is the most mature album this band has put out so far. This record also reflects all of our individual personalities the most of any other record.
JG: What’s the story behind the different album covers for This Is War?
TM: Thirty Seconds To Mars has always been about a shared experience. We always want to find new and exciting ways to include our fans into the creative process. Doing the "faces of mars" seemed to be a natural progression for artwork after we did "the summit" which was a recording experiment where we invited people from all over the world to sing on the record.
JG: Is all really fair in love and war?
TM: Yes.
JG: What has been the most fascinating country you have
traveled to and why?
TM: For me personally I think that the arctic still wins that one. Such an amazingly beautiful place and so far removed from anything that is familiar to us. I really loved being there while shooting the video for "A Beautiful Lie".
JG: What was it like collaborating with Kanye West on the song “Hurricane”?
TM: Kanye
is an incredibly talented individual and when we heard 808's and Heartbreaks
we all really fell in love with that record. I think that Kanye brought
a real excitement to the song and we feel really lucky to have had him
be a part of it!
JG: “I believe in nothing, not in peace and not
in war. I believe in nothing, but the truth in who we are.” - What
is truth?
TM: Being
able to look at yourself in the mirror and not be ashamed.
JG: And how does one find peace without suffering through some kind of
war?
TM: I'll quote Jared here. "We have to fight in order to be free."
JG: What has been your most rewarding accomplishment as a band thus far?
TM: Every experience that we have as a band is rewarding. We are so grateful for all the opportunities that present themselves to us and never take for granted the things that we have.
JG: What are your thoughts on the current state of the music industry?
TM: I think
that we are all about to witness a major change in the way the business
of music is carried out.
JG: In terms of the future, do you see any light at the
end of the tunnel?
TM: There
is always a light at the end of the tunnel, especially for those of us
who are willing to fight for what we believe in.
JG: What do you want to do before you die?
TM: I will
fly helicopters before I die.
