Spread the Social Love:
Well I was blessed to be given a 15 minute interview with the one and only Jared Leto of 30 Seconds to Mars. It was a pretty last minute thing too. Jared seemed like a very down to earth guy considering his stature and was very friendly. I am currently in Florida, USA and he's somewhere in the UK. We had our call dropped quite a few times, but it the end it was worth it. Special shout out to simon.dangerous for the help with most of these questions!
Altsounds: With all that was going on with the band was there a point where you thought you might not finish "This Is War"?
Jared Leto: Yeah there were a few points, not that we wouldn’t finish it, we just didn’t know what was going to happen with the record. There was a potential for it to be caught up in a legal nightmare but we would’ve finished it.
Altsounds: How did Kanye West get involved with the album?
Jared Leto: Actually Kanye had approached me about doing a video for him. He liked the previous videos I have done. I had played him some songs and he said he’d sing for us.
Altsounds: How did you come up with the idea behind the Faces of Mars project?
Jared Leto: We were looking for a way for the CD to be more unique and basically a way to say thanks to all the support of the fans.
Altsounds: What do you think makes you bond with your fans so strongly?
Jared Leto: I think it stems from the fact that we are genuinely interested and curious and you know, open about this relationship we have with them. We try to break down the barriers between the band audience by having an interactive show.
Altsounds: How do you feel about some people comparing your fan-base to a cult?
Jared Leto: Well those people obviously don’t understand. We have always had I think, two types of people who have joined us in this journey and it seems that you either get it 1000% or not at all. We don’t have any soft supporters I guess.
Altsounds: For you as a lyricist, how does it feel when people tell you how much they relate to your songs?
Jared Leto: Well a large part of what we do is communicating, connecting, and sharing. It’s great when people make that connection with you. It’s wonderful.
Altsounds: You're playing the download festival in June, how does a festival crowd compare to that of your own?
Jared Leto: Well it’s definitely different. We share the day with other bands, play for other bands fans, it’s always interesting. Your energy is different and I tend to enjoy it a lot. We usually play in front of a lot of people which is cool. We’re playing at the Rock Am Ring festival in Germany which should have over 100k people.
Altsounds: Any advice for first time festival goers?
Jared Leto: Bring some clean socks, bring some water and drink lots of it. Also an extra cell phone battery!
Altsounds: Do you have a favorite place you like to perform, city/country wise?
Jared Leto: We are really excited to get back to the states, and to play in Boston. I lived in Massachusetts for a while as a kid. It’s always nice to come back to the Northeast. It's our first tour for over 3 years in America and I’m psyched that people still remember who we are. We recently sold out and played Wembley Arena which was awesome, and now we are coming back to America to play shows. I’m so excited. It’s good to be back at home again after so long.
Altsounds: What was the idea/motivation behind the Kings and Queens video. Why bikes?
Jared Leto: We used the bikes because I think it represented so much of what the song was about; community, and potential. There is a wonderful world of mass night bike riding. There are some incredible individuals. We really wanted to turn the camera on Los Angeles, our home. We had been all over the world, China, and the Arctic to shoot videos. We decided to shoot a love letter to LA this time instead.
And that was that, time up! Make sure that you check out 30 Seconds to Mars on their upcoming US tour which is likely to be hitting a city near you.
Altsounds: With all that was going on with the band was there a point where you thought you might not finish "This Is War"?
Jared Leto: Yeah there were a few points, not that we wouldn’t finish it, we just didn’t know what was going to happen with the record. There was a potential for it to be caught up in a legal nightmare but we would’ve finished it.
Altsounds: How did Kanye West get involved with the album?
Jared Leto: Actually Kanye had approached me about doing a video for him. He liked the previous videos I have done. I had played him some songs and he said he’d sing for us.
Altsounds: How did you come up with the idea behind the Faces of Mars project?
Jared Leto: We were looking for a way for the CD to be more unique and basically a way to say thanks to all the support of the fans.
Altsounds: What do you think makes you bond with your fans so strongly?
Jared Leto: I think it stems from the fact that we are genuinely interested and curious and you know, open about this relationship we have with them. We try to break down the barriers between the band audience by having an interactive show.
Altsounds: How do you feel about some people comparing your fan-base to a cult?
Jared Leto: Well those people obviously don’t understand. We have always had I think, two types of people who have joined us in this journey and it seems that you either get it 1000% or not at all. We don’t have any soft supporters I guess.
Altsounds: For you as a lyricist, how does it feel when people tell you how much they relate to your songs?
Jared Leto: Well a large part of what we do is communicating, connecting, and sharing. It’s great when people make that connection with you. It’s wonderful.
Altsounds: You're playing the download festival in June, how does a festival crowd compare to that of your own?
Jared Leto: Well it’s definitely different. We share the day with other bands, play for other bands fans, it’s always interesting. Your energy is different and I tend to enjoy it a lot. We usually play in front of a lot of people which is cool. We’re playing at the Rock Am Ring festival in Germany which should have over 100k people.
Altsounds: Any advice for first time festival goers?
Jared Leto: Bring some clean socks, bring some water and drink lots of it. Also an extra cell phone battery!
Altsounds: Do you have a favorite place you like to perform, city/country wise?
Jared Leto: We are really excited to get back to the states, and to play in Boston. I lived in Massachusetts for a while as a kid. It’s always nice to come back to the Northeast. It's our first tour for over 3 years in America and I’m psyched that people still remember who we are. We recently sold out and played Wembley Arena which was awesome, and now we are coming back to America to play shows. I’m so excited. It’s good to be back at home again after so long.
Altsounds: What was the idea/motivation behind the Kings and Queens video. Why bikes?
Jared Leto: We used the bikes because I think it represented so much of what the song was about; community, and potential. There is a wonderful world of mass night bike riding. There are some incredible individuals. We really wanted to turn the camera on Los Angeles, our home. We had been all over the world, China, and the Arctic to shoot videos. We decided to shoot a love letter to LA this time instead.
And that was that, time up! Make sure that you check out 30 Seconds to Mars on their upcoming US tour which is likely to be hitting a city near you.
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