Jared Leto of 30 Seconds To Mars on lawsuits, icebergs and loving Asia
LIFE has a funny way of sneaking up on you, as Alanis Morissette once sang. Just ask Jared Leto (picture, centre).
When the 38-year-old was younger, he headed out west to Los Angeles in the hopes of making it as a musician.
Instead, he became an actor, starring in TV series like My So-Called Life and movies such as Panic Room, American Psycho, Alexander, Requiem For A Dream and Fight Club.
But these days, Leto has focused on his original musical intentions with his band, 30 Seconds To Mars.
Featuring his brother Shannon on drums and Tomo Milicevic on guitars and keyboards, the alternative rock band released their third album This Is War late last year.
The album was a long time coming, not least because of a US$30-million ($42.2-million) lawsuit between the band and their record label EMI (Virgin Records, a subsidiary of EMI, claimed the band failed to produce the number of albums they were contracted to).
It was eventually settled, and the band is still signed to them.
As a tribute to their fans' support during those trying times, the band decided to use photos of their fans for the cover art. There are more than 2,000 different cover photos.
"We just thought it'd be a fun thing to do," said Leto over the phone from Los Angeles.
"To extend the idea of interactivity and celebrate the physical release of the CD with a thank-you to the people who have supported us."
The band is currently on tour and plan to make a trip to Singapore "sometime in the middle of the year".
This Is War is in stores now.
You had an eventful 2009, especially with the lawsuit. Was that why the album is called This Is War?
It's part of it. It's not everything. I can't deny that the lawsuit and the battle with the label was a big event that was happening while we made this record. There were other things too: Creative battles, personal battles that we all went through. I think the title is appropriate because we all go through battles, all of us, and I think there's an understanding that sometimes we have to fight in order to be free.
The sound on This Is War is markedly different from your previous albums. Was that intentional?
It was a very conscious decision. We wanted to walk down a very different path. Every time you do a record, you have an opportunity to redefine yourself. Our last album came out in 2005, but it had songs in it that were written in 2003. That's a long time. We were ready to say something new and this was what we had to say.
What's your most memorable musical moment?
It's not really a concert, but going to the Arctic and shooting a music video (for A Beautiful Lie) in the middle of an iceberg was pretty cool.
So will you act again or is music where it's at?
Sometimes it's challenging finding the time to do everything, but these days music is taking a lot of my energy. We're having a lot of success with it and having a lot of fun. And I'm very grateful for that.
You've mentioned that you like Asia. When are you coming to Singapore?
You know, that's one of the most exciting things about being in a band - to experience other cultures. I've always had a love of the Asian culture since I was a kid. I've always been interested in that part of the world. We made a video in 2007 in China and we're looking forward to coming back as soon as possible. We're going to try our best in the middle of the year to come to Singapore
LIFE has a funny way of sneaking up on you, as Alanis Morissette once sang. Just ask Jared Leto (picture, centre).
When the 38-year-old was younger, he headed out west to Los Angeles in the hopes of making it as a musician.
Instead, he became an actor, starring in TV series like My So-Called Life and movies such as Panic Room, American Psycho, Alexander, Requiem For A Dream and Fight Club.
But these days, Leto has focused on his original musical intentions with his band, 30 Seconds To Mars.
Featuring his brother Shannon on drums and Tomo Milicevic on guitars and keyboards, the alternative rock band released their third album This Is War late last year.
The album was a long time coming, not least because of a US$30-million ($42.2-million) lawsuit between the band and their record label EMI (Virgin Records, a subsidiary of EMI, claimed the band failed to produce the number of albums they were contracted to).
It was eventually settled, and the band is still signed to them.
As a tribute to their fans' support during those trying times, the band decided to use photos of their fans for the cover art. There are more than 2,000 different cover photos.
"We just thought it'd be a fun thing to do," said Leto over the phone from Los Angeles.
"To extend the idea of interactivity and celebrate the physical release of the CD with a thank-you to the people who have supported us."
The band is currently on tour and plan to make a trip to Singapore "sometime in the middle of the year".
This Is War is in stores now.
You had an eventful 2009, especially with the lawsuit. Was that why the album is called This Is War?
It's part of it. It's not everything. I can't deny that the lawsuit and the battle with the label was a big event that was happening while we made this record. There were other things too: Creative battles, personal battles that we all went through. I think the title is appropriate because we all go through battles, all of us, and I think there's an understanding that sometimes we have to fight in order to be free.
The sound on This Is War is markedly different from your previous albums. Was that intentional?
It was a very conscious decision. We wanted to walk down a very different path. Every time you do a record, you have an opportunity to redefine yourself. Our last album came out in 2005, but it had songs in it that were written in 2003. That's a long time. We were ready to say something new and this was what we had to say.
What's your most memorable musical moment?
It's not really a concert, but going to the Arctic and shooting a music video (for A Beautiful Lie) in the middle of an iceberg was pretty cool.
So will you act again or is music where it's at?
Sometimes it's challenging finding the time to do everything, but these days music is taking a lot of my energy. We're having a lot of success with it and having a lot of fun. And I'm very grateful for that.
You've mentioned that you like Asia. When are you coming to Singapore?
You know, that's one of the most exciting things about being in a band - to experience other cultures. I've always had a love of the Asian culture since I was a kid. I've always been interested in that part of the world. We made a video in 2007 in China and we're looking forward to coming back as soon as possible. We're going to try our best in the middle of the year to come to Singapore