Jared Leto rocks for radio birthday
By Tim Landry
June 22, 2006
The Daily Advertiser

An ice-blue light rips through the smoky Nitetown crowd as 30 Seconds to Mars coolly saunters into view.
The barrier in front of the stage - a makeshift wall of barstools and metal railings - rocks as female fans reach for the front man.

"Hello, Louisiana!" Jared Leto shouts after removing the bandanna covering half his face. "God, it's good to be back home."

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It's damp and a Tuesday afternoon, but Lafayette's Nite Town is already buzzing. Roadies flutter between stage and tour bus as employees make last-minute arrangements for Planet Radio 96.5 FM's ninth Birthday Bonanza. The show's lineup changed a little over the past 48 hours (co-headliner Blue October was forced to reschedule), but nobody seems worried with 30 Seconds to Mars and newcomer The Audition in tow.

A great deal of the buzz for the show is centered on Jared Leto, whose name would be overheard in conversations throughout the day. He's the heartthrob who portrayed Angel Face in Fight Club, Harry Goldfarb in Requiem for a Dream, Paul Allen in American Psycho and Jordan Catalano in My So-Called Life. He's developed an image low profile enough to remain under the mainstream radar, yet he always seems to land and nail roles that further propel his existing popularity. He also happens to have been born in Bossier City, La.

The Daily Advertiser was granted interview time with Tomo Milicevic and Matt Wachter, the respective guitarist and bassist for 30 Seconds to Mars. The pair helped reroute the sensation for the evening simply by discussing what they do - play music in a group that happens to be fronted by Jared Leto.

Wachter, 30, joined the band five years ago after the original members completed the first, self-titled album. Milicevic joined four years ago in a bit of a dream scenario.

"I was a big fan of the band before I joined," says Milicevic, 26, who met the band's manager at a music showcase in Los Angeles. "Months later (when their guitarist left), they called me and asked if I wanted to audition. Ten days later I was on tour. The day they called me, I was a waiter at a theme restaurant. You ever seen the movie Waiting? That was me."

The group released the album A Beautiful Lie in 2005. The album's second single The Kill, has become a staple on Acadiana and national airwaves. Josh Boulanger, evening DJ for Planet Radio 96.5 FM, said since the Tuesday show, the station has been getting more requests. The Nite Town stop marked the band's third show for the summer tour, which ends with Warped Tour and Lollapalooza performances.

"We have a really devoted, hardcore fan base. The closest thing that I've ever seen to it is the Grateful Dead following - kids will follow us for weeks at a time," Wachter says. "We did a show in Montgomery, Ala., and it turned out our hardcore fan base - it's called the Echelon - designated that as their meeting place. Kids from all over the world met there."

The interview is interrupted when a man runs out in women's underwear. Stamped on the rear is the 30 Seconds to Mars logo. Everyone laughs uncontrollably as Brian, "the merch guy," frantically searches for a door and, most likely, a pair of pants.

Hunched over from laughter, Wachter says "See, it's little things like that that just brighten our day."

The members seem pleased with their setup. They retain creative control over many marketing elements - something they say creates much more work for them - and enjoy interacting with fans after shows.

"You'll see the reaction from the fans tonight - it's hard to describe," Wachter says. "We really go out of our way to establish that interaction with our fans. After the show, every single show since I've been in the band, we're signing CDs, signing T-shirts. Then after that we're outside taking pictures. A good part of our night is doing that."

That night, the line to enter Nitetown stretched down Jefferson Street nearly a block.