Tomislav "Tomo" Miličević (; born September 3, 1979) is a Bosnian-American musician and record producer. He was the lead guitarist of the rock band
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, ...
from 2003 to 2018. Born in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
but raised in the United States, Miličević moved to
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Me ...
in the early 1980s, where he became active in the local heavy metal scene and played in a number of bands, co-founding
Morphic. In 2003, he joined Thirty Seconds to Mars, with whom he achieved worldwide recognition in the mid-2000s after recording the band's second album ''
A Beautiful Lie
''A Beautiful Lie'' is the second studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records. It was produced by Josh Abraham.
''A Beautiful Lie'' differs notably from the band's self-titled d ...
'' (2005). Its full-length follow-ups, ''
This Is War'' (2009) and ''
Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams'' (2013), received further critical and commercial success.
Miličević has also worked as a collaborator and music producer. Throughout the 2010s, he was featured on a recording with
Dommin and collaborated with
Ivy Levan on a number of releases, including ''
Introducing the Dame'' (2013) and ''
No Good'' (2015). Miličević has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style.
Early life
Tomo Miličević was born on September 3, 1979 in
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
, then part of
SFR Yugoslavia, to a
Croatian family.
He is the middle child of Tonka and Damir Miličević. He has an elder sister,
Ivana
Ivana ( sr, Ивана) is a feminine given name of Slavic origin that is also popular in southern Ireland, France, French-speaking Canada, the Mediterranean and Latin America. It is the feminine form of the name Ivan, which are both the Slavic ...
, and a younger brother, Filip. His father worked in agricultural engineering and his mother was a doctor. His family first arrived in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in 1982, where Miličević's brother Filip was born. They traveled back and forth until they permanently emigrated to
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, United States. Its population was 87,294 at the 2020 U.S. census, making Troy the most populous city in the county and the 13th most-populous municipality in the state. Troy is a northern suburb of Me ...
when Miličević enrolled in the third grade, to avoid the
Bosnian War. He stated that he "would be in the army by 16, fighting in the front lines by age 17" if his family had not emigrated.
After moving to the United States, both his parents worked in manufacturing industries in Troy and
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
. A few years later, they started their own business.
Miličević became interested in classical music at early age, when he started to take violin lessons inspired by his uncle Željko "Bill" Miličević, a virtuoso violinist and professor of music at
Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. "I was actually born and bred to be a concert violinist", he explained.
Miličević's introduction to the world of
heavy metal music was around the age of 11. His parents supported his decision to start playing guitar, so he and his father made one together. He began writing his own music in high school, while at the same time performing in a number of local bands.
Miličević gained American citizenship in the early 1990s. He attended culinary school at
Oakland Community College, becoming a certified executive and pastry chef, and worked in a number of restaurants in
Metro Detroit
The Detroit metropolitan area, often referred to as Metro Detroit, is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. State of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and its Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the a ...
.
He graduated from
Athens High School in Troy and then moved to Los Angeles, rejoining his siblings Ivana and Filip.
The three later convinced their parents to leave Troy and resettle in Los Angeles, where they opened a restaurant.
Career
Miličević began playing in bands around Troy in the late 1990s. He co-founded the group
Morphic with some friends in 2000. The band first operated under the name Loki, before settling on its final name. By 2001, the group performed gigs at small Michigan venues and clubs, and recorded a number of demo tracks. The following year, Miličević left the band and was almost ready to quit his musical career. However, during this period, manager
Arthur Spivak, who had previously met Miličević at a showcase concert with Morphic, told him about an audition for
Thirty Seconds to Mars
Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, ...
. Miličević then decided to move to Los Angeles where he had a successful audition with Thirty Seconds to Mars, replacing guitarist
Solon Bixler
Solon Ben Wixler (born January 4, 1977) is an American indie rock musician. He was Guitarist for the bands Thirty Seconds to Mars (2001-2003) and Earlimart. He is currently the lead male vocal and guitar player in the band Great Northern.
Early ...
. By 2003, the band consisted of Miličević, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist
Jared Leto, drummer
Shannon Leto
Shannon Leto (; born March 9, 1970) is an American musician best known as the drummer of rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. He co-founded the group in 1998 in Los Angeles, California, with his younger brother Jared. Their debut album, ''30 Seco ...
, and bassist
Matt Wachter
Matthew Walter "Matt" Wachter (born January 5, 1976) is an American musician best known for playing bass in the alternative rock bands Thirty Seconds to Mars and Angels & Airwaves.
Biography
Wachter was born in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. As a ...
. The new lineup debuted on ''
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
''The Late Late Show'' is an American late-night television talk and variety comedy show on CBS. It first aired in January 1995, with host Tom Snyder, who was followed by Craig Kilborn, Craig Ferguson, and current host James Corden. The show ...
'' in February 2003.
Thirty Seconds to Mars entered the studio in March 2004 to begin working on their second album ''
A Beautiful Lie
''A Beautiful Lie'' is the second studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records. It was produced by Josh Abraham.
''A Beautiful Lie'' differs notably from the band's self-titled d ...
''. The recording process saw the band traveling to four different continents to accommodate Jared Leto's acting career. ''A Beautiful Lie'' was released on August 30, 2005 in the United States. Fueled by the band's relentless touring and the mainstream success of the single "
The Kill
"The Kill" (written "The Kill (Bury Me)" on the single and music video) is a song by American band Thirty Seconds to Mars. The song was released on January 24, 2006 as the second single from their second album, '' A Beautiful Lie''. It was cert ...
", the album received multiple
certifications all over the world, including platinum in the United States, with a worldwide sales total of over four million. The album tour saw the band playing at several major festivals, including
Roskilde
Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...
,
Pinkpop
The Pinkpop Festival is an annual music festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend (''Pinksteren'' in Dutch, hence the name). If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in June. ...
,
Rock am Ring, and
Download
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
.
In August 2008, during the recording process of the band's third studio album, Thirty Seconds to Mars attempted to sign with a new label, prompting
EMI
EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
(the parent label of Virgin), to file a $30 million breach of contract lawsuit. After nearly a year of legal battles, the band announced on April 28, 2009, that the suit had been settled following a defense based on the
De Havilland Law. Thirty Seconds to Mars then signed a new contract with EMI and released their third album ''
This Is War'' in December 2009 to critical acclaim.
''This Is War'' reached the top ten of several national album charts and earned numerous music awards. The band began their
Into the Wild Tour
The Into the Wild Tour (also known as Hurricane Tour and the Closer to the Edge Tour) was the second worldwide concert tour by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars in support of the band's third studio album, This Is War. The tour reached ...
in support of the record in February 2010 and was among the hardest-working touring artists of the year. In December 2011, they entered the ''
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' for most live shows during a single album cycle, with 300 shows.
Miličević collaborated with American band
Dommin on a rendition of
Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew are an English rock band formed in London in 1985. They are best known for their debut album ''Broadcast'' and hit single, "(I Just) Died in Your Arms".
History 1985–1986: Formation
While still in his teens, Nick Van Eede (bo ...
's song "
(I Just) Died in Your Arms
"(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is the debut single by the English pop rock band Cutting Crew, released in July 1986 as a single from their debut studio album, ''Broadcast''. The song was written by frontman Nick Van Eede, produced by Terry Brown ...
", which was released on a special edition of Dommin's album ''
Love Is Gone
"Love Is Gone" is a song by French house DJ David Guetta and American singer Chris Willis. It is the second single from Guetta's third studio album, '' Pop Life''. The single was released in France in June 2007 and in the UK in August 2007. T ...
'' (2010). He began producing American singer
Ivy Levan in 2012. After signing to
Cherrytree Records
Martin Kierszenbaum, also known by his pseudonym Cherry Cherry Boom Boom, is an American music personality. As a songwriter and producer he worked with Lady Gaga, Sting, Madonna, Mylène Farmer, Keane, Tokio Hotel, Far East Movement, Robyn, Fei ...
, Levan released the EP ''
Introducing the Dame'' (2013), which features a collaboration with Miličević, who wrote and produced a number of tracks.
Thirty Seconds to Mars released their fourth album, ''
Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams'', in May 2013 through
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
. It received generally positive reviews and reached the top ten in more than fifteen countries, including the United Kingdom and the United States. The band promoted the album by embarking on their
Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams Tour and the
Carnivores Tour, co-headlining with
Linkin Park. In April 2014, Thirty Seconds to Mars announced that they have parted from Virgin Records after tumultuous years with the label. The following year, Miličević engineered Ivy Levan's debut album ''
No Good'' alongside
Patrick Nissley
Innerpartysystem (often stylized as InnerPartySystem) is an American electronic rock band. The group consists of Patrick Nissley, Jared Piccone and Wuki, Kris Barman. The band is well known for their live performance lighting largely by Andrew N ...
. He also wrote and performed on selected tracks. Thirty Seconds to Mars released their fifth album, ''
America'', in April 2018 through
Interscope. During the
Monolith Tour
The Monolith Tour was a concert tour by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars. Staged in support of the band's fifth studio album '' America'' (2018), the tour visited arenas and stadiums throughout 2018 and 2019. It was initially announced ...
in support of the album, it was announced that Miličević would be taking a break from touring due to personal matters. In June 2018, he officially announced his departure from the band.
Artistry
Miličević is a classically trained musician who began his musical education at a very early age, playing the violin. During his youth, he had been influenced by
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...
and
classical music, listening to performers such as
Stéphane Grappelli
Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fi ...
,
John McLaughlin John or Jon McLaughlin may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John McLaughlin (musician) (born 1942), English jazz fusion guitarist, member of Mahavishnu Orchestra
* Jon McLaughlin (musician) (born 1982), American singer-songwriter
* John McLaug ...
,
Paco de Lucía
Francisco Sánchez Gómez (21 December 194725 February 2014), known as Paco de Lucía (;), was a Spanish virtuoso flamenco guitarist, composer, and record producer. A leading proponent of the new flamenco style, he was one of the first flam ...
, and
Al Di Meola.
His own ethnic background, and the diverse social and cultural mix in and around Detroit, were crucial in the formation of Miličević as a musician.
He developed his interest in guitar from the moment he was introduced to
heavy metal music, becoming a devoted fan of bands such as
Pantera,
Metallica, and
Slayer. When he started writing his own music, Miličević regarded Pantera's album ''
Vulgar Display of Power'' as a particularly influential record.
He was further drawn into guitar when he realized the "genius" of emotions and passions which characterizes the common songwriting of
rock music
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...
. Miličević explained, "All of the music that I have ever listened to, in some shape or form, has inspired me to do music".
He grew up listening to
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...
and
blues artists, citing
Jimi Hendrix,
Pink Floyd, and
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
. His major influences also include
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
bands such as
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
and
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...
. He is inspired by
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...
, including
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...
and
Depeche Mode.
Miličević explained that when making music his passion for the creative process is what drives his works and allows to constantly reinvent his style. Rod Lockwood from ''
The Blade'' described his work as "propulsive and energetic, with a big, anthemic sound that draws on
U2, The Cure, and classic rock for its aural infrastructure".
Artistdirect
ARTISTdirect is an American online digital media entertainment company.
Overview
Founded in 1994, it owns several websites, including artistdirect.com and artistdirectinterviews.com. These websites are a group of affiliate websites offering mul ...
complimented the "beautifully complex guitars" featured on the album ''A Beautiful Lie''. A writer from the ''Chicago Music Guide'' commended the "imaginative effects" on ''This Is War'', while ''
Guitar Edge'' stated that the guitar work on the album is "in a class of its own", noticing "rich atmospheres" and "masterful guitar tone". Miličević experimented with different instruments and drew influences from a varied range of styles in ''Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams''. In addition to the guitar and violin, Miličević is also a fluent player of bass instruments, keyboards and percussion, and supplies backing vocals during concerts.
Personal life
Miličević's immediate family includes his sister, actress
Ivana
Ivana ( sr, Ивана) is a feminine given name of Slavic origin that is also popular in southern Ireland, France, French-speaking Canada, the Mediterranean and Latin America. It is the feminine form of the name Ivan, which are both the Slavic ...
, and his late brother, photographer Filip.
He is a nephew of Željko "Bill" Miličević, professor of music at
Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.
Miličević married his longtime girlfriend Vicki Bosanko in
Crete, Greece in July 2011. After living in Los Angeles for over a decade, Miličević came back to Michigan in August 2014, moving to
Indian Village in Detroit with his wife. He described himself as a "Michigan kid" who grew up with the music scene of Detroit. He also explained to have a "deep-rooted affinity" for the city.
Miličević lives a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. ...
lifestyle and supports
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their Utilitarianism, utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding s ...
.
He worked with the
Best Friends Animal Society
Best Friends Animal Society, (BFAS) founded in its present form in 1993, is an American nonprofit 501(c)(3) animal welfare organization. BFAS does outreach nationwide with shelters, rescue groups and members to promote pet adoption, no-kill an ...
on a number of programs.
In the
2008 presidential election, Miličević supported Senator
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
of Illinois. In June 2008, he joined
Habitat for Humanity to work with Thirty Seconds to Mars on a home being repaired and renovated through the Greater Los Angeles Area's "A Brush With Kindness" programme.
Discography
;Studio albums with Thirty Seconds to Mars
* ''
A Beautiful Lie
''A Beautiful Lie'' is the second studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released on August 30, 2005 through Virgin Records. It was produced by Josh Abraham.
''A Beautiful Lie'' differs notably from the band's self-titled d ...
'' (2005)
* ''
This Is War'' (2009)
* ''
Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams'' (2013)
* ''
America'' (2018)
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Milicevic, Tomo
1979 births
20th-century American musicians
Alternative rock guitarists
American activists
American multi-instrumentalists
American people of Croatian descent
American people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent
American record producers
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
American rock bass guitarists
American male bass guitarists
American rock keyboardists
American rock songwriters
American rock violinists
American male violinists
American male songwriters
Yugoslav emigrants to the United States
Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Lead guitarists
Living people
Musicians from Sarajevo
Thirty Seconds to Mars members
Guitarists from Detroit
21st-century American bass guitarists
21st-century American violinists