Tomo Biography

Tomislav Milicevic aka Tomo was born September 3, 1979 in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the younger brother of model/actress Ivana Milicevic, is currently the lead guitarist in the L.A.-based alternative rock band 30 Seconds to Mars.

His parents, Tonka and Damir Milicevic relocated when Tomo was in 3rd grade to Troy, Michigan in the hope of a better life. He is quoted as saying “…I would be in the army by 16, fighting in the front lines by age 17”. By the time Tomo was 18 old, his parents had opened a restaurant in Los Angeles. In his teenage years, Tomo was standing outside his father’s Dunkin Donuts in Michigan when an errant bullet hit him in the leg. He’s quoted by saying “I didn’t feel it, I just looked down and saw I was bleeding and I laughed.” He wanted to keep the bullet, but the hospital wouldn’t let him.

Tomo practiced to become a concert violinist; he started to play when he was 3 years old until he turned 19. Then he discovered heavy metal. He told his father that he wanted to play the guitar, so they made one together. His uncle, Željko “Bill” Milicevic, is a virtuoso violinist and orchestra teacher at Farmington High School in Farmington, Michigan. Tomo has been playing guitar professionally for years. He started writing his own music by the age of 17.

Tomo describes his music as rock, and his influences include Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Metallica at the time of Kill ‘Em All , The Who, Alice in Chains and Slayer.

He went to culinary school and finally graduated as an executive and pastry chef, but music stayed his true passion. He played for a time with a local band from Michigan, called Morphic.

He decided then to definitively leave the music business and to sell all his instruments. It is at that time that Shannon Leto, told him about an audition for 30 Seconds to Mars, because Solon Bixler left the band. Tomo was already one of their biggest fans since the beginning. He was selected amongst 200 musicians, first for his talent, but also for his kindness and personality. Five days later, 3. February 2003, he played with Jared Leto, Shannon Leto and Matt Wachter on the The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn.

The guitar that he made with his father was used on the 30 Seconds to Mars second album, titled A Beautiful Lie, in the song “A Modern Myth”. He said in an interview that after recording, he called his father to tell him that he had used the guitar.

Facts
– He is left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed.

– Attended Athens High School in Troy, Michigan.

– Besides his sister Ivana, he also has a brother named Filip.

– Is a certified executive chef and pastry chef. Despite this fact he has never cooked for his bandmates

– He says that the first concert he attended was Nirvana but he has since said in interviews that is “truthfully not true…I think it was Paula Abdul and Living Colou