<P> Thirty Seconds to Mars started in 1998 in Los Angeles , California , as a collaboration between brothers Jared Leto and Shannon Leto , who had been playing music together since their childhood . The duo later expanded to a four - piece when they added guitarist Solon Bixler and bassist Matt Wachter to the line - up . Additional guitarist Kevin Drake , who first auditioned for the position of bassist , also joined the band as a touring musician . The band played its first concerts under different names , before finally settling on the name `` Thirty Seconds to Mars '' , which was taken from a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex . Jared Leto described the name as `` a reference , a rough translation from the book . I think the idea is interesting , it 's a metaphor for the future , '' he explained . `` Thirty seconds to Mars -- the fact that we 're so close to something that 's not a tangible idea . Also Mars being the God of War makes it really interesting , as well . You could substitute that in there , but what 's important for my brother and I , is that it be imaginative and really represent the sound of our music in as unique a way as possible . '' He described it as a name that `` works on several different levels , a phrase that is lyrical , suggestive , cinematic , and filled with immediacy . '' When Thirty Seconds to Mars first started , Jared Leto did not allow his vocation as a Hollywood actor to be used in promotion of the band . </P>
<P> Thirty Seconds to Mars started in 1998 in Los Angeles , California , as a collaboration between brothers Jared Leto and Shannon Leto , who had been playing music together since their childhood . The duo later expanded to a four - piece when they added guitarist Solon Bixler and bassist Matt Wachter to the line - up . Additional guitarist Kevin Drake , who first auditioned for the position of bassist , also joined the band as a touring musician . The band played its first concerts under different names , before finally settling on the name `` Thirty Seconds to Mars '' , which was taken from a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex . Jared Leto described the name as `` a reference , a rough translation from the book . I think the idea is interesting , it 's a metaphor for the future , '' he explained . `` Thirty seconds to Mars -- the fact that we 're so close to something that 's not a tangible idea . Also Mars being the God of War makes it really interesting , as well . You could substitute that in there , but what 's important for my brother and I , is that it be imaginative and really represent the sound of our music in as unique a way as possible . '' He described it as a name that `` works on several different levels , a phrase that is lyrical , suggestive , cinematic , and filled with immediacy . '' When Thirty Seconds to Mars first started , Jared Leto did not allow his vocation as a Hollywood actor to be used in promotion of the band . </P>
where does 30 seconds to mars name come from
where does 30 seconds to mars name come from
a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex
a rare manuscript titled Argus Apocraphex