Twenty One Pilots
by Brett Finn
To say this band from Columbus, Ohio, is in a league of its own, well that would be a grave understatement. The pair that is Twenty One Pilots, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, have a style that cannot be replicated. Twenty One Pilots’ music is a complex mixture of piano-driven beats, soul-reaching drums and synthetic back tracks layered together as schizoid pop, and topped off with a unique style of energetic rapping and poetic slams. The music is incredible, but the live performance, well that’s something that you just can’t convey onto a song recording. This is one band you gotta see, to believe.
I, personally, have been a huge fan of this band for many years, but recently the whole CMB crew had the chance to catch them live at Mammoth Fest in Snowmass. The entire CMB crew was blown away; the general consensus being, in your lifetime, this is one band you must take the time to go see. To be able to describe in words what happened when they played is nearly impossible. The simple ability of their control with the crowd and general connection was unmistakably the best I have ever seen. These two ridiculously funny and abstract characters had more control over their crowd than most national A-level bands. To end their show, they jumped off stage, the crowd parted around them and Joseph and Dun finished with a maddening drum-off that truly made the entire festival go crazy. When MTV said that this band was one to watch in 2013, they hit the nail on the head.
CMB: How have things changed for you with all your recent success?
T: It’s been great. We have gotten to experience so many amazing things lately. We are still the same people we always have been, but there was a moment when we were back home when things were just different. You feel it when you walk down the same streets you’ve walked your entire life. You feel it at home. You feel it at your local Chipotle. Something just switched in a good way, it was this overwhelming feeling of support.
CMB: How do you like your current label?
T: Fueled by Ramen has been great. They are a smaller label, but have a really cool family of bands, from Paramore, Panic! At The Disco, to fun. It’s so different not being DIY as much anymore, and having other people to help. We were lucky to structure a very beneficial deal with them, they weren’t out to “get us” like most labels. We felt like they were in it for the right reasons. We currently own all our publishing rights, which is a rare thing in this industry, and really important to Josh and I.
CMB: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
T: Well, not really. I mean, it’s not like we run around crazed and kill a cow before every show. Usually we just try to all sit down and refocus, get ready. We don’t drink, so maybe slamming a Red Bull would be the most exciting we get!
CMB: Your mom seems to have a lot of influence in your songs and the things you talk about on stage, why is that?
T: My mom could be her own character on a show. She is one tough lady. Frankly, she scares me sometimes! She, well both our moms, have always been extremely supportive, and it’s funny because even to this day, my mom still tries to buy up all our tickets and sell them herself to make sure it’s being done. And, I’m like mom, you’re taking all the tickets and the fans can’t get them. Regardless, both our moms are so supportive and have been a big part of who we are today. I don’t think they actually understand where we are in our music career now because they are just so die-hard DIY and push our shows, help with our marketing, and are just there to do whatever we need.
CMB: What else about your childhood helped shape you into who you are today?
T: When I was five, my mom asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I told her I wanted to play basketball. So my dad built a court, and part of my schooling (yes, we were both home-schooled!) every day was to practice. I believe that my parents really instilled a strong work ethic in me that I carry with me still today. If you’re not the best at whatever it is you try to do, what’s the point?
CMB: You just got back from touring in Europe, correct? How was it?
T: Actually, we just got back last night. It was awesome! We love it over there. We really respect the bands, and the fans. The fans there are so dedicated and just amazing; it’s always been a dream of ours to play over there, so yeah, it was pretty incredible.
CMB: You guys have such an intense live show, what happens when and if anything goes wrong?
T: It’s funny; I guess something always goes wrong. We constantly move around and something can get knocked over. The bass hits and makes the stage vibrate, which then makes plugs and cables for all the electronics come lose or mess up. It’s always something. But you learn. For instance, instead of using the laptop directly to run programs off of, we now use an external hard drive for everything. It just keeps everything running smoothly and the programs from crashing like they use to.
CMB: What else has changed performance wise with all the current success?
T: We are still the same guys we have always been. That won’t ever change. But, it’s been nice also to be able to upgrade a lot of our equipment over time. When you first start out, like all bands, you are broke so you buy what you can. It’s nice to have good equipment now. It’s awesome to have techs and people that tour with you too. It use to be such a fun thing to walk into a new venue every day and try to explain to a sound guy everything that we needed, and he would just look back at us with a blank stare. Now, the guys that tour with us, just have it done and that’s that. So, that’s been really nice.
CMB: What do you think has changed about the music industry recently? Would you ever sell-out to make it big?
T: People always say that selling out is a bad thing. At some point, every band sells out in some form or the other to make it to the next level. To me, I think selling out begins and actually happens in the studio. You can’t help what stations play your music, the things that people say about you, etc. You sell out the moment you decide to play your music a certain way. But, I don’t think there is anything wrong with wanting to make music that a lot of people enjoy. We are still us…we will always be us.
CMB: “Car Radio” is a great song, and I have to ask, since you say your songs are all inspired by true events, what’s the story there?
T: When I was in college, I was late for class and accidently left my car unlocked. Unfortunately, someone stole my GPS and my radio. I was a broke college kid, so it’s not like I could just go out and buy a new one. Plus, now there was just this really weird feeling that someone had been in my car, in my space. I guess not having a radio gave me a lot of time to think and inspire freethinking. Music has a way of distracting you, and you don’t notice how much so until you don’t have it anymore. There isn’t much more to it than that.
Finn’s song favorites: “Car Radio,” “Trees” and “Slow Town.”
Definitely take the time to catch Twenty One Pilots next time they are in town. It is probably the most interesting, high-energy and over-all great show you will have a chance to see. Check out their new full-length album, Vessel, or to learn more about Twenty One Pilots:
Online: twentyonepilots.com
Category: National News
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