Top 5 Facts About Twenty One Pilots

In 2009, college friends Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas and Chris Salih got together to form a band. While they enjoyed moderate success in the beginning as they toured their home state of Ohio, the band lost Salih in 2011, followed shortly thereafter by Thomas. Both cited time commitments as the problem and bid farewell to their fans via Facebook. With only one original member left, former House of Heroes touring drummer, Josh Dun, was invited in. Despite the major changes in the lineup, the new duo kept the name and moved forward from there.

 

 Many bands/brands rely on a “look” to catch the attention of their audience, be it crazy get-ups or alternate personas. When they found they were lacking that second-look required from audiences to achieve a breakthrough, the duo began incorporating balaclavas into their performances. The surprising appearance was finally enough to make audience members sit up and take notice. The concept of the ski masks was born out of the idea that their listeners should connect with the music, rather than the musicians. By taking their faces out of the equation, they figured the audience would be able to relate better. The Skeleton Clique, the band’s fan-base, has responded positively.

 

All Twenty One Pilots members, past and present, have self-identified as Christian. In fact, both current members Tyler and Josh graduated from Christian high schools, and Tyler has even lent his acting talents to a video series by Five14, a church where he interned.  But while the duo draws from their upbringing for inspiration, and their theological knowledge informs their songwriting, they do not consider themselves a Christian band. While faith plays an important role in their private lives, they keep religion out of their act. Instead, they keep their songs focused on broader messages of humility, hard work, independence, and the importance of friends and family.

Even with true rock n’ roll in the decline, it is pretty unusual to come across a band without at least one guitar! However, since neither Joseph nor Dun play the instrument, they don’t tend to incorporate the sound into their music, relying instead on piano, ukulele, synthesizers, bass and of course drums. In part, this has helped to give the band their unique sound, which fans and critics alike have had a hard time labeling. While the band describe themselves as an electro-pop/alt-hip hop, fans have come up with the more creative “Schizophrenic Pop” or “Schizoid Pop” as their unofficial subgenre.

Back in 2009, Joseph was studying Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” for a college class. Based on a true story, the play focuses on a man who sold defective aeroplane parts because he needed the commissions to support his family, but twenty-one pilots died as a result. Inspired by that moral dilemma of having to pick between right and easy actions, the band found their name. By the end of the year, they had released their debut, self-titled album, and they went on tour shortly thereafter. While the band has evolved greatly over the years, the name hasn’t changed.