Worldwide success for a duo from Ohio Twenty One Pilots puzzled everyone, including, it seems, its participants. Tattooed and black-painted, Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun, as if straight out of a Bravo magazine poster from 2005, quietly released albums and slowly expanded their “skeleton clique” (as their fans call themselves). Suddenly their word of mouth hit “Stressed Out” sounded on all radio stations on the planet, and the song “Heathens” ended up on the soundtrack of the high-profile summer blockbuster “Suicide Squad”. In general, now they are the ones who own the hearts of teenagers, hungry for beautifully reflective idols with tunnels in their ears.
Twenty One Pilots' flagship track "Stressed Out" was released in April last year. But the hype around it began about six months late. Since then it has been viewed more than 650 million times.
About tours in Russia
In general, Tyler and I have been dreaming of coming to you for a long time. We know a lot of cool Russians, we are waiting for something unforgettable. In turn, I promise to beat the drums with all my might!
About the handshake from the “Stressed Out” video
We came up with it five years ago. Sat in hotel room at about four in the morning, we couldn’t sleep and then we were like, “Let’s come up with a secret handshake? All best friends should have it, right?” Since then we say hello every time. After the video, however, this is no longer a secret. But I won’t teach anyone: let you come up with your own version with your best friend.
About the film “Suicide Squad”, the main theme of which was the track “Heathens”
Listen, well, personally, the film entertained me, and that’s the main thing. I generally love superhero movies. And I never approach them overly critically: it’s just an opportunity to disconnect from reality for a couple of hours and relax.
About superpowers
I would like to be able to run very fast. At least 50 miles per hour.
About reading
The best thing I've read in lately, there was a tweet from Hulk Hogan: “Kevin Owens and A.J. Styles, remember: in order for everyone to blow away the tower in WWE, you need to rip Eric Young’s pants off and leave him in only “Speedos” (American wrestlers are listed. - Note ed.).
About fear and uncertainty
The older you get, the more you start to worry. Anxiety increases over the years - my doctor once compared it to a volcanic eruption. At all, main problem The point is that it is often difficult to understand what exactly you are worried about. For me, music has always been the best antidepressant and replaced psychotherapy. I'm sure I'm far from the only one.
About the funniest colleagues
We've toured with a lot of artists, from Fall Out Boy to Echosmith. Who's the most fun to be with? Last summer I celebrated my birthday in New Hampshire with the bands Mutemath and Chef'Special. So I ate Oreo pudding and topped it with Oreo cake - and it was probably my wildest birthday ever.
How to maintain healthy relationships in a team with only two members
What do we do if we have a fight? To be honest, we just don't fight at all. The important thing here is that we have already been good friends when they started playing together. We respect each other wildly, which is very important when you spend so much time together.
On October 22 and 23, Twenty One Pilots will perform in Russia for the first time. Tickets for the Moscow concert at the Sokol club (formerly Stadium Live) have long been sold out; in St. Petersburg, the organizers moved the performance to the more spacious Ledovy.
Twenty One Pilots (the band's name is always written in lowercase) have made a lot of noise over the past few years with their experimentation with musical style and remarkable live performances.
Debuting in 2009 and signing to Fueled by Ramen in 2012, the band, comprised of vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun, has released two critically acclaimed albums, Vessel and Blurryface. The last one became theirs business card. Their lyrical, cheeky lyrics resonated with many fans around the world.
The upcoming Twenty One Pilots concerts in Russia will be held on February 2, 2019 in Moscow (VTB Arena) and February 4 in St. Petersburg (Ice Palace).
The name Twenty One Pilots is taken from the play by Arthur Miller.
In college, Tyler Joseph studied Miller's play All My Sons, about a man who stands in front of moral choice after knowingly selling defective parts for Air Force aircraft, resulting in the deaths of twenty-one pilots during World War II. Inspired by this moral dilemma, Joseph names the group "Twenty-One Pilots." It was precisely such ethical questions and real-life situations that became the basis for many of the group’s songs.
The musicians put photographs of their grandfathers on the cover of “Vessel”
The two older men on the cover of Fueled by Ramen's debut release are the grandfathers of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. Joseph and Dan thought it would be cool because no one had done it before.
Their ski masks symbolize facelessness
After the release of the album "Vessel", Twenty One Pilots began to often wear balaclavas during live performances, and at the MTV Movie Awards in 2013 the audience even followed suit. In an interview, the band stated that the ski masks were a way to not only catch people off guard at concerts, but also to make the music more faceless and thus irrelevant—separating it from faces and names so people could make it their own.
Blurryface is the character the album was named after.
Tyler Joseph said that Blurryface is a character he made up and represents him own complexes and complexes of other people. To get into character on stage, he would apply black paint to his neck and arms, which he said symbolizes the fear of suffocation (paint on his neck) and the things he makes with his hands (paint on his hands). He also wears red wristbands because red is the character's color.
They tried to attract the attention of stage workers during concerts
When Twenty One Pilots were just a small band in Columbus, they tried to attract the attention of everyone in the club, even the bartenders who served the customers. In an interview, Tyler said that they strived to ensure that even service personnel at least for a second he stopped what he was doing and looked at the stage.
They are Christians, but not Christian performers
Both Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun said that they are Christians, but do not intend to convince anyone of anything through music. However, since their beliefs are important to them, they often slip into the texts and general symbolism one way or another.
Tyler once threw a patron out of a concert.
One day, Tyler Joseph stopped the show because he saw a guy in the audience hit a girl. He stopped playing and, along with several other people, pushed him off the court.
Twenty One Pilots won't say what their logo means
Tyler Joseph drew the band's logo himself, and calls it the "kitchen drain." He stated that it has a certain meaning for him, as well as the fact that he is the only person who knows what it symbolizes. And if he tells, then the meaning will be lost.
None of the band members play guitar
Twenty One Pilots usually rely on synthesizers, ukuleles and drums, which makes their music quite unique because they don't use a guitar at all. This is because neither Joseph nor Dan play it. They say that if they used a guitar, they would have to find someone to play it, and then the music would go through someone who is not part of the group.
Josh played drums in House of Heroes
Before joining Tyler Joseyaw in Twenty One Pilots, Josh Dun was the touring drummer for the rock band House of Heroes. After original members Nick Thomas and Chris Sahlin left the band, Dan, who worked at Guitar Center with Sahlin, met Joseph and they began playing together.
Tyler Joseph released solo album
While still in school, Tyler Joseph released a mini-album of Christmas songs. He was also featured on the live performance of "Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel" for Five14 Church's "Christmas with the Stars" and as backing vocalist on Dallon Weeks' (Panic! at the Disco) single "Sickly Sweet Holidays."
Tyler also appeared in videos for his church.
Before Twenty One Pilots became a household name, Tyler Joseph showed off his acting talents in short videos made by him and a few others from his church in Ohio. In the video, titled "The (moderately inspiring tale of the) Longboard Rodeo Tango," he plays an intern who discovers that his comrades are a gang of skateboarders.
The album "Vessel" was written without any special expectations that anyone would hear it
When Vessel was released, the band was still fairly unknown, so when they went into the studio to record, no one expected anything from them. However, the band said that when they recorded "Blurryface" it was hard not to think about the fact that somewhere out there there was an audience hungry for this record.
They shot a video for Will Smith's Rachno
In one of his most interesting videos on "House of Gold", the group appears before the audience in the middle of some kind of wasteland and half of their body is torn off. But the place itself is also of interest. The video was filmed at a ranch north of Los Angeles that belongs to Will Smith.
Once they got a tattoo right on stage
Both Tyler and Josh have an X tattoo that they got on stage in Columbus. Joseph wears it on his forearm and Dan wears it behind his right ear, symbolizing the dedication of fans in their hometown.
Josh Dun is a popular American musician and also a member of famous group Twenty One Pilots. He was born on June 18 (according to the horoscope, Gemini) 1988 in Columbus (USA, Ohio). Full name– Joshua William Dun.
Josh Dun was born in ordinary family. His father, William Earl Dun, was a physical therapy assistant at the time, and his mother, Laura Lee McCollum, was a social worker. In addition to Josh himself, his sisters and brother, Ashley, Abigail and Jordan, were also raised in the family. More from early age Josh loved music because it gave him the ability to feel more confident and calm. Together with her, he seemed to gain strength and was transported to a completely different world, where no one could find or disturb him. IN school years played the trumpet until he came to the idea that this instrument did not fit in with his musical preferences. It is for this reason that he soon begins to play drums.
In the Dan family there was a ban on various music; as Josh himself recalls, he could not fully listen to modern music, since parents always controlled the personal preferences of each child. It was for this reason that he secretly went to local music stores and learned about styles of music that were completely unfamiliar to him, and also found idols for himself.
Music career
Josh initially worked at a Guitar store for three years until he decided he wanted to start his own musical career. He made his debut as a drummer by joining musical group"House of Heroes" in March 2010 after their drummer Colin Rigsby decided to take some time off and spend some time with his family. Josh continued to play with this group until October 2010, when Colin returned and joined the group.
In 2011, Josh met Chris Salih, the former drummer of Twenty One Pilots. A little later, Josh develops a friendly relationship with Tyler Joseph, the lead vocalist of the group. In the same year, Nick Thomas and Chris Salih left the group and gave Josh Dun the opportunity to try his hand. He eventually becomes a permanent member of Twenty One Pilots. Together they released an album, as well as several popular tracks.
Relationship
In 2013, he began dating American singer and actress Debby Ryan, but soon, due to personal reasons, the couple separated in September 2014. In 2015, there were suspicions that the singer was dating the popular American singer Ashley Frangipane, better known under the pseudonym Halsey.
Hi Josh! Some of these questions may seem strange to you, but know that we have no complaints, these are fans tried! First of all, tell me, what are your expectations from Russia? You probably think that we are still going through perestroika and there are bears roaming the streets?
Haha, no... I've never been to Russia. This will be my first visit to you as part of Twenty One Pilots. But since the seventh grade I dreamed of visiting your country. So I am very excited that I will finally be able to come and feel part of a great culture. Of course, I have no idea what to expect from you. But I wouldn’t like to rely only on someone’s jokes, anecdotes and videos - it’s important for me to get own experience. You cannot understand another culture until you have visited that country yourself. So I'm really looking forward to the trip and want to find some, meet cool people... In general, I'm ready for adventure!
What rumors or myths about Russia come to your mind first? For example, about vodka...
I'm trying to remember something right now, but I can't remember anything. But I met a lot of Russians, they were all very kind. So I think I'll meet a lot of good people here.
Whose idea was it to come to Russia? Your manager or you yourself decided to visit such a dangerous place? Maybe you wanted some adrenaline?
Hehe! When Tyler and I got into music, we traveled a lot around our home state of Ohio, where we were born and raised. But one day we agreed that when we succeeded, we would definitely start traveling on a larger scale. And so it happened, we began to travel around the world a lot and now we want to visit as many cool places as possible! And speaking of what Russia will be like: I think it will be amazing!
What's the first thing you do when you get off the plane in Moscow?
First of all, I’ll probably find your best coffee and drink plenty of it to stay invigorated. I love coffee, you know.
We approve! What do you know about Russian music? Have you listened to any of our performers?
Good question. I'm sure I definitely heard someone, but I don't remember now. Maybe you can recommend something?
No question! "" has a tradition: when famous performers come to Moscow, we show them the best Russian videos. If you don’t mind, we will invite you to this program and you will get to know Russian music as closely as possible.
Yeah, cool!
Okay, we will contact your manager and try to arrange a meeting. What kind of music have you been listening to lately?
Hmmm... I don’t know what I was listening to last year... Sometimes I turn on old records - those bands I was crazy about in high school. I recently drove Rage Against the Machine and . Sometimes I can listen to opera, sometimes even pop. Like Green Day. Or just relaxing music, without words. In general, I listen to a lot of things.
Let's talk about words. Do you remember the lyrics to all your songs by heart?
If I remembered all our songs, it would be a little difficult for me. By heart, of course not. But I'm getting ready for the show.
Which drummer do you consider your idol?
There are many of them. A bunch of professionals helped me master the drums until I found my style.