Why Twenty One Pilots?
I am writing this article because I have been a Twenty One Pilots fan for as long as I can remember. I watched the Livestream Experience and went to the Takeover Tour show at United Center and it was a dream come true. I love how Tyler writes about his own experiences and thoughts with depression and how he made a whole story with fictional
places and fictional characters. I love how creative they are and how their genre of music isn’t just one specific genre. They’re very unique and fans trying to figure out the story line and cryptic messages is always very interesting.
Twenty One Pilots is a musical duo best known for their album Blurryface, which has some of their most well known songs, including “Stressed Out” and “Ride.” Twenty One PIlots originally started in 2009 with Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Salih but both Nick and Thomas left in 2011. Since then, the band has consisted of vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun.
Personal lives
Tyler Robert Joseph was born on December 1, 1988
He has two brothers, Zack and Jay, and one sister, Madison.
Throughout his high school years, Tyler was a basketball player but also had a passion for music. In 2007, his solo album No Phun Intended was released. He had the chance to go to college with a basketball scholarship but instead dropped out to pursue music. He married Jenna Joseph in 2015 and they have two daughters, Rosie and Junie.
Joshua William Dun was born on June 18,1988. He has two sisters, Ashley and Abigail, and one brother, Jordan. In 2011, he joined Twenty One Pilots but in 2010, he was a drummer for House of Heroes. He married actress Debby Ryan in 2019 and they have a dog, Jim Dun.
The Beginning
Twenty One Pilots started in 2009 and on December 29, 2009 Tyler, Nick, and Chris released their first album, Twenty One Pilots, also referred to as their “self-titled” album. After Nick and Chris left, Josh Dun joined and on July 8, 2011, they released an album, Regional At Best.
When Regional At Best was released, Tyler and Josh played small shows in their hometown, Columbus, Ohio. They gained some recognition from their small shows and series based on their shows “Regional At Best: The Web Series”. In 2012, Twenty One Pilots signed with their current record label, Fueled By Ramen.
Their first album released with their record label was Vessel, which debuted on January 8, 2013.
Blurryface
Blurryface was released on May 15, 2015 and it brought many good things for the band. “Stressed Out” was the most popular track on the record and, as of today, September 18, 2023, it has 2.7 billion views on YouTube. At the 59th Grammy Awards, they won Best pop duo/group performance for “Stressed Out.”
On July 6,2017, just two weeks after the last Tour De Columbus show, Twenty One Pilots cryptically announced their hiatus. In an interview, Tyler claimed that it was more of a break but people put the hiatus label on it. He said he had trouble writing and didn’t have much creativity in him but the making of the song “Heathens” helped him keep going and start getting new ideas.
“Trench”
On July 11, 2018, the first track on the album, Jumpsuit, was released breaking their one year hiatus. On October 5, 2018, the whole album Trench was released. The album also reached platinum.
The band then went on to do the Bandito Tour and a 7 video series called “Twenty One Pilots- Bandito Tour Series”.
Scaled and Icy
Twenty One Pilots’ latest album Scaled and Icy was released on May 21, 2021. Scaled and Icy was very important because the whole making of the album and its release was done during quarantine. Since the band couldn’t tour right after the album’s release, Twenty One Pilots did a livestream concert called “Scaled and Icy Livestream Experience” the day it was released. Once they were able to go on tour, they announced The Takeover Tour.
For their Takeover tour, which started on September 21st in Denver and ended June 25th in London, Twenty One Pilots purposely started in a city within a small venue and then ended at bigger arenas.
On October 16th they played at the United Center. They put on a really awesome show and I am so glad I got to see them. The energy was amazing and it was overall an amazing experience.
Awards
Twenty One Pilots have won most of their awards for Blurryface; it’s their most popular album and their single “Heathens” since it was featured in the movie Suicide Squad.
They have won a Grammy, MTV Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, and more. Blurryface also stayed on the Billboard Top 200 Album chart for 4 years.
Turning the Music into Lore
Twenty One Pilots’ music starting with Blurryface has lore. In music videos we see Tyler with dark hands and a dark neck. That person with those dark hands and dark neck is Blurryface, a character that represents Tyler’s fears and insecurities.
In Trench, we find out about two places, Trench and Dema. We also find out about a new group of people called Banditos; a new character, Nicholas; nine bishops; a character who represents creativity named Ned Bayou; and a vulture that is on the album’s cover and in a music video. The vulture’s name is Clifford and it represents our responsibility to turn death into life. Those 9 bishops are part of Dema and they’re in charge. The Banditos are good people trying to save Tyler from Dema, as the Banditos represent hope. Dema also represents Tyler’s fears and depression.
In Scaled and Icy, we find out about one new place and one new character. That place is
The Outside and the character is a blue dragon named Trash. Trash the dragon is slang in Dema, which means vulture, and that’s how Trash the dragon got its name. The Outside is a place outside of Dema and Trench and it’s featured in “The Outside” music video.
There is still a lot to learn about their lore and some fans love to analyze their music to figure out more of the lore. Tyler and Josh don’t confirm any theories of the lore because they want their fans to create the meaning themselves.
Today
As of today, September 20, 2023, there is no new music being announced but Tyler recently released a cover of Switchfoot’s song, “Twenty-four”, and their most recent show was a small charity concert in their hometown for the Brighter Days Foundation.
