How twenty øne piløts changed the lives of their fans for the better…
It was December of 2009. A 21-year old Tyler Joseph met up with his friends, Chris Salih and Nick Thomas, and formed what would later be called twenty øne piløts by millions of fans spanning across the globe. The band released their debut album on December 29, 2009, going by the same name as the band or ‘Self-Titled’.
Soon in 2011, both the founding members of the band, Salih and Thomas, had to leave moving on with their lives except Tyler who had forever been ambitious about his music career. Although, before leaving Salih reached out to his friend Joshua Dun, a drummer (and a mighty impressive one least to say) to fill in for him. This actuated a life-long friendship between Tyler and Josh. In the same year, the band released their 2nd album titled ‘Regional at Best’, one which gained them massive popularity in their city. One of their most remarkable accomplishments being the duo playing a sold-out show at the Newport Music Hall. This was their claim to fame.
In 2012, the band signed out to the music label Fueled By Ramen, and in 2013 they released their first album under the label called ‘Vessel’ which introduced them to the world. This was just the tip of the iceberg for two (happy) boys from Columbus, Ohio. There was nowhere to go but up. The band then performed many shows and made several appearances in Awards and Late Night talk shows.
The period of 2015–2017 marked the beginning of the Blurryface Era, which began after the release of their most acclaimed album, ‘Blurryface’. In this album, the duo followed a narrative style of songs that combined their phenomenal music and storytelling capabilities. The album followed the character of Blurryface, a personification of Tyler Joseph’s insecurities. He has stated “It helps me to give my insecurities a name and a seat at the table I can look across and address. He’s not a good guy, but he’s a guy I intend on conquering. He’s a guy I have to beat every day. The idea of creating something, making a song and having the courage to show someone that song is a form of defeating that insecurity. It helps me focus on areas of my life I don’t like.”
July of 2017 saw the boys going on a year-long break or the Hiatus, as the fans call it, where the band didn’t interact with social media whatsoever. This hiatus ended when fans started seeing cryptic posts on the band’s website which had revealed a new character called Clancy along with a few letters and images. A new album was set to be released. Cut to July 2018, when the band released two new songs followed by a music video. This was the album ‘Trench’. Trench was a narrative-based album as well, continuing on with the story of Blurryface with more characters and a much larger world of ‘Dema’. At this point, twenty øne piløts had become one of the most famous and successful bands in the world with a grammy and numerous other awards to their name.
But it was never about mainstream success to them. They just wanted to make music that people liked. Music that people related to. From the beginning, that is the Self-Titled, the band’s music had delved into themes of mental health, suicide, and religion (although the latter was influenced mostly in Self-Titled). Tyler personally had suffered from depression and suicidal behavior, something which he has been very vocal about. And that was the reason he started creating music- to channel his thoughts into something meaningful. And although almost each and every one of their songs explores many different issues that Tyler explains, he has always encouraged the fans to find and cite their own interpretation.
The band has helped millions of people globally to overcome their paranoia and insecurities through their music. It has worked as the ultimate catharsis and therapy to channelize the fears and phobias into something that exists among the group of people. The Skeleton Clique, as the fandom calls itself, has always been receptive to people who have no one to talk to. And most of the time, that’s what the people need. We don’t want others to help us or make us feel validated. We just want them to listen. And who can know this better than those who themselves face similar quandaries?
twenty øne piløts is not just a band. It is a movement. And they are not just Tyler and Josh who make up the band. Millions of people who have shared the experience, who have powered through, who didn’t let their fears get the best of them, who didn’t let their own Blurryfaces take over them, who stayed alive, they all are a part of this movement. That is also the reason that after concluding their concerts, they always end with “We are twenty one pilots and so are you…” because they know that words carry an unparalleled power that can break through the toughest of the barriers.
It is almost funny to imagine that a 17-year-old boy who had almost given up on himself is now an inspiration to the people who are facing this same problem. A boy whose music echoes through the hearts of millions who sing along with him.
