A (Somewhat) Quick Guide to Djo/Post Animal
i know when i just got into the fandom, it was a bit hard to figure out who was who. so, i decided to make some graphics to help show who everyone is. i hope these graphics, and my brief history of the bands, helps :)
First, Post Animal:
so, dalton and matt started the band in about 2014 when they moved to chicago for college. jake joined in 2014 after meeting dalton and matt at college. joe joined in 2014 after meeting and befriending matt as a coworker in a restaurant.
joe initially joined as the drummer for the band. but, he wanted to switch to guitar, so they added in wes as a drummer around 2015.
joe stepped away amicably around 2017-2018. he made this choice as he felt that his character of steve harrington may cause some sort of harm to the band eventually, and he wanted the band to be recognized for the great talent they have.
javi joined last, officially around 2018. he filled in on guitar for joe for gigs when joe had acting jobs he had to be away for a bit, about 2016-2018, before becoming an official member.
joe rejoined the group for their latest album Iron in 2025.
joe remained friends with them the whole time. he added them as the opener for his back on you tour in 2025. he made mention that his dream was always to tour the world with his best friends, and he was just happy he was able to do it.
all of the members are credited for working on lyrics throughout their several albums. they talk openly about how they work collaboratively on these endeavors.
adam thein has also been credited for helping mix and produce and master much of their work.
the whole group are exceptionally talented, and several of them have solo/side projects! check out: dawn clarke; javier reyes; jake and javier; slow pulp.
dalton allison: bass, vocals javier reyes: guitar, vocals matt williams: guitar, vocals wes toledo: drums, vocals jake hirshland: guitar, keys, vocals joe keery: (formerly drums), guitar, vocals
Second, Djo:
joe first released solo music under the name djo in 2019, with his first single being roddy.
in interviews, he's talked about how he developed a lot of his first albums just sitting in a bedroom or some other similar space. he talks about writing and recording snippets while on set for different acting projects.
he has included his friends as collaborators on his djo work since the start. jake has been his creative director for most of his work. adam has worked closely as his producer/mixer/master/overall music wizard if we're being honest.
joe used to perform in disguises, actually, when going on stage as djo. the whole band wore white jumpsuits and he wore a wig. he really wanted his music to be its own thing. he wasn't keen on using his success as an actor to promote his music. he always has talked about how he wanted it to be what it is and shine for its own merit.
here's a shot of him in costume as djo pre-2025!
end of beginning was on his 2022 album Decide. it wasn't originally a single. when it started going viral with tiktok and social media, it was released as a single in 2024. joe himself doesn't really use social media, so he was unaware and confused when it was first brought to his attention as going viral.
the virality of end of beginning shot djo upwards in popularity. people started to uncover that djo was actually joe keery. and with the ending of stranger things, his music became even more popular.
in 2025, djo went on the back on you tour and the another bite tour with post animal as the opener. he decided to shed the djo costume and wig as people had vastly figured out who he was by that point.
joe has talked openly on how he always wanted to tour the world with his best friends, which he was able to accomplish. he says that he's incredibly grateful for the success of his acting career. and that he's used that money to fund his music career. he's remained an indie artist because of this.
the crux was recorded in electric lady studios, which allowed djo to utilize a lot of resources that previously weren't easily available from recording in, ya know, bedrooms and stuff.
joe writes all of his music himself, with credits most often to adam thein as a collaborator. adam also works to help mix and produce and master all of djo's work.
all the members of post animal have been credited at some point on various djo releases. all of them, and all of djo, are found in the 2025 album the crux.
also! the crux includes appearances from all of joe's sisters, his good friend charlie heaton, and the brooklyn youth choir.
just a side note -- sam and joe are childhood best friends :)
joe keery: guitar, vocals, keys/synth javier reyes: guitar, vocals, keys adam thein: keys, vocals wes toledo: drums, vocals teddy mathews: drums, vocals trent prall: bass, keys/synth, vocals sam jordan: guitar, vocals
Third, Djost Animal:
djost animal refers to the combination of djo and post animal. generally i use this when referring to when they perform together. so, when joe will hop on stage with post animal. or, when djo brings out post animal. or just referring to when they tour together and hang out.
you'll often see people say goml. this means gentlemen of my life. it's a common thing the guys use to affectionately refer to each other.
another common phrase you'll see is "must appreciate." this is something that teddy would say about, just, anything really. must appreciate life, the beauty of people, love, music, etc. so, it gets used a lot to affectionately refer to the guys and all of their art and who they are as people.
must appreciate the goml <3
teddy is mayor of the tour bus btw.
all of the guys are very close and often spend time hanging out together outside of musical obligations. many of them have been friends since college or earlier -- over a decade at this point. all of their partners are also friends, which is just really really sweet to see.
jake has worked as creative director for djo's work -- album covers, music videos, etc. they were actually nominated for a grammy for best album cover in 2026 for the crux! jake is just insanely talented and i think he may be a wizard.
adam has worked to mix/produce/master/ magically infuse the music of djo and post animal. he's insanely talented. he has worked with a lot of other artists as well in this regard. i am convinced he is a wizard.
for the 2025 back on you tour + the another bite tour, there were two tour photographers: pooneh ghana and caity krone. they are both INSANELY talented. seriously. PLEASE go check out their work. like. wizards with cameras. several of the photos used in these images were taken by pooneh and caity!
and, i think that's it for now! i hope that this lil dive into these guys and their work was helpful. i adore them so much and am so grateful they share their art with the world. please go check out their work if you haven't already!
