Twenty One Pilots reminisces about early days in Ohio on latest tour
Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph of Columbus indie-pop act Twenty One Pilots.
(Fueled by Ramen)
CLEVELAND, Ohio – It's a sunny day in late August and Josh Dun, drummer for indie-pop band Twenty One Pilots, is walking around Columbus wondering what time it is.
"We just got home from doing some of our own shows in Australia and then traveled to Japan for a festival," says Dun. "I'm still all completely messed up time zone wise, but it was really fun."
When Dun joined TWP founding member Tyler Joseph in 2011, the thought of global domination was a mere dream. Dun had just replaced original drummer Chris Salih and Twenty One Pilots was self-releasing music via websites like SoundCloud.
Then the record deal came. The duo signed with Fueled by Ramen, the home of pop-punk heavyweights like Paramore and Panic! at the Disco. The deal paved the way for "Vessel," Dun and Joseph's 2013 breakthrough album that spawned two top-10 singles on Billboard's Alternative Songs chart.
The album's success also gave Twenty One Pilots a bigger platform to showcase its unique blend of rock and pop. The band performed at the 2014 MTV Movie Awards in March and at the inaugural AP Music Awards in Cleveland this past July.
Twenty One Pilots stole the show at the APMAs when Joseph climbed to the top of the scaffolding, shocking everyone, including Dun, who relived the experience with us during a recent phone interview:
Take me back to the AP Music Awards.
That was a really fun night. It's cool that it was the first year for that show and it was cool to be an Ohio band and kind of represent our home state. Our families were there. It was nice for us to rub shoulders with bands that we don't know of or know, but might not play with.
Were you surprised by the nominations or the invite to perform?
I don't know if we really fit with what else was going on. In a way, I kind of like that and I feel honored that they would have us there even if we don't fit the mold of that scene.
There was a lot going on during your performance. Do you plan something like Tyler climbing the stage?
Some of the stuff we do is really dependent on the venue and what it looks like. I don't always know what Tyler's going to do. Sometimes we're in the middle of a song, I look around and he's already halfway up the scaffolding.
Do you worry?
One time, we were in Korea and for that particular festival, we had him strap a GoPro on his chest and watched him climb all the way up the truss. Watching that footage makes my hands sweaty. That guy scares me sometimes, but I trust he's going to be safe.
The first two shows of your fall tour, in Columbus, sold out in a matter of days.
It's crazy. When we started we never knew how many people were going to show up. There were times when no one came or maybe just three or four people. Now it's kind of cool and exciting for Tyler and I to look at each other and realize there are actually going to be people there.
Does it feel different when you perform in Ohio?
It's interesting because I'm not in Ohio very often, but I love coming here and thinking about the times where we would only play Ohio at the Grog Shop multiple times and would love it. Anytime we come back to Ohio, in Cleveland or Columbus, it's a special time.
What can people expect on this tour?
We're changing a couple of things. I think until we're done playing music, which will be when we die; our goal is going to be to keep outdoing ourselves. It gets to be challenging to put together a different set list each time. We try to get creative with how to approach a song. We try to be more strategic and intentional with how things look aesthetically on stage with the setup and the lighting. We're constantly brain storming. For us, performing and playing is our favorite thing to do.
"Vessel" has been out for about a year and a half. Is there a timeline for new music?
We're always working on stuff. There's a bunch of songs written. The next step at the end of this year or the beginning of next year is to partner with a producer that meets us where we're at from a stylistic standpoint. I personally want to up my game drumming wise on this next record. We can't wait to get back to the studio and bring these ideas to life.
