OKAY, DON’T LET THIS IMAGE SCARE YOU AWAY!! It’s just part of his act.

Lately I have been listening to this American duo out of Ohio. They are Tyler Joseph (singer, piano, etc.) and Josh Dun (the drummer.) My daughter, Grace, told me about them. I admit the first time I saw them do “Car Radio” was on a television show she recorded, and I was a little freaked out. BUT I put the two albums on my iPod and began listening to them. I got hooked….by Tyler’s amazing piano playing. I have been trying to learn the song “Truce” on piano lately which is a great challenge!

Where did they get their band name, you might wonder? Here’s a quote from Tyler about that.

band name meaning
“Ok so, I (Tyler) was in theatre class and we were studying a play called “All My Sons” written by Arthur Miller in the 40’s. It was about a father who ran a company that provided parts for airplanes used in WWII. He then found out that his parts were faulty, so he comes to a moral crossroads:1. He can take the parts back and not send them out, but he will lose a lot of money in a financially tough situation. He would also taint his business and his name and be known as ‘unreliable’ in his trade. But this would ultimately be the ‘right’ thing to do. or,2. send the parts out, make the necessary money to provide for his family, not taint his name, etc. He ends up sending the parts out and twenty one pilots died because of it. His son was a pilot in the war who had lost his life. There was no evidence to prove that it was directly related but his daughter blamed her father for her brothers death. He ended up committing suicide at the end of the play. Here’s how we make it relevant: I feel like we are all constantly encountering moral crossroads where the decisions that benefit the “now” will have consequences down the road; but the decision that might seem tough and tolling right away will ultimately be more rewarding. What is our purpose for playing music? We are constantly asking ourselves that question. The answer can change all the time, but for right now we are just going to stick with something as simple as “we want to make people think.”

And for me, I think…..I can relate to “Migraine,” because of how I sometimes struggle with where my thoughts go. Depression is an ugly thing even when we are on medication for it. Thankfully, I have a few friends who help me through my darkest episodes. (And the music of twenty one pilots.) 🙂

http://www.twentyonepilots.com/video/migraine-captured-live-room-33111

This is what I love about Tyler’s lyrics. He has made me think. I admit that sometimes I think too much, but I love these two young men’s creativity, their musical skills, and their unique music. He has a singing voice that grew on me. But what really got me with them was this video of two little girls interviewing them.

This band may not be to your liking, but like I said, they really grew on me, and now I find myself gravitating to their music more than anyone else’s at the moment. Check out their videos and their website at:

http://www.twentyonepilots.com/