Twenty One Pilots Biography

news-detailsTwenty One Pilots is a Columbus, Ohio duo which was originally formed in 2009 by college friends Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas and Chris Salih. Joseph came up with the band's name while studying "All My Sons" by Arthur Miller, a play about a man who must decide what is best for his family after causing the death of 21 pilots during World War II because he knowingly sent them faulty parts for the good of his business.

In December 2009, the then-trio released their debut, self-titled album "Twenty One Pilots". They followed it with a tour around Ohio. In 2011, the group lost its two members Thomas and Salih who left due to busy schedules. Josh Dun, former live drummer of House of Heroes, then joined the only founding member of Twenty One Pilots.

As a duo, they self-released the group's next record, "Regional at Best", in July 2011. In November that year, they played a sold out show at Columbus' Newport Music Hall and managed to attract the attention of a dozen record labels. In the end, the two decided to sign with the Atlantic Records subsidiary label Fueled by Ramen, under which they released a three-song EP aptly titled "Three Songs" in 2012 and a full-length project called "Vessel" in early 2013.

They spent the rest of the year and 2014 building a bigger fanbase by supporting Fall Out Boy on the latter band's "Save Rock and Roll" tour, appearing on TV shows and playing music festivals around the country such as Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo, Boston Calling and Firefly.

In March 2015, they announced their "Blurryface" album, which was eventually released on May 19 and reached No. 1 on Billboard 200 with over 134,000 copies in the first week. The record includes the singles "Fairly Local", "Tear in My Hear" and "Stressed Out". The latter became their biggest single to date, currently peaking at No. 5 on Billboard Hot 100.