Flying high

Pilots land in Thailand

By Arlyssa P. Supangkasen
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb
and courtesy of BEC-Tero Music
and Warner Music Thailand

The American duo Twenty One Pilots flew right to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart when their fourth album Blurryface was released in May.

The band was formed in 2009 by singer-songwriter Tyler Joseph and his two college friends. In 2011, the friends left and drummer Josh Dun joined the group. The band self-released two albums before they signed a contract with music label Fueled by Ramen in 2012.

The duo combines various kinds of music on their new album including rap and techno. Their dynamic performances saw them nominated for best live band at the 2015 Alternative Press Music Awards. To promote Blurryface, the guys have played concerts around the world including in the UK, Japan, Hong Kong and Thailand. Twenty One Pilots were the headliners at Sound Box: Music to Be Heard on July 22 at Muang Thai GMM Live House, Central World.

Student Weekly recently met the duo at a press conference before their show, where the guys told us how they feel about performing in Thailand.

Question: What are your impressions of Thailand?

Josh: We actually just got here. This whole trip is a lot of places that we’ve never been, including Thailand. We’re really glad to be here. I have some friends that live here, so I’ve heard a lot about it and I’m looking forward to it. We have a little time tomorrow to explore and find some cool places.

Tyler: We love food, so we’re looking forward to eating a lot.

Question: How did signing to a record label affect you?

Josh: One reason we ended up with Fueled by Ramen is because they were, from the very beginning, very supportive of what we had started to build. They let us be as artistic and creative as we wanted.

Question: What do you love most about performing around the world?

Tyler: The most incredible thing about being able to play in front of so many different people is that we go home with a story. It’s not about how different all the cultures of the world are, but how everybody seems to react to music in the same way. It’s amazing how a roomful of fans in Thailand will react in the same way as fans in the US. Playing live you get to experience that magic. It’s amazing what music can do.

Question: How would you describe your live shows to people who haven’t seen you before?

Josh: It’s hard to describe our performance, but I usually tell people it’s just two guys. Tyler plays piano and sings, and I play the drums. We realised that we face a real challenge because most bands have more than two people. So we decided from the very beginning to be as energetic as we possibly can. We like to be very involved in what happens on stage, and we rely on the audience as well, whether it’s 10 or 10,000 people.

Question: Is there a difference between playing in a small venue and a big festival?

Tyler: There’s definitely a big difference. A lot of times you’re going to play in front of people who don’t know who you are and haven’t heard your music. Bands make mistakes where they assume everybody knows them, or they ask people to sing the songs. Josh and I believe that it’s all about making a really good first impression, and working hard for the audience.

Question: There are a lot of Thai fans excited about your show. How do you feel about that?

Josh: It’s crazy. Tyler and I have been talking about when we first started playing music. We used to hope that someday we could play more than two shows in a row, and maybe more than 45 minutes away from our house. Now we’re in different parts of the world, playing in front of people that know who we are, even though we’ve never been here. So it’s a good feeling for us and we’re honoured to come here and play. It’s really cool!

 

comments powered by Disqus