Twenty-One Pilots

Have you ever heard of Twenty-One Pilots? No? Well you're crazy, and about to.

Twenty-One Pilots is a two man music group who started together 5 years ago. The duo consist of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun from Columbus, Ohio that were two college friends, both with extreme musical talent. In 2011, they released their first album Regional At Best, then they became noticed by a record label named Fueled By Ramen, who they later signed on to a contract with them. When 2013 hit, they released their newest album Vessel featuring such songs as "Trees" or "Run and Go" and went on tour with this album. There tour took them to such places as the MTV Movie Awards in 2014. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjZ9Dx-bnmQ) Which is also the reason I fell in love with them.

Twenty-One Pilot's music is not your average pop on the radio, it isn't about objectifying women or doing drugs. It is just music. No need to complicate things. They don't really have a genre but if you had to classify them as something it would maybe be Indie Techo. One song in particular (Actually the one linked above from the MTV Movie Awards) it was a song that saved my life. The performance when I seen it on the award show was the most inspiring performance of my life. Read the lyrics.

They are so powerful, especially the underlined part below. When I heard him say that it clicked. Joseph's introspective rhymes keep people thinking and on their toes. His main point of his songs are to make people realize and clearly understand how important life and music are and that they are the same thing.

I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire
Exhale desire
I know it's dire
My time today

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole
My car radio
And now I just sit in silence

Sometimes quiet is violent
I find it hard to hide it
My pride is no longer inside
It's on my sleeve
My skin will scream
Reminding me of
Who I killed inside my dream
I hate this car that I'm driving
There's no hiding for me
I'm forced to deal with what I feel
There is no distraction to mask what is real
I could pull the steering wheel

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole
My car radio
And now I just sit in silence

I ponder of something terrifying
'Cause this time there's no sound to hide behind
I find over the course of our human existence
One thing consists of consistence
And it's that we're all battling fear
Oh dear, I don't know if we know why we're here
Oh my, 
Too deep
Please stop thinking
I liked it better when my car had sound

There are things we can do
But from the things that work there are only two
And from the two that we choose to do
Peace will win
And fear will lose
There's faith and there's sleep
We need to pick one please because
Faith is to be awake
And to be awake is for us to think
And for us to think is to be alive
And I will try with every rhyme
To come across like I am dying
To let you know you need to try to think

I have these thoughts
So often I ought
To replace that slot
With what I once bought
'Cause somebody stole
My car radio
And now I just sit in silence

I ponder of something great
My lungs will fill and then deflate
They fill with fire
Exhale desire
I know it's dire

CBGB

Ramones, Television, Patti Smith Group, Blondie, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Talking Heads and so many more. We all know these legendary bands. We all know of their success. However do you ever really stop and wonder, "Well how did they get their start?" It all started in a little pub called CBGB.

CBGB stands for Country, Bluegrass, and Blues. In 1973 on 315 Bowery interluding Bleecker Street in Easy Village, Hilly Kristal opened this club with the intention to only play those three types of music. Kristal was one of those men with the intention of settling a calm and collected bar with a few shows performing smooth music and an easy going environment.

Well that didn't happen. Once Kristal opened the joint he had issues trying to find music groups to perform fitting his specifications. The groups who came through were young punk kids who Hilly was not impressed with. Yet he gave them a chance. He was in debt and had no other choices. So he let these small town punk bands perform.

After getting the word out the club became increasing popular. Just about everyone with a guitar, drums, a base, and a vocalist played in Hilly's place. Once the club got going the bands playing because more popular and then started to become regulars at his place. As the regulars were more demanded, scouts came and other talent agents would come and view the bands of Kristal's bar, wanting to take them over. Hilly actually managed some of his regulars.

For example, there was a band that became called the Dead Boys that Hilly managed. It was a group of three semi-talented immature young guys into doing drugs and promoting self hurt and anguish during their sets. Anyway Kristal went through an sent the boys on tour. During their tour the boys were driving their tour truck and were drinking, fighting, hurting themselves then ended up crashing the truck and losing all the money Hilly gave them. But that is a story for another time!

Hilly Kristal was a devoted and determined man. Even when someone like the Dead Boys lost his money, he still would not give up his club. It was the most important thing in his life. Without this club there wouldn't have been any of the bands I named earlier. The CBGB club persevered their careers. Can you imagine the world without Blondie or the Ramones? I can't!