Tyler Joseph was born on December 1, 1988 in the city of Columbus, Ohio. He grew up with two brothers, Zack (also a singer) and Jay, and a sister, Madison. His mother, Kelly, was a math teacher in the Olentangy School District before becoming a basketball coach at Olentangy Orange High School in 2013. His father, Chris, also worked as a coach at Worthington Christian High School from 1996 to 2005, and is currently the school's principal. Joseph played basketball from a very young age, and played as a goalie at his mother's school. In 2008, Joseph's basketball team placed second in a state tournament.
After seeing a composer at the High Street club, he turned down a basketball scholarship to Otterbein University, and began playing music after finding an old keyboard in his closet (a Christmas present from his mother).
Joseph formed Twenty One Pilots in 2009 in Columbus, Ohio, and was later joined by his high school friends Nick Thomas and Chris Salih. The name of the band came up while reading All Were My Children by Arthur Miller, a play about a man who must decide what is best for his family after causing the death of twenty-one pilots during World War II. Joseph explained that the moral dilemma of the story was the inspiration for the name of the band. On December 29, 2009, they released their eponymous debut album, and toured Ohio.
In mid-2011, Thomas and Salih left the band due to scheduling issues, and Joseph was joined by drummer Josh Dun. Tyler and Josh had been introduced by Salih, who was working with Dun at a Guitar Centre store, and had subsequently invited him to a band show. The duo released their second studio album, Regional at Best, on July 8, 2011, and signed to Atlantic Records, subsidiary label Fueled by Ramen, in April 2012. In August 2012, they embarked on a small tour with Neon Trees and Walk the Moon.
The duo's third album, Vessel, was released on January 8, 2013, and ranked 58th on the Billboard 200. The fourth album, Blurryface, was released on May 17, 2015, two days before its scheduled release date.
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