Being a fan of music, or a specific artist or band, can be one of the most exciting, beautiful and rewarding experiences one can have in their life. For many, being part of a community, a fandom, is a way to connect with likeminded people – those who make you feel like you belong when maybe your surroundings don’t. Among the most well-known – and often misunderstood and misjudged – fandoms is the Twenty One Pilots fanbase, also known as the Clique. While, for people on the outside, the yellow and red-coloured fandom might appear as a bunch of crazed, dressed-up, camping-obsessed and uber-intense fangirls, the reality is quite different. Built on communal support, shared fantastical experiences, inside jokes, and a simple yet powerful message, “stay alive”, the Clique represents a lot more than just screaming fans losing their minds over two guys from Ohio; it has become a source of friendship, acceptance, purpose, and even a lifeline. During Twenty One Pilots’ latest world tour with its concluding shows in the UK, we met with several fans – the clikkies – some of whom had travelled for days to be part of the final concerts in London, to discuss the signficance of the Columbus-based duo and the fan community, their impact on fans’ lives, and why others should give the band and its fanbase a chance. Because it might just change your life forever.
Well, it happened. The lore of Twenty One Pilots came to its looming end with their latest album ‘Breach’ and the gut wrenching finale in the music video for the ethereal ‘City Walls’ last year. And while this article will not be tapping into the lore or serving as a recap of the story that has been built up by the band for a decade – as it would take about 15 pages to do so –, it is essential to highlight the Trench saga as a crucial aspect of the Clique’s identity over the years and the impact the fans have had on the story itself.
Fans have always played a vital role in artists’ careers, images, and growth. However, it is rare for a fandom to be so deeply intertwined with its subjects of admiration as the Clique is with Twenty One Pilots and vice versa – just look at the credits of the ‘City Walls’ video naming the fans as writers and creators of the storyline.
“We are Twenty One Pilots and so are you” is the phrase that concludes every concert the duo perform, and for years now, specifically singer Tyler Joseph has emphasised how crucial the fans are to his work and sense of purpose. But while the two friends – Joseph and drummer Josh Dun – consistently express their appreciation for the community, it is also important to consider the significance of the band and its community in shaping the fans’ lives, as clikkie and tattoo artist Marie, who went on a tattoo tour while attending multiple shows across Europe and UK, underlines: “I became a tattoo artist thanks to this band. I always wanted to go on tour and follow them, but at the same time, I wanted to make it more special for me, so this is a way to celebrate the fact that I found my purpose. It’s been a lot of organisation, of planning, contacting tattoo studios and stuff. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it at the end.” Like many others, Marie finds inspiration in the band’s story, visuals, and songs – something that is heavily supported by the duo, who have, from the beginning, encouraged the creation of fan art, known as #cliqueart. Marie adds: “I never thought that someday I would be a fan of a band for so many years, and this is the case now, and I’m not even bored. I’m just very happy. And it’s not only music, it’s not only a band, it’s also the whole community around it. It’s also the fact that they really care about us creating things, and that’s something I really love about this, because when you’re a fan of someone, you can draw things if you want, but, in this fandom, in the clique, it’s different.”
“THE FANDOM IN ITSELF IS SUCH A FORCE. IT’S WHAT LEADS THE BAND AND WHAT MAKES IT WHAT IT IS.”
Finding a sense of purpose through community and music is something many clikkies can relate to. One such person is Chey, a fan from the U.S., who, after following the two-piece for years, received a happy birthday wish from frontman Joseph during a show, which inspired her to start her own fundraiser, as she explains: “It started in Seattle when Tyler wished me a happy birthday on stage during Trees. I have always struggled with the idea of getting older, so that was a pivotal moment for me, where I started to realise that getting older was something to be celebrated, not something to feel ashamed of. And after that, I thought, how do I move forward? How do I work towards giving other people opportunities like this? And thus came the idea for the fundraiser. It started really small, but it’s now a three year project with $90,000 going directly towards suicide prevention, and $100,000 donated to charity in general. And it all started with just a simple happy birthday.”
Having crossed the pond to attend an overseas show for the very first time, it’s specifically the fans that Chey has developed a deep admiration for, her love for the fanbase growing by the day and with every show, as she exclaims: “The fandom in itself is probably my favourite part to talk about, just because I think that they’re such a force, and what leads the band, and what makes it what it is. It’s not a lie when Tyler says that the fans are what hold it down. I find myself just looking at the crowd oftentimes. I’ve seen the band, I know the show, I’ve gotten familiar with that, but each crowd is so different, and it changes constantly. And not only that, but also the community. I have so many prints, I have so many bracelets, I’ve met so many people, and that’s the kind of stuff that makes you see how far your impact can go. That has really grounded me and kept me at peace, and also made me fall in love with the community over and over and over again.” So, where does she place the band in her life? “I’ve found that they’re kind of the one thing that keeps me tethered. I can lean on Twenty One Pilots forever, and this will be something that will always be a part of me, and nobody can take that away. I can put my feet there, and I can say, this is mine, this will always be mine, and that has kind of helped me start building my identity and turning into who I want to be, so they mean the world to me.”
And Chey is not alone in feeling this impact by the band – and the fanbase – in ways that she couldn’t imagine before. There is Italian fan Alex who’d been travelling along the tour route to catch as many shows as possible and says, “I never know how to describe what they mean to me because it’s everything, really. They saved my life so many times.” And a group from the Netherlands who credits the band for bringing them together in the first place, stating: “They’re the reason why I met my best friends of 10 years, that’s through them.”
Among the waves of fans gathering in front of venues hours, sometimes days, before a concert, and within the endless halls of London’s O2 Arena, we spotted one fan who was handing out gifts to fellow members of the Clique – red and yellow tape, an essential part of the Twenty One Pilots attire – but could have easily fitted in with the culty punk crowd in Camden, with his spiky red hair, distressed jeans jacket and chunky boots. How does someone from the punk scene end up as part of the Clique? “It’s individuality but also resistance. It’s being your own person and not giving in to the demands. Obviously, they are the musicians. But it’s just being you,”, he explains, “If you walk around and see people today, no one is wearing the same outfit. But they’ve all got the same unity. And that makes me extremely happy. That’s all I want.”
And that is exactly what the fandom and the band have always been about, as well as being a fan in general. It goes beyond merely loving someone’s music, attending shows, buying merch, and experiencing the emotional rollercoaster of “screaming, crying, throwing up”. The Clique is about the individuals who make it up and the connections created between them, whether that’s online, at the concerts, in queues on the sidewalk, or organised fan meet-ups. It doesn’t matter if you’re a casual listener or if you’ve been following the band since the release of ‘Vessel’ or even ‘Regional At Best’; the Clique welcomes everyone with open arms. For some, it may simply be a fun way to meet new people, but for others, it’s a vital reason to keep going, as Chey concludes: “I will never look back on Twenty One Pilots with a negative thought in my head. And that is one of the most beautiful things that I can have, something so stable – a lighthouse that’s not too loud, not too quiet, just a perfect guiding light. I know people like to judge the fandom, but you never know exactly what everybody’s been through. That passion for the band comes from hurt, from experience, and to make a quick judgment off of what you see on social media versus what is actually going on here… I would say give it a shot. Come to one show, just look at what is being built, and it will change you. I think maybe that’s why the Twenty One Pilots fandom gets a bad rep, because some of the changes are negative changes. But when you’re working through something, and we have a fanbase that deals with mental illness, that spectrum is so wide that you do see the negative parts. But growth has highs and lows, and in Tyler’s words, “It’s the valleys that make the mountains so much higher”, and that has to be translated, and it has to be treated with nuance when you get into fandom spaces, because music is a grounding tool. It tethers people, it holds them, it communicates things to them that they can’t put into words. So, I would say go out and give it a shot. You might come out of it loving it.”
Written by Laura Weingrill // photography by Weronika Pasadyn
GEM Magazine 