On July 27th, brothers and band, AJR, gave a candid Q&A and performance to a small and intimate audience at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.
The Q&A featured a lot of interesting points of discussion about the brothers’ beginnings, upbringings and overall lives. AJR consists of Adam, Jack and Ryan Met of New York City, performing as an indie-pop trio with a unique yet 21 Pilots mixed with Nate Ruess-esque style. The band have even written songs for artists such as Andy Grammer and Ingrid Michaelson.
AJR revealed that their debut album, Living Room, was written and produced inside their actual living room, yet didn’t prosper as well as sophomore album, The Click, which focused more on the quality of lyrics and featured writing help from Weezer’s River Cuomo.
The acoustic performance featured just enough synth with mixtures of acoustic ukulele vibes. The seven song set list began with popular track “Come Hangout,” definitely feeling like a homecoming for audience members.
Though a short set, AJR were personal and talkative to the crowd, answering questions in between songs.
One fan asked what brothers Jack and Ryan studied at Columbia University. The brothers talked about their studies in the film program, explaining that they like to create music videos so it only seemed like the natural route to go. Eldest brother, Adam, is also in the process of receiving his PhD. The brothers show that despite being in a successful band, they’re also just normal guys who go to school.
Song, “Sober Up,” written with the help of and featuring Cuomo, showed the band’s sensitive side, the song ending strong with, “won't you help me feel something again.”
Other crowd favorite, “Drama,” was technically sound and featured catchy and clever lyrics, “We act like reality shows, probably because reality blows.”
Insecurities, vulnerabilities and weaknesses are negatives AJR turns into something positive to sing about. The brothers, all smiles, closed their set with song, “Weak,” which has amassed 225,000,000 streams. AJR is refreshing and true to their sound and style.
