Note: This post DOES NOT contain spoilers.

This past weekend I had a conversation that had been in the making for months. In the hours leading up to it I guess you could say I was a bit anxious. A few minutes before we started I steadied my nerves and reminded myself to just have fun. The cause of the anxiety was understandable. Would it deliver? Would he be easy to talk to? And lastly would he answer the tough questions honestly? It did, he was, and he did.

Chris Salih is the original drummer and a founding member of this thing we love called Twenty One Pilots. To many he is a mysterious character who was here for a moment and gone in a flash. A short Facebook message announced his departure, Josh Dun stepped in and that was it. But that’s not it. Twenty One Pilots was his baby. Until our conversation last Saturday Chris hadn’t publicly spoken about his time in the band or his departure. I know he is asked the same questions over and over, and while he does occasionally reply in a 140 character tweet, this was his opportunity to fully clear the air. I’d like to think this was a cathartic experience for him, and in the process I got to hear about the early days of Twenty One Pilots directly from a founding member. To say it delivered would be an understatement.

Episode 5 of The Twenty One Pilots Podcast featuring Chris Salih will soon be available on all of your favorite podcast apps.

Chris during the early days of Twenty One Pilots.