You see it all the time here at TSP 11.
We like to say this is home, and it is,
but those 3 words hit it a little more
for the two men we are about to show you.
That's because for the last few years
they've been playing shows over.
Now, thanks to some luck and
a lot of hard work, these two
are Kansans who go by one name,
are blowing up the pop duo got r
Starve right here in Little Roc,
and now they're playing their ss
in front of crowds across the country
and around the world. Tonight,
in a story you'll only see on TSP 11,
we got a chance to catch up with
them to talk about their succes,
their new album, and the excitig
last stop on their U.S. tour.
Despite the lyrics of one of thr
new songs, there's not much that makes
the guys of Joan nervous. I thot
you said we were talented. That's very nice.
Thousands of fans from around the world,
a new album, Our Bright Lights
and nice camera. They're just
two guys that are from here
that love playing music.
Alan Thomas and Steven Rutherford have
been on similar paths since they were kids.
But those paths never crossed
until college, when they met
while playing in their own band.
We were kind of playing shows together,
became kind of fast friends through that.
After graduation, the two left
their groups and started working
together with the goal of
writing music for film and TV.
But that quickly gave
way to something bigger,
and we wrote what ended up beinr
first single, Take Me, on that first day.
And it wasn't long before people in the
music industry started to notice. We're
like, OK, maybe we're we love i,
but maybe we're on to something
a little bit bigger than us, six
years and a dozen songs later.
They released their first album,
Super Glue, in April.
Really. Like when it got releas,
it was kind of this, like weighd
off of our shoulders. Just to be like,
OK, I don't have to be the only person
listening to this music anymore.
The duo described the 13 tracks
as music they were made to make.
I I'm so proud of the arc that t
tells in the storyline and the.
Kind of narrative we layout and even like
the track list like and how it flows.
Influenced by the pop music they grew up on.
Thomas and Rutherford consider
themselves students of the genr.
From breaking down their favorie
songs to emulating the producers that
helped create them, the two apph
their music like scientists. Why
did that bass line make me feel something?
Why did that lyric and that mely
shift to, like, make the hair
stick up on my arms or whatever?
And so I think we're always constantly
chasing that feeling with everything.
And it's that approach that
made Joan an international name.
In 2018, the two played
their first show in Asia.
A part of the world that has
become a home away from home.
It's literally like a warm hug every time.
Like they're all so,
so nice and every country we vi,
it's like, I don't know,
they love live music so much.
It's just like. They literally
just don't take it for granted.
And they just like,
soak every second up.
It's yeah, so cool to see.
Last year, Jung Hook of BTS shad
this video of him listening to r
song So Good on his Instagram p,
and the response was overwhelmi.
They're like, you're an American
pop band, like, that's sick.
And so they, like, just latch o.
So even if you're like an indie
pop band or like a smaller thin,
it doesn't matter to them.
Like, they just love your music.
Now Joan is back in the US writg
the momentum of their album with
a tour, 21 shows in a month,
a chance to show off their yearf
hard work and connect with fanse
thing about Live is there's
little moments made for each so,
you know, for people so like thn
whenever they think of that son,
they think of that moment
and it all ends where it all std
for Thomas and Rutherford Home.
Joan will wrap up their Super Ge
tour at the Hall in Little Rock,
a show that means a little
bit more for the duo.
It's not a Nashville,
it's not an LA, it's not a New .
That those are very unique,
large metropolis cities that have their
own little like music ecosystem.
It not being that has given
us an opportunity to like
kind of forge your own path
a little bit,
a path that's made them just Jo.
The rest is history. I guess.
And that show is at the
hall tomorrow night at 8.
Tickets are still available
and they started $20. If
you want to learn more about Joan and
find some of their music, we'vet
links in this story on thb11.co.