Making Music Is Science

& LOCAL MUSIC GROUP SIANTZ HAS IT DOWN TO ART

By Natalie Downey

Growing up in a military family, brothers Josh and Josiah Fiveash moved around a lot. To stay grounded, music was always a part of their lives, with Joe singing “since he came out of the womb,” according to Josh.

Joe & Josh

Around the age of 14, Josh’s mom made him learn to play the piano, which he eventually traded for a guitar. After someone told him he couldn’t play the piano, Josh stayed up nights until he knew he had it down. The musical skills he determinedly developed on the piano would inevitably lead to his success when he picked up that guitar, and his music making expanded from there.

The music of Siantz is an eclectic representation of the different musical styles that have influenced each brother. While Joe finds that his influence often stems from folk and cinematic types of music, Josh’s influences come from rock, pop, EDM, and dance styles of music. These influences lead to a fusion of sound that forms a style unique to Siantz. “What inspires us is completely opposite, but it comes together so well,” Josh explains.

The result is music that draws its listener in, dreamy and melodic, vocals both ethereal and powerfully soulful, a sound that is not just a song to perform, but a story to tell. A story of humanity in which we can all find something relatable.

Though the brothers explored music individually for most of their lives, it wasn’t until the end of their teenage years that they began making music together. Around the end of high school, the brothers wrote their first song together spontaneously from start to finish. After that, Josh and Joe began regularly writing songs together. For them, songwriting has always been collaborative. “It starts out with an idea,” says Josh, “then we’ll just start singing something and it will branch out from there, and eventually we’ll have a full song.” Though the name of the band comes from combining the two brothers’ names, it is a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the process of making music. “It really becomes a science,” says Joe.

The brothers remember writing the song “Rip Van Winkle” while Joe was getting his hair braided. Josh was playing around on the guitar, waiting on his brother, when he played a riff that caught Joe’s attention. Joe asked him to play it again, and he started to sing along as the tunes evolved into a song by the time Joe’s hair was finished.

They went on to perform at a local open mic venue No Shame Theatre, hosted by the Springer Opera House. Their performance of “Let Go” went viral and word was out about the music of Siantz.

The brothers have played in some interesting places, one being Columbus’ National Civil War Naval Museum. Performing on the ship that used to sit in front of the museum, the “Water Witch.” They are the only group to have ever played live on it.

Reaching well beyond Columbus, the duo have traveled to Tennessee and Atlanta to perform. In 2019 they won the first round of a competition at the Atlanta venue Eddie’s Attic.

Playing in Columbus is all about community. “I feel like, as far as Columbus goes, it’s really about touching each individual through our music,” says Josh.

Siantz has found support in the local community, as well as the challenge to expand and continue to create in unique and new ways. “As small as Columbus is, it always finds a way to throw you a curveball,” Joe says, noting that “Playing the type of music people don’t expect is a good thing.”

Josh & Joe

For Josh and Joe, music is a form of self-exploration and expression that offers a camaraderie of perspective to its listeners. “We have a plethora of parts of ourselves we explore through our music,” Joe muses.

We are all fortunate to have the opportunity to experience firsthand the talent of Siantz as it unfolds.

Along with an upcoming album, Siantz has more live events on the horizon to be on the lookout for. In the meantime, listen to them anytime on most music platforms including YouTube, Spotify and Vimeo. And keep up with them on social sites @siatnzsong on Facebook and @siantz_song on Instagram.