Torrence and Thurman, 23-year-old LSU-Southern dual enrollment mass communication seniors, found local fame after playing music as a cover band in Baton Rouge. After packing venues like the Roux House while singing covers of artists ranging from The Fugees to Maroon 5 and Adele, the twins decided to become a band of their own during the summer of 2010.

How did you make the decision to become the Thomas Bros?

Thurman: We did the cover stuff for a while then we started getting recognition for being a really good cover band. Not just how we could cover the songs, but really putting on a show at the same time. We packed the Roux House, and it would be overflowing with people. Then our mentor asked us, “Why don’t you guys think about doing some original stuff?” I was like, “Nah, I’m not trying to have my feelings all out there people know what I’m thinking and all that stuff.” It made me feel kind of vulnerable, kind of naked in a sense. We weren’t even for that at first. I didn’t even know how to make music. We just started making instrumental stuff. This happened eight months ago. I can cover anything, but coming up with my own stuff is so different to me. That’s how we got into original music, it was kind of a peer pressure force type thing. We just did it and started making instrumentals.

Torrence: If Drake can do it, I can do it. That’s how we developed ourselves as vocalists. I’m not trying to be Chris Brown, I’m not trying to be none of those other guys.

Thurman: I’m starting to know my voice, and the better I know my voice, I can stay in my lane and do me.

What is your genre?

Thurman: I think we’re going for that new urban contemporary thing. I think people our age, their ears are more open to broader types of things. People like Frank Ocean, people like Miguel, people like The Weeknd. People are more open to hear things like that now; they can appreciate difference. 
We only sound the way we do because of all the influence we’ve had in our lives musically. On iTunes I put [our song “Glow in the Dark”] in alternative genre because it was really hard to put it somewhere, but I think if I had to place it in a genre again on iTunes, I’ll just put it R&B just for the heck of it. Just to stretch the bounds of R&B.

Torrence: If they would have came out with that music five years ago, no one would have wanted to hear it. Our stuff doesn’t really have a genre.

How did you get started in music?

Torrence: It actually started as a mistake.

Thurman: I didn’t know you were gonna ask this question. I was gonna save this one for Oprah. But I guess it comes out now.

Torrence: We were big time soccer players our whole lives, all we thought about — loved it — was our whole lives. It was everything we thought about, everything we wanted to be, it was our life. When we were 16, I’ll never forget it was the moment that changed my life forever, I was in the mall, and we got arrested for shoplifting. I’m a totally different person back then than I am now —
disclaimer. Our punishment from our mom was you guys can’t play club soccer this coming season. To me, that was like death.

Thurman: We were literally depressed for, like, three months. One day my mom comes in the back room and said this guy named Charles Alexander said he’d teach us how to play guitar. I was like, “You took my soccer away from me, so I ain’t got nothing else going on.”

Torrence: It’s so crazy how important the simple decisions are in life. I almost wanted to say no. Because I said yes, we’re here right now. It’s crazy how much those decisions have an impact on things.

What do you do outside of music?

Torrence: Ask the Thomas Brothers is not music, we’re a brand. We call it a band brand. Our brand of what we do consists of three things: we have music, give-backs [philanthropy] and apparel. People can buy apparel and 20 percent of those proceeds go to the give-backs.

Thurman: The reason we like to give back … I want to inspire people our age that we can make a difference right now where you are. I don’t have to wait until I graduate and get a job. I can do something special and help somebody in my life where I am. It’s good to give. You don’t receive if you don’t give. We want to instill the culture of giving in our generation as well. Music is the most powerful medium of influence. Think about the type influence of your favorite artist. I want to use my platform to do some good and do something cool. We had a give-back this summer with teaching kids how to swim.

Torrence: We did our research and learned 70 percent of black kids can’t swim. We shot a video called “Tank Proof” talking about all the stats and all we wanted to do. Our goal was to buy swimming lessons for 10 kids through the sale of the tank tops. Through the end of it all, instead of helping 10 kids, we ended up helping 70. We’re going to find a cause to give back to, and we’re going to get you involved. That’s all we want. All we want to do is help people to participate and make a difference in the lives of someone else. It was a cool experience because it was local.

When was the first time you played in front of people?

Torrence: I was trying to play [for a] church band. I was going to rehearsals for, like, six months but they still wouldn’t let me play because I didn’t know all the songs yet. Somebody ends up dying and there’s a funeral at the church and nobody could come and play. So the first time we ever played in front of people was a funeral. It’s ironic because the end of someone’s life was the beginning of my life in a sense. Church was really where I learned to become a musician and perform at the same time. Out of all the places that I’ve played at, we’ve played at the House of Blues in New Orleans a couple times, Jazz Fest three times [and] South by Southwest in Austin. I’ve played gigs with Hunter Hayes. All those different opportunities, nothing can compare to the right moment and a right setting on a Sunday. That’s why I still do it.