From the Trumpet to Twenty One Pilots: Josh Dun Plays the Drums

              From a timid trumpet player to world-famous artist; from a young teen playing electronic drums at his local music store to playing drums on stage for crowds of thousands… These words could only describe Joshua Dun.

              Those aren’t necessarily the words one would expect to describe a now world-famous drummer. Joshua Dun, drummer for the two-man-band Twenty One Pilots, has a place of very humble beginnings. In a sense, Twenty One Pilots’ has a rags-to-riches story. Unlike many bands that get picked up by record labels early on and do massive touring nationwide to get attention, “Josh and Tyler [of twenty one pilots] were able to build a fan base off their own back through hard work and word of mouth” (Joy). An admirable feat, considering they have nearly three million “likes” on Facebook today.

Joshua Dun playing live at a festival in 2016. (Photo Credit: Reel Bear Media)

            But today’s focus is on the drummer behind the Twenty One Pilots duo. Dun’s musical history does not actually start with drums, but with the trumpet (Chamberlain). He was only “okay” at trumpet, and so wasn’t all too passionate about it; it was at this time that Dun found the drums around the age of 12 and became an avid drummer (Avedis Zildjian Company). Since that young age, Dun has been a self-taught drummer. He describes this desire to learn on his own in an interview with Rich Chamberlain of Music Radar: “I wanted to get to a place where I could create my own way of playing and not having somebody telling me what was the right and wrong way to play the instrument.” He would travel to his local record store, listen on his Walkman, and then sit at an electronic kit in the music store across the street and play along until he figured it out (Avedis Zildjian Company).

             As time went on, Dun ended up joining the band twenty one pilots after he met fellow band mate Tyler Joseph. Josh recounts his experience: “in the beginning, [the band] had no money,” and the duo would only play “local shows” because they did not want to waste money and “pay for gas and hotels to get paid hardly anything and play for nobody’” (Chamberlain). What seemed like an impossible mountain to climb to achieve success became possible through a dedicated fan base, one that grew rapidly from 2010 to 2013 (Joy).  

            As the band continued to pick up momentum and approached 2014, Dun started to work with Zildjian cymbals.  “I started working with Zildjian maybe not even quite a year ago,” recounts Dun in his testimonial with Zildjian in 2015 (Avedis Zildjian Company). On his initial reaction to being approached by Zildjian, Dun said, “this is awesome; this is a company that makes cymbals that I would rather pay for than have an endorsement with somebody else, and that was my mindset even before I started working with Zildjian” (Avedis Zildjian Company). Zildjian had seen the growth in Twenty One Pilots’ fan base, saw the talent of both Joseph and Dun, and the company knew it was a band worth investing in.

            But of course, it’s not just about a sponsorship, but about the tools Zildjian provided for Dun. No man (or band) can be successful without the right tools for the job. Zildjian has provided cymbals that are “adapted to suit everyone, from Ottoman sultans to the Beatles,” and so the electro-pop alternative band is no exception (Gittleson). Zildjian might have 65% of the cymbal market on lockdown, but that doesn’t mean the company doesn’t care about the individual (Gittleson). Zildjian wanted to extend a hand to help twenty one pilots on its road to success.

            Dun’s drum kit features an array of all Zildjian products, customized for his own needs, giving him a bright and energetic kit to let loose on during live performances. His arsenal consists of: a Zildjian 22” A Custom Ping ride, a Zildjian 20” A Custom crash, a Zildjian 19” A Custom cash, a Zildjian 18” EFX cymbal and a pair of Zildjian 14” A Custom hi hats (Avedis Zildjian Company). With such an impressive array of equipment and the talent to play it, this lovable drummer’s success story is nothing short of remarkable. Zildjian is proud to have its products used by such a tenacious and talented drummer that puts on shows that inspire crowds the world over. From small-town hero to global superstar, Zildjian is proud to have Twenty One Pilots Joshua Dun as a user of its products.

            From a humble small town gig to being a part of a nationally touring band, Josh Dun has quite the story to share. Zildjian has been a part of his story for three years now, and, by using Zildjian cymbals and continuing the tradition of drumming, Dun has become a part of the 400-year history of Avedis Zildjian Company.
Check out twenty one pilots single, "Ride," right here! 

To learn more about Josh Dun, twenty one pilots, and his relationship with Zildjian, check out the video at the bottom of the page. 

Works Cited:

Chamberlain, Rich. “Josh Dun on humble beginnings, hit records and the monster success of Twenty One Pilots.” Music Radar. 25 July 2016. Web.

Gittleson, Kim. “Trade secrets of oldest family firm in US.” BBC News. 7 June 2012. Web.         http://www.bbc.com/news/business-18261045

Joy, Kevin. "With debut album set for release, Columbus duo Twenty One Pilots poised to break out". The Columbus Dispatch. October 18, 2012. Web. https://zildjian.com/artists/josh-dun

Avedis Zildjian Company. “Sound Legacy – Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots.” YouTube. YouTube, 26 December 2015. Web.

Disclaimer: Any images/video used for this blog are not for distribution or promotion, but are being used for educational purposes only. All credits go to Zildjian for the video contained in this post, and to Reel Bear Media for the picture of Joshua Dun. 

Sound Legacy - Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots

           Video credit: Avedis Zildjian Company.