Joshua William Dun (born June 18, 1988) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside Tyler Joseph,[1][2][3] but he has collaborated with other artists as well. His band has been nominated for six Grammy Awards, of which he has won one.
Early life
Joshua William Dun was born in Columbus, Ohio, on June 18, 1988,[4][5] the son of hospice social worker Laura Lee Dun (née McCollum) and physical therapy assistant William Earl "Bill" Dun. He has two sisters and a brother.[6] His great-great-great-grandparents were the American rancher Edwin Dun, who was the United States Ambassador to Japan, and his second Japanese wife, Yama.[7]
He initially took trumpet lessons at school and then turned his attention to drums, teaching himself how to play.[8] One method Dun references was imitating the beats of the records he'd buy on an electronic drum kit.[9]
In March 2010, Dun joined House of Heroes after the band's drummer, Colin Rigsby, took a break to spend more time with his family.[12] He makes an appearance in the music video for the band's single "God Save the Foolish Kings."[13] He performed on House of Heroes' live tour until October, when Rigsby returned to his duties.[14]
After quitting his job at Guitar Center, Dun planned to leave for Nashville, Tennessee in pursuit of a drum career in the industry; however, he was stopped by Twenty One Pilots drummer Chris Salih, who offered him his role.[15] He went on to play a show with Tyler Joseph after Salih and bassist Nick Thomas left the group due to other commitments. They played one song before police officers showed up and cancelled the show.[11] Dun subsequently became the band's full-time drummer,[5] joining as production on the band's second studio album Regional at Best drew to a close. The album was released on July 8, 2011, shortly after Dun's recruitment. Although he does not perform on the album, he is credited in the liner notes.
In April 2012, Twenty One Pilots signed with record label Fueled by Ramen, a subsidiary of Atlantic Records in April 2012.[5] Twenty One Pilots' third studio album, Vessel, was released on January 8, 2013, through Fueled by Ramen and reached no. 21 on the Billboard 200.[16]
The band's fourth studio album, Blurryface, was released on May 17, 2015, two days ahead of its intended release date.[17] At this point in Twenty One Pilots' career, the band had topped the charts with their hit single "Stressed Out"–the song's music video being filmed at Dun's childhood home—and has since received over 2.9 billion views on YouTube.[18]
Their fifth studio album, Trench, was released on October 5, 2018. The album was the first release of the newly revived Elektra Music Group.[19]
The duo's seventh studio album, Clancy, was set to release on May 17, 2024, nine years after the release of their breakthrough album Blurryface,[25][29] but was delayed for one week to May 24 while Dun, Joseph and videographer Mark Eshleman completed music videos for each song.[30] The lead single for the album, "Overcompensate", released on February 29, 2024. In Dun's directorial debut, he directed the music video for the album's third single, "Backslide", which was released on April 25, 2024.[31][32]
Other ventures
In 2017, Dun partnered with Hayley Williams of pop punk band Paramore to promote her hair dye line "Good Dye Young".[33]
Influences
At the age of 13, Dun developed an interest in punk music, initially seeking "the fastest punk rock that he could find."[34] He mainly listened to punk rock when he was growing up.[35] He cites ...And Out Come the Wolves by Rancid as an early influence due to its combination of different music genres.[34] Some of his earliest purchases were an album by NOFX, and Human Clay by Creed, citing "Higher" as one of his favorite songs.[36] Afterward, he branched into pop punk music, citing Does This Look Infected? by Sum 41, as well as Blink-182.[36] When learning drums, Dun would play along to Metallica.[34] However, his parents set strict rules on what music he could listen to, about which he later said, "I'd hide albums like Green Day's Dookie underneath my bed. Sometimes they'd find them and get real mad. They'd find a Christian alternative, like Relient K, and make me listen to that."[37] Later, Dun transitioned to slower alternative rock, with albums like Daisy by Brand New.[34]
He initially took trumpet lessons at school and then turned his attention to drums, teaching himself how to play.[8] One method Dun references was imitating the beats of the records he'd buy on an electronic drum kit.[9] Since a young age, Dun has ultimately sought to "blend" genres and make diverse music.[38]
Personal life
Dun and Twenty One Pilots bandmate Tyler Joseph both have an "X" tattoo on their body symbolizing their dedication to their hometown fans in Columbus, Ohio. They received it onstage during their hometown show at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion on April 26, 2013.[39] Joseph's is placed on his right bicep, and Dun's is located on his neck just behind his right ear. Dun also sports the name "Tyler" above his left knee, which he received from Joseph onstage during a show at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 30, 2015.[40] They are both fans of the Ohio State Buckeyes.[41]
^ ab"Interview: Twenty One Pilots, part 1". columbusalive.com. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved June 26, 2014. I worked at Guitar Center for three years, and the old drummer, I worked with him.
^ abcd"Record Shopping With Twenty One Pilots' Josh Dun". YouTube. Rock Sound. August 19, 2013. [Rancid was] one of the first records I listened to that was such a mixture of music between punk and hip-hop and different genres crossing that I had never heard before. ... One of the first albums that I was introduced to was NOFX, which is—as far as I listen to—as punk as you can get. ... That would branch to pop-punk music. [Does This Look Infected?], I would listen to all the time, when it came out.
^"Record Shopping With Twenty One Pilots' Josh Dun". YouTube. Rock Sound. August 19, 2013. I always wanted my music that I listen to to be really diverse, so that when I play, hopefully it'd be diverse. But starting out, for some reason, I was really attracted to the fastest punk rock that I could find. ... I've always, ever since I was a kid, wanted to take all different genres of music and kind of put them in blender. And, that's kind of what it is that I wanted to be a part of. So, listening to some bands that started to take different genres and mash them up—and then mash those bands up—is kind of what I envision doing.
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