Josh Dun Hiatus
[Photos via Twitter]

11 things Josh Dun has done during the Twenty One Pilots hiatus

In June 2017, Twenty One Pilots embarked on Tour De Columbus, a mini tour meant to honor their roots and bid adieu to the Blurryface era. The duo released the Sleepers tour diary video series chronicling the stint before tweeting several cryptic images signifying a closing eye on July 6, 2017. Since then, conspiracy theories have run wild among the Skeleton Clique as Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun remained silent. While Joseph has been off the grid, Dun has occasionally made appearances in public, on other’s social media accounts and even on fellow musicians’ albums. Check out what the drummer has been up to over the course of the band’s hiatus.

Read more: 15 best reactions to Twenty One Pilots breaking their social media silence

1. Joined a drum-off at the 2017 APMAs
The APMAs audience expected a drum-off between No Doubt’s Adrian Young and Sum 41’s Frank Zummo. However, those watching were not totally prepared for surprise guest Dun to join the mix 11 days after the band initiated their social media silence.

2. Accepted the Most Dedicated Fans award at the 2017 APMAs

Following the aforementioned epic performance, Dun accepted the award for
Most Dedicated Fans at the 2017 APMAs. The drummer delivered a speech that barely hit 60 seconds, but the mention of Joseph’s absence due to “severing ties with DEMA” would send the Clique down a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories for months to come.

3. Saw Brendon Urie in Kinky Boots and shaved his head

In acceptance speeches for both the APMAs and the Grammy’s earlier in the year, the goodDYEyoung brand ambassador sported the company’s vibrant Steal My Sunshine. A month after last being spotted at the APMAs, a stealthy fan captured the drummer in the audience catching labelmate Brendon Urie in his Broadway debut as Charlie Price in Kinky Boots. Despite wearing a hat, fans began speculating that he had chopped off all of his locks.

4. Played on Lights’ latest album

While the physical recording process of Dun’s contribution to Lights’ “Almost Had Me” and “Savage” from her fourth LP Skin&Earth probably happened pre-hiatus, the August release of the latter track technically became the first new material from the drummer post-hiatus. Lights later detailed the collab, explaining mutual friend and Flor bassist Dylan Bauld shared with Dun some of the tracks he had been working on with Lights, which led to Dun’s contribution.

5. Ran a marathon

In mid-October, Dun celebrated a half-marathon run of 13.1 miles to benefit the Nationwide Children’s Hospital via the Columbus Marathon. WBNS-TV reported the drummer was one of 18,000 people to jog for the cause, and he finished with a time of one hour, 44 minutes and 46 seconds.

6. Did an in-depth interview about his love of drums

Dun chatted with Sweetwater Sound about everything drums in an interview posted in December. The expert revealed his road to success while offering up some advice for any aspiring drummers.

7. Attended a charity dinner with All Time Low and Brendon Urie


All Time Low guitarist Jack Barakat said it best when captioning this epic photo “Fueled By Fam” as the Fueled By Ramen labelmates and company posed for the camera. While the caption was fitting, it left much to be desired, which is why it was up to ATL frontman Alex Gaskarth to fill in the blanks. Gaskarth chatted with PopBuzz, revealing the group was attending a dinner for the T.J. Martell Foundation, a nonprofit that prides itself in being the music industry’s leading organization in funding cancer research. Despite it being somewhat of an industry event, Gaskarth claims the dinner conversation stayed focused on dogs and never veered toward music—or at least that’s all he was allowed to share.

8. Collaborated with Drake Bell


Yes, that Drake Bell of Drake & Josh fame. In March, Bell shared footage of Dun behind the kit in the studio for his forthcoming record. He later revealed the drummer was just one of many collabs, which also includes “Lip Gloss” singer Lil Mama.

9. Hung out with Tre Cool and Spencer Smith at a Panic! show


In early spring of this year, Panic! At The Disco embarked on a string of intimate pop-up shows while gearing up for the announcement of their latest record, Pray For The Wicked. One of those shows stopped in Santa Ana, California, where Urie and company played to a packed house that included some of the scene’s powerhouse drummers. Among those in attendance were Dun, Green Day’s Tre Cool and former P!ATD drummer Spencer Smith.

10. Appeared on Vesperteen’s new EP


Dun appeared on “Speed Of Light” from Vesperteen’s new EP, The Hype Is Dead, which was released this past May. Colin Rigsby, the man behind Vesperteen, is so close with Dun that the duo share the same drum tattoo, a permanent bond that Rigsby cites as a big part of the start of their friendship. Before the EP’s release, Vesperteen joined MisterWives as one of the openers for Tour De Columbus’ Schottenstein Center stop.

11. Attended a birthday party with Mark Hoppus


One of Dun’s most recent (documented) public appearances was hanging with Mark Hoppus at actress Debby Ryan’s birthday party. Thanks to Hoppus’ epic selfie skills, we have solid proof of Dun’s existence.