Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Grant Whitson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Grant thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Regarding drums, I first took an interest when I was in 4th or 5th grade shortly after Green Day dropped American Idiot. Tre Cool’s drums sounded amazing and I was always tapping on any solid surface after that. It drove my parents just crazy enough to get me proper drum lessons and a starter drum set so they wouldn’t have to hear me tapping on desks anymore! A couple years of lessons later I was playing in a number of bands while in high school.

In some ways, the content creator angle formed around the same time. I had a toy camera that came with an extremely basic editing software that had some preloaded special effects like lasers and explosions. My friends and I used to make short movies with it for fun, and the limited effects actually helped me think outside the box and really learn how to make the most out of what little I had available. When I joined TikTok and started making my own content on there, I was able to pull from that experience I gained in elementary school. To this day, I just use what’s included within TikTok and its sister app CapCut to make my videos, and I think the DIY & less-is-more approach helps my content retain a certain charm.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Content creation happened entirely by accident. In 2019 I downloaded TikTok simply because my friends kept sending me videos and it was clogging up all the Google Chrome tabs on my phone. After I downloaded the app, I of course started watching more and more, and eventually I had a couple ideas of my own that I started creating and posting, just expecting my friends to watch. A few viral videos and one trend that I started later, I suddenly had news publications writing about me and brands reaching out to do sponsored content. About 2 years after that I was approached by my friends in a band called The Faim to join them for a month during their European tour to capture content for their TikTok. Up until recently, bands were focused on still images for Instagram, but in the current landscape, TikTok has proven itself much better for growth, and bands need someone familiar with TikTok’s culture and language to succeed. I’ve always loved being on the road with a band but this was my first time doing video work and not as a musician myself. I had an absolute blast and now content creation for other artists is a new avenue I pursue.

With drums, after years and years of playing in and out of bands, I co-founded a band called Arlington with my longtime friends Tyler Benko and Channing Peake. They had been in a band called False Puppet prior. The band was on hiatus, but the two wanted to continue making music so they reached out to me and we started Arlington. By chance, we were approached by a manager who had a connection with Rise Records and before we knew it, we were in talks about signing a record deal. We released one album and did one tour before an amicable breakup (we’re all still friends), but the experience helped me gain connections in the music industry and allowed me to pivot to my current position: freelance touring & recording drummer. Now I get to play for artists of all different genres, which is a dream come true.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

As a kid, anytime I said I wanted to be a professional musician was met with some sort of rebuttal that the idea of going to college with the goal of having a music career was impossible. Now, I’ve met countless people my age that graduated from USC or Berklee and have successful music careers /because/ they went to college for music. Do I regret going to school for a business degree? Absolutely not, I have no student debt and got a great education. I only mention these music programs that have proven to be successful for alumni because I think the extremely outdated idea that you can’t “realistically” go to college for music still lingers.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

It’s no secret that it’s pretty much the norm for many musicians to have to work a second job just to survive. During my time on the road in Europe with The Faim, we were joined by a French band called Colours In The Street. We were shocked to find that none of them had worked a second job in quite some time. The French government actually provides a supplemental income to musicians so long as they can prove they worked a certain amount of hours annually (i.e. if you play a certain amount of concerts a year, you qualify). It really impressed me that the French government values its artists that much, and made me wonder why that isn’t the norm in more places.

Contact Info:

• Website: omfgrant.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/omfgrant
• Facebook: facebook.com/OMFGrant
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/omfgrant/
• Twitter: twitter.com/OMFGrant
• Youtube: youtube.com/OMFGrant
• Other: tiktok.com/@omfgrant

Image Credits
Drumming photos: Courtney Kiara Concert stream photo: Patrick Schulze Ring light filming photo: Grant Whitson