Most of the streamers we follow are strictly in the business of gaming. I recently connected with a streamer who is combining his love of music with his passion for video games to create an incredibly entertaining stream!
Sitting down with DaCommonCold1, I picked his brain on how he got started in streaming, what’s unique about his channel, and how he’s making an impact within his community.
Streaming Beginnings
Two Average Gamers: How’d you get into streaming?
DaCommonCold1: After watching my friend LexyTheNoob stream, it looked really cool and she recommended that I try it out. I started out really simple with the Twitch app on my Xbox One and have continued to improve my setup since then.
TAG: Where did the name come from?
DCC: Back in the Xbox 360 days we played a lot of Halo PvP. I wanted something where if you got killed by it, the kill feed would say you got murdered by something that anyone could be killed by in real life. I used to play with a team of diseases.
TAG: Why video games? Do you stream any non-gaming content?
DCC: It actually depends on the time of day and what’s going on at any given point. As a father of a young child, I typically start my stream later at night once she’s gone to sleep. While video games are my main content, I started producing beats on my stream as well. I’m creating new music for streamers and learning mixing and mastering on the side. Look out for something this summer on the music side!
TAG: I’m going to check back in with you in August for the music updates! What do you love most about streaming?
DCC: The interaction with different types of people is great! You get to meet a lot of people who share a common interest that you otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to talk to. Being a variety streamer, I get to tap into different topics from music to anime to gaming.
TAG: What’s something unique that people can find on your stream?
DCC: I do sing people’s names when they drop in. Recently, I started turning these into soundbites. When someone enters the chat, they’re greeted with the soundbite of their name. I’m starting with my day 1 crew and then make it personalized for everyone.
TAG: Have you faced any racism online while streaming?
DCC: Personally, I’ve only had one instance of racism where someone came in and dropped the n-word. They thought I would fuss over it and give them power. I actually just asked them “are you having a bad day?”. You have to take the power from that word. Surprisingly, I didn’t even block the guy – he actually ended up being an engaged member of the audience. I let him know that the word doesn’t hurt my feelings even though I don’t like being called it.
TAG: As a father, husband, teacher, and streamer, you must be pretty busy. What does your calendar look like?
DCC: It’s not as bad as you would think it would be. I only stream 3 days a week. Sometimes the Friday and Sunday streams will go a little longer than normal. I make sure I’m always in the right mental health before I stream. The days that I don’t stream, that’s family time and catching up on anything else I need to get done for work.
The Future of DaCommonCold1
TAG: What communities support you along your stream journey?
DCC: I love the Black Twitch Collective and I’m also an admin for the Twitch Streaming Connection. They’ve been some of the most supportive people I’ve met throughout the entire journey. We talk almost every morning – everything from problems we face while streaming to tutorials about streamlabs. It’s great to have people who support me at all hours of the day.
TAG: That’s great that you are putting in the work to support your people! What do you think Twitch can do better to support the streaming community?
DCC: Fairness, especially as it relates to the punishments of streamers who break the rules. You’ll see people not get banned for something and have no repercussions. They need to make sure the rules apply to everyone. I would just want things to be fair all around, especially for streamers of color. Additionally, I feel like a lot of streamers aren’t seen right now. If the algorithm was better, viewers could find more diverse streams.
TAG: That’s definitely consistent with what I’ve heard from other streamers. How do you see streaming evolving as more people look to become content creators?
DCC: It’s probably going to get more saturated now that people have checked out streaming more often during the pandemic. I think there will be new norms as people adjust. Everyone is streaming in 720p or 1080p – eventually we’ll see streams in 4k.
TAG: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
DCC: I’ll still be streaming, regardless of whether I have a million followers or two followers. Video games are my passion and I’ve been playing since I was 6 or 7 years old. Hopefully, I can game with my daughter to show her some of my favorites. I want to be a role model. Some of my band students come to my stream and I want to be able to show them the level of encouragement they need. As a teacher, you need to learn how to flip a switch, especially when I’m playing something scary. 90% of the time it’s a family-friendly stream, but I do love the “mature button” on stream. If I know I’m going to have someone playing with me who has more mature vocabulary, I always make sure to tag it appropriately.
Tips for Gamers Looking to get into Streaming
TAG: What advice do you have for gamers interested in starting a streaming career of their own?
On growing your initial following
I did a lot of posts on social media to increase my following. To retain the followers, you really have to be yourself and be engaging. When I first started streaming, I had 0 viewers for about a month. Honestly, I didn’t quite understand what Twitch was. Once I started to understand it more, I would start to invite family members who would stop into the stream consistently.
On being yourself
I’m a bubbly personality, but since I stream late at night I may be exhausted. It depends on you as a person – what do you want to get out of the stream? Do you interact with people outside of Twitch? These things are important.
On supporting others
I interact with people all day and show support because I know how hard it is. The people I visit throughout the day in-stream have become friends. I really enjoy co-hosting streams and sharing views. I believe that when I do a joint stream, the viewers aren’t “mine”, they’re “ours”.
On numbers
I don’t keep my viewer numbers on while I stream. If I worry about the numbers, I don’t focus on entertaining as much. You should have fun and be yourself. The relationship part is what really makes the experience great.
Where to find DaCommonCold1?
TAG: Thanks for sharing your story! Now that people know a little about you how can folks reach you?
DCC:
- Twitch: DaCommonCold1
- TwitteDCC: DaCommonCold1
- IG: DaCommonCold1
- FB Gaming: DaCommonCold1 Gaming
TAG: Anything else you’d like to share?
DCC: We have a partner panel coming up on May 9th @ 9 PM CST. We’ll have Twitch partners share their experience and tips on ClubHouse.
Ryan is doing big things in the streaming world and I’m excited to see how he continues to blend music creation into his platform. We’ll keep you posted as he continues on this journey!
