In this industry, you get to choose whether or not to separate the artist from the person. 

 

My name is Dustin Cole Breakfield. I’m chasing something. I’m hungry, the way I was when I started this journey four years ago: young, dumb, and hungry. When I first started, my approach was wrong. I was chasing the dream with the wrong intentions.

 

Hear me. You can have the house, the band, the girl, the jeep, the dog; amongst all the things that you think will make you who you want to be. To get what you want, you must deserve what you want. If you haven’t earned these things, you’ll lose them. Trust me. 

 

Imagine, having all these things at 23 years old. A life forcefully built by your own ego, leaving you alone and cold, in a house you no longer care about. Again, hear me. You can only treat people like shit for so long before they leave you. All the things you’ve so eagerly attached your happiness to… gone. 

 

I spent the next three years angry, defeated and confused; hopeless but searching. I didn’t know it at the time, this was the beginning of my search for happiness. If I’m honest, I was looking for someone to else fix my problems. During this, I found myself in a very toxic living situation, that I would end up leaving after almost two years. Before moving back in with my parents, I rented a small-upstairs room in an old historical building in my hometown, for $300 a month. This room, eventually, would change me. 

 

Not long after turning this room into a rehearsal/storage space, I was contacted by my friend, drummer and audio engineer, Perry Lemon Jr. We call him PJ. We worked together on a five song EP back before I lost the house. At this point, my next move was clear. PJ needed a place to live, and I needed to record some music. 

 

Our next obstacle? Covid-19. Of course this would shut down the music scene as we were preparing to start our musical journey. PJ went to VA to quarantine with him family, and I continued my ‘essential’ job as an electrician. I spent a lot of time alone during this period. A lot. After losing almost everything, I was forced to sit with my thoughts and explore my intentions with honesty. For the first time ever I was at peace, and began to create happiness all by myself. 

 

PJ came back after months of quarantine, and around this time the universe sent us our ‘special weapon’, as PJ likes to call him, Brandon Romine. We aligned our goals and efforts despite our new found obstacles, and began buying the gear we needed to make this dream of ours a reality. The recording process began, and we busted out our first two singles, Canepole and Happiness. While tracking for these two songs, a man named Greg McIntyre bought the building. Shortly after the start of 2021 we completed tracking, and it was at this time that Greg decided he’s had enough of the hippies upstairs, and kicked us out of the building.

 

Since then, I’ve been a bit stagnant in pursuit of this dream. Losing the studio was hard for all three of us. Reluctant to see the music scene thrive again, I’ve started playing acoustic shows, while PJ has been mixing our tracks and drumming for other artists/projects. This journey has humbled me, and for this reason I’m grateful for the obstacles. We’re gettin closer to releasing our first singles, and looking forward to playing full band shows in the future. In the mean time, we’ll continue our pursuit. I refuse to give up on this dream. I’ve found a place where mistakes turn to gifts in due time. Thank you for your patience, I’ll see you on the journey. Stay tuned and in tune, 

 

-DC