Today we’d like to introduce you to Sean Breeden.
Hi Sean, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I like to think of the story of our band as a never-ending adventure. Music has been something all five (5) of us have been addicted to for a long time. Creating songs and performing them gives us something we need for our souls. I wrote some songs while living in a hotel room in 2011-2012 where I was working for a coal mine out west in Colorado. When I moved back home, I recorded those songs under the name “Room 149” at Spider Studios (Olmsted Falls, OH) with Ben Schigel, and that’s where I met our lead guitarist Dan. He laid down some banjo and guitar on a song called “Window Dogs”. It’s funny how the world works because Dan and I had also gone to high school together, a few years apart, but we had never met until years later in that studio. Dan joined Room 149 and was already in an alternative/grunge project called Eclectic Mayhem, with our keyboard player Jonathan.
Some time passed – Room 149 lost a drummer, and EM lost its singer, so we decided to merge the two (2) projects and name the band Window Dogs. Our former drummer Mike ran a home studio, which is where we practiced and recorded our first EP “Afterlife” – when he moved out to Stow, we needed someone to replace him. That’s when we acquired Joey, a well-established and amazing drummer for the band “Front Porch Lights.” We were fortunate enough to have our very talented friend Brian Thompson, an incredible guitarist and songwriter, play bass for us.
Ever since we have been a team of inspired musicians trying to make sounds that make people feel something through their ears and hearts. Our first full-length album “Nexus” was released in 2019, but our first full album writing the whole collection of songs together as this unit was a 5-song EP called “Don’t Look Down” that we released in April 2022, which was recorded Spider Studios with Ben Schigel.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road is always changing, but we have been able to adapt to it and continue driving along. Being in a project with 5 people in their early/mid 30’s certainly can be challenging considering we all have lives, jobs, and families outside of music. As every band can relate to, life happens, love happens, children come into the world and you really start to realize that the most valuable thing in the world is time.
We have been lucky enough to stay the course and continue practicing, developing new materials, and playing shows.
I am extremely grateful to have these guys spending their time with me and coming together to continue following something that we all are mutually passionate about and have been spending a good portion of our lives chasing.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
As much as I would love to say music is my only full-time job, that is not the case. I have spent most of my life doing manual labor. I was a roof support specialist for coal mining companies in my early 20s. After that, I got into the trades and was learning bricklaying. I began bar-backing and bartending on the weekends and remodeling basements on the weekdays. I worked both of those jobs for seven (7) years. Last year I retired from the service industry gig, and now only building basements and enjoying my weekends off!
The other guys all stay pretty busy – Dan is a property manager, Jonathan is a lawyer, Brian is a tech specialist/office manager, and Joey is a very talented woodworker. Brian and Jonathan are both dads and also perform in an awesome band called Jaluski. Joey drums for Front Porch Lights. Dan is an avid car and guitar junkie and builds absolutely beautiful custom electric guitars in his spare time. Jon and I are proud owners of two (2) of his creations.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
The name Window Dogs is an idea of freedom that I’ve always had. Every time I’m driving, if I see a dog with its head out of a car window no matter what the circumstance, it makes me smile. At that moment, that dog even though it is owned by a human, is free. from everything. And I relate to that to music; those moments spent playing and singing are the times I feel truly free from everything.
Thank you if you have listened to any of our songs, or if you do after reading this. Keep pursuing things you’re passionate about no matter the outcome. I find peace in my life knowing that I’m still making music. It gives me hope; it lets me escape and cope with the world. I hope that any song we have made can help someone in any way.
There’s a quote from the Lord of the Rings that I think applies every day of our lives. Frodo asks Sam, “What are we holding onto?” “That there’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo. And it’s worth fighting for.” – Samwise Gamgee
Contact Info:
- Website: windowdogs.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/windowdogsmusic
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/windowdogs
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/windowdogs
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRY_Hio4OYy0Tujr_-LjlVw
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/window-dogs
- Other: http://windowdogs.bandcamp.com
Image Credits
Amber Patrick, Liam Alicardi, Shawn Brewster, and Jarrod Berger
