Dana Breckenridge

Dana Shannon Breckenridge is an American pianist, bassist, and producer, who is a member of the alternative pop band Curriculum since its formation in 2006. He is Curriculum's main producer after the band's previous collaborator Shawn Middlesbrough went on to pursue his own music career and has been since the band began work on their second album Sophomore.

Early life
Dana Breckenridge was born on 29 October 1991 in Melbourne, Australia to two teenage American parents who were both 15 at the time of his birth. His biological mother gave him up for adoption but Breckenridge was successfully adopted by his paternal grandparents who raised him as their youngest son. Breckenridge grew up thinking his grandparents were his parents, his aunt was his older sister, and that his biological father (his grandparents' oldest child) was his older brother. Breckenridge's biological parents married when Breckenridge was six years old and has four other siblings by them. Breckenridge's biological father also had two children who were born within the same year as Breckenridge and they were also raised by Breckenridge's paternal grandparents. Breckenridge found out the truth behind his family relationship when he was 22 but maintains an excellent relationship with them.

Breckenridge was born into a wealthy family. His paternal grandparents/adopted parents are both heirs to multi-billion dollar fortune and socialites. Breckenridge's family often obsessed over him because he was constantly viewed as "the baby of the family", mainly by his grandfather and father. Breckenridge would grow up to fear his grandfather and father, especially after he found out that they, along with his grandmother, sister-in-law, and aunt, had narcissistic personality disorder. Breckenridge often had a nervous tick of crying as a result, which would become a habit of his even when he entered childhood. Breckenridge was also known not to speak much because of his shyness.

Breckenridge's family, despite their wealth, never owned a home and often moved from location to location throughout most of his childhood. They often lived in luxury hotels and stayed mostly in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Canada. In 2004, when Breckenridge was 13, the family finally bought a house and settled in an upscale neighborhood in New York City. Attending high school at Glen Ridge High School in New Jersey, he met his Gregory Preston Olivier, Phillip Mandelbaum, and Wyatt van Cleef and quickly became friends with them. Breckenridge graduated salutatorian of his class and later attended Columbia University, which he would drop out of to focus on his music career with Curriculum.

Career
Breckenridge co-founded Curriculum alongside with Gregory Preston Olivier, Phillip Mandelbaum, and Wyatt van Cleef in 2006. In February 2012, they released their debut album, Syllabus, which reached #1 in the UK. In January 2014, the band released their second album Sophomore, which would spend two non-consecutive weeks at #1 in the UK.

Discography
See Curriculum discography