Initially intended to be a pop-punk trio where Jemsek, along with two friends from the downtown Phoenix punk scene - Austin Jackson and Brandon Scott Lemon - would each contribute songs and rotate instruments.
Jemsek chose to continue using the name Dogbreath for his songwriting, and in Winter of 2009 released an acoustic CD-R entitled Sickly Bright From Love.
[4][3] The album received acclaim from publications such as SPIN and NPR, the latter of which called Jemsek’s songwriting “the work of punks who write youthful, larger-than-life songs that still wrinkle at the edges.”[5][6] By mid 2015 Jemsek started going through some major transitions, living briefly in Flagstaff, AZ out of his 1996 Ford Club Wagon van, until finally deciding to relocate to Seattle, WA where he would spend the next four years.
Together with Malia Seavey (drums), Greg Hughes (bass) and JJ (guitar/bass) they recorded ‘Ever Loving’ at the Unknown in Anacortes, Washington which was released on 25 October 2019.
Martin Douglas at KEXP described the songs as “bountiful with warmth and emotional intelligence.”[7][2] Dogbreth's first album Chookie was made available on streaming services in late 2020 after a TikTok of a teenager excitedly listening to it for the first time gained over 270,000 likes on the platform, which brought a renewed interest to the release.