Smile Empty Soul – Interview

We chat with Sean Danielsen, Smile Empty Soul’s 21-year-old singer, guitarist, and lyricist.

I guess it’s timely, but when did you write “War”?

It’s about a month or a month and a half old. It’s recent. It wasn’t originally going to be on the album. I played it for our producer and they wanted it on the record.

What was the road like to getting signed with the group you have today?

We all started playing together about four years ago and we did the club scene. That is a really bad scene and it wasn’t getting us anywhere. We decided to take a break and try to focus on writing better songs. We did that and about a year and half ago we met our producer and he signed us to his production label. Right away we started writing and recording this record. We had almost the entire record done before we got signed. We started shopping in November and then signed with Lava.

When did you first start thinking about music as a career instead of it just being something you did a few nights a week?

I used to live in Maine until I was fifteen. I was in bands since then, but my mom decided that we were going to move and my Dad lived in Hollywood. I figured if we were going to move and I was going to lose my friends I might as well move to where I can do more with music. We all knew from the beginning when this band got together it was serious. I mean we like to joke around and have fun but we always knew we were going to take it somewhere.

When did you start writing songs?

I started playing guitar when I was ten. There really wasn’t much else to do in Maine. I started playing guitar, my dad sent me how to learn guitar books, but as soon as I learned power chords it took off. I figured if other people can do it then why couldn’t I? Of course I really sucked at [writing] at first, but I kept at it.

What about singing? Did you know you could sing or did it come from necessity that you had to be the front man?

Actually when Derek and I, the drummer, got together we had a different singer. Because we were very motivated to going somewhere we all thought everyone had to hold it down but with him as our singer we knew we weren’t going anywhere. So we kicked him out, he is still our friend, and we had no one else to sing so I just said I’d do it.

Was it a good transition because the songs were yours and you got to singing?

It was really cool. Now that I’ve been doing it for five years it’s just as important as writing songs.

Do you care as much about fans knowing what a track is about as much as them just liking the song?

We are really a song-oriented band. I think part of writing a song is having something to say that can affect people. We are just better at writing songs that have a point to them.

One track I was most curious about was “Every Sunday”.

Well what affected me most was being raised really religious. Also I wrote that song at a time when a lot of the Priest shit was going down. It’s just ridiculous to me that these people think they are so holy but do such terrible things. To me the really religious people are the most judgmental. They sit there and think they know how everyone else should be and judge you, but at the end of the day they’ve done as many horrible things as everyone else.

Did you realize early on that you had a problem with religion?

I realized it when I was about thirteen. I started playing in the church then and that is where I started playing guitar. My mom would have me go to church like three days a week and you just get to a point where you wonder if its all just bullshit. Then you get bitter because you realize it is bullshit, at least I think it is bullshit. So you feel like you’ve been lied to your whole life.

What about “Silhouette”?

I just think everyone in the world has thought at some point they didn’t want to turn out like their parents. In the two verses I describe a bit of each parent and the chorus brings them both together. The bridge is about how when I have kids I’m not going to chain them up and I’ll tell them they can do anything. I love both my parents and everyone has faults, but I don’t want to have the same faults.

Was it a touchy situation with your parents?

My dad has heard it. It hurts him I think and it makes me feel bad, but music is the way I get shit out of me. I explained it and told it was therapy for me. My mom hasn’t heard it yet and I’m scared. I think it’ll be a big ordeal when she hears it.

What about “Bottom Of The Bottle”?

It’s about what ever in life drives you and whatever you live for you need to go for it. For my mom it was religion and for others it is drugs. It’s not a pro-drug song or an anti-drug song.

+ Charlie Craine