Who They Are: Smile Empty Soul formed in 1998, while its original members were attending different high schools in the Santa Clarita area. The band, originally a three-piece group, consisted of vocalist and guitarist Sean Danielsen, bassist Ryan Martin and drummer Derek Gledhill. After playing numerous hometown gigs, Smile Empty Soul ventured to the Castro District, and later passed a demo to John Parker of the West Hollywood indie label, ThroBack Records. That later led to a record deal with Jason Flom’s Lava Records.
On May 27, 2003, the band released their self-titled debut album Smile Empty Soul. The album was produced by John Lewis Parker, and mixed by David J. Holman. three successful singles were released. In March 2005, the album was certified gold with sales in excess of 500,000+.
Why I Like Them: In all honesty it’s hard for me to quantify while I love this song the way I do. I have listened to it easily 1000 times since it came up on my radar. Vocally I connect on an emotional level with this guy. He makes it seem so effortless to sound so amazing. Musically this is a perfect song. There are some great breaks going on here. Drum and guitar wise I can’t find any thing I would criticize on this track. So here’s the big hook for me, and if you are into lyrics you should be hooked as well. They always produce excellent thought provoking lyrics. I just want to get lost in their music and let the world implode around me.
Would I Listen to More of Their Stuff: Full disclosure, I already do. Smile Empty Soul isn’t a new band and I have heard several of their songs before Chemicals was released. So yes I would listen to more.
The Band is:
Sean Danielsen
Ryan Martin
Jake Kilmer
Where You Can Buy It:
