A band with a concrete message these days is refreshing. Three-piece Smile Empty Soul from LA is one of the few bands not corrupted by where the music industry is going these days. Honest lyrics with powerful views paint the portrait of this particular band.

It’s not often that so many different views on life can be expressed so openly but it seems to come naturally for singer Sean Danielsen. Backed by loyal fans, Smile Empty Soul creates a strong voice. Not only are the views solid, but the show they put on is up to par as well. If you’re in it for the music then this is the band to watch out for! I got a chance to speak with the guys backstage after the show about their music, politics, and the music industry…

Shout!: If you had to describe your music in one word, what would it be?

Sean Danielsen: Um. Wow. Dude, that is so not cool. [Laughs]

Ryan Martin: Jeez. Just one?

Jake Kilmer: Holy crap. [Long pause]

Sean: Um…Boring? [Laughs]

Jake: For fun?

Ryan: Dude! That’s two words! [Laughs]

Sean: This is hard. Can we skip this one?

Ryan: Yea. My answer is “I don’t know.”

S!: Hmm, I stumped you all on the first question. This is going to be interesting! You’re quite passionate about your views in life. What message are you wanting to spread with this band?

[All pause to think]

Ryan: [Laughs] These are hard! I don’t know!

Sean: Just overall being a little more consciously aware of your surroundings.  To not buy into bullshit that is fed to you by the government or other authorities. Don’t vote Republican unless you vote for Ron Paul.

Jake: …and to read more books!

S!: I wasn’t going to ask but because you brought the Election up, who do you want to win and why?

Sean: Obama because he is the biggest change candidate that exists right now. Get anyone to get Bush out of there. McCain, I wouldn’t be happy with because he wants to prolong the war. I wouldn’t mind if Ron Paul won, he’s pretty cool but Obama gets my vote.

Ryan: And Hilary, her big thing is Healthcare so I would want that to be the first thing she does. I would expect that and if it didn’t then there is some corrupt shit going down.

Jake: [Makes a face at the mention of "Hilary"]

S!: You’ve had a couple of lineup changes to get where you are now. Do you feel this lineup could be the last change?

Sean: This is the lineup forever. There are no changes whatsoever in the future.

S!: After switching labels since the beginning of your career, do you feel that signing with Bieler Bros. was the right decision and why?

Sean: No only because they didn’t do shit.

Ryan: Well, when push came to shove, they didn’t deliver. They really didn’t have our best interests at heart and weren’t really into go to bat for us. They wanted to sign us and put out our record but they didn’t want to do anything to promote it. They figured because the last album went Gold that everyone would just buy this album just because of that. They didn’t let anyone know that there would be a record for them to go and buy it though.

Sean: They didn’t push singles for the radio or do anything like that.

S!: Bands usually travel to New York or LA to record their album. Why did you choose to record in Greenville, SC?

Sean: Our manager is from here and knows some people in the local music scene. A couple of dudes own a studio out here and…[Stops to say goodbye to the other bands leaving who had entered the room] …where were we?

S!: I was just asking why you had come to Greenville to record your 4th album.

Ryan: Can I just interrupt and say that it’s rad that you know it’s our 4th album. It’s awesome that you actually did your research! It seems that any other interview we have, none of these mother fuckers know anything about us and ask stupid shit. That’s nice you know about Bieler Bros and our albums.

Sean: Yeah it is, now can I finish answering the question? [Laughs] Like I said, Eddie, our manager knows people here and have a kick ass studio. We worked out a sweet deal and it was worth it to come out here. We also wanted to get out of LA because we live there and you get into this same ol’ grind routine that is nice to snap out of when you try to be creative.

S!: So you took a vacation to work. How did the the recording process go?

Ryan: I like that! Hah! Yes, pretty much!

Sean: Good. We’re almost done. We’re in the mixing process right now.

S!: What can your fans expect on the new album?

Sean: We’re still shopping around to figure out who we’re going to put the record out through so probably the end of summer. Hopefully we’ll do a tour with some support with our friends to promote it too.

S!: Your last album, Vultures, covered a lot of topics. Do you feel your views were portrayed sufficiently though that album?

Sean: Yeah. We didn’t censor anything on that record.

S!: Your lyrics and play on words are one-of-a-kind. Where do your inspirations usually come from?

Sean: Weed. [Laughs]

Ryan: I like his answer.

S!: How do you feel as a band being a part of the music industry where parts are corrupt and being poisoned?

Sean: I don’t even consider ourselves as a part of the industry anymore.

Ryan: We really try not to be other than the fact that we do play music. Every time I turn the radio on I hear something new. I guess we’ve just gotten out of the loop because of it. Popular music has become so watered down and it’s just garbage. It offers absolutely nothing to the listener anymore. People want to see Ashlee Simpson and that chick from The Hills. Music that is fucking tabloid garbage because that is what everyone wants to know about. It’s only on the radio because of her status on that stupid show.

Sean: We’re in a band and we play music. That’s all we want to do. We don’t follow music charts or anything like that.

S!: Any last words to our readers out there?

Sean: I hope you like the new album. Greenville rocks!

Ryan: Greenville does rock! Thanks to everyone!

• Official Site: http://www.smileemptysoul.com
• MySpace URL: http://www.myspace.com/smileemptysoulmusic