Smile Empty Soul

Smile Empty Soul
Background information
Also known as	Hecklers Veto
Origin	Santa Clarita, California
Genres	Hard rock Post-grunge Alternative rock Alternative metal
Years active	1998-Present
Labels	F.O.F Label Group/EMI (2008-2011)
Website	www.SmileEmptySoul.com
Members
Sean Danielsen Ryan Martin Jake Kilmer
Past members
Derek Gledhill Dominic Weir Mike Booth

Smile Empty Soul is an American post-grunge band from Santa Clarita, California.

History

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 Sunset Strip, and later passed a demo to John Parker of the Los Angeles 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 three successful singles were released. In March 2005, the album was certified gold with sales in excess of 500,000+.

Sometime after the recording of their second album "Anxiety" was finished, drummer Derek Gledhill was replaced by Dominic Weir.

On September 22, 2005, during a concert at The Beaumont Club in Kansas City, Missouri, frontman Sean Danielsen stated that their new album Anxiety, would not be released due to issues with Lava Records. The band told fans that in order to receive the new album they could purchase one of a very limited number of burned copies or attempt to download the album online via BitTorrent.

On July 13, 2006, Smile Empty Soul signed with independent label, Bieler Bros. Records. At this point, drummer Dominic Weir had been replaced by Jake Kilmer, and Mike Booth (ex-Cold) was added as a second guitarist.

On October 24, 2006, the band released Vultures, the official follow-up to their 2003 debut Smile Empty Soul. The album doesn't feature any songs from the unreleased Anxiety. The first single released was the song "The Hit".

Vultures debuted at #169 on the Billboard 200 album charts with just over 5,000 copies sold. The band embarked on a co-headlining tour with Evans Blue in support of the album in November 2006. After that they went on tour with The Exies and Egypt Central, with further support on select dates from punk/post-hardcore band Brazil.

Some time on April 17, 2007 Smile Empty Soul parted ways with Mike Booth, which was a mutual split. The band has yet to replace him, and has continued on as a 3-piece.

According to a post on the band's Myspace page they will begin recording their new record in Greenville, SC on February 1, 2008

In February, 2008, Smile Empty Soul announced that recording for their new album entitled "Consciousness" was finished, but in May, 2008, Smile Empty Soul returned to the studio to record a few more songs. On October 29, 2008, the band's Myspace page confirmed that they had signed with F.O.F./EMI records. "Consciousness" was then released in August 2009.

In November 2009, the 2005 album "Anxiety" was released on iTunes.

On March 9, 2010, "More Anxiety", a special edition of "Anxiety" including a bonus DVD was released.

Smile Empty Soul have released music videos for "We're Through" and "Faker" from their album "Consciousness."

At a recent show on the current tour. Sean Danielsen said that smile empty soul were in the process of writing the follow-up to Consciousness. Also that they are shooting for a summer release and trying to enter the studio by late February/early March. They've been testing out a new song currently entitled "Carve" at recent shows.

In early 2011, it was announced that Sean Danielsen has formed a new group with Fuel vocalist Brett Scallions called World Fire Brigade, which also consists of bassist Brad Stewart (ex-Shinedown), Yogi Lonich (ex-Buckcherry) and former Candiria drummer Ken Schalk. The debut album is expected to be released later in the year.

Band members

Current

• Sean Danielsen – lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitars (1998–Present)
• Ryan Martin – bass guitar (1998–Present)
• Jake Kilmer – drums, backing vocals (2006–Present)

Former

• Derek Gledhill – drums, backing vocals (1998–2005)
• Dominic Weir – drums (2005–2006)
• Mike Booth – lead guitars (2006–2007)

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [1]	US Ind. [2]
2003	Smile Empty Soul Released: May 27, 2003 Label: Lava Format: CD Sales: 500,000	94	—
2005	Anxiety Released: 2005 Label: MRAfia Format: CD	—	—
2006	Vultures Released: October 24, 2006 Label: Bieler Bros. Format: CD Sales: 150,000	169	14
2009	Consciousness Released: August 25, 2009 Label: F.O.F. Label Group / EMI Format: CD	156	—
2012	Untitled 5th album Released: TBD Label: TBD Format: CD	—	—
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Extended plays

Year	Details
1999	Hecklers Veto EP Released: 1999 Label: Dyspathy
2008	B-sides Released: 2008 Label: MRAfia

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions			Album
		US	US Alt. [3]	US Main. [4]
2003	"Bottom of a Bottle"	107[A]	7	8	Smile Empty Soul
2004	"Nowhere Kids"	—	27	26
	"Silhouettes"	—	22	25
2005	"Don't Need You"	—	—	37	Anxiety
2006	"The Hit"	—	—	—	Vultures
2007	"Here's to Another"	—	—	—
	"Loser"	—	—	—
2009	"Don't Ever Leave"	—	—	39	Consciousness
2010	"Alone with Nothing"	—	—	—
	"We're Through"	—	—	—
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Other songs

• "Afterlife"
• "Alone"
• "Aneurysm" (Nirvana Cover)
• "Anywhere But Down"
• "Broken Wings" (Performed live in 2008)
• "Landslide" (Performed live in 2008)
• "Finding Myself" - written specifically for 2004's The Punisher: The Album
• "Meaningless" (demo)
• "Rain" (demo)
• "Who I Am" - 2004 Spiderman 2 soundtrack
• "What's Going Through My Head Right Now"
• "Possession" - (Sarah McLachlan cover)
• "Mechanical Rationality"

Music videos

• "Bottom of a Bottle"
• "Nowhere Kids"
• "Silhouettes"
• "This Is War" (Promo Video Only)
• "Here's To Another"
• "Jesus Is The Manager At Wal-Mart" (Promo Video Only)
• "Loser"
• "Don't Ever Leave"
• "We're Through"
• "Faker"

Notes

• A.^ "Bottom of a Bottle" peaked outside of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, therefore it is listed on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

References

1. ^ "Smile Empty Soul Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/smile-empty-soul/chart-history/514846?f=305&g=Albums. Retrieved 2009-10-18. 
2. ^ "Smile Empty Soul Album & Song Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/smile-empty-soul/chart-history/514846?f=326&g=Albums. Retrieved 2009-10-18. 
3. ^ "Smile Empty Soul Album & Song Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/smile-empty-soul/chart-history/514846?f=377&g=Singles. Retrieved 2009-10-18. 
4. ^ "Smile Empty Soul > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/smile-empty-soul-p559278/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2011-01-13. 

External links

• Official website
• Smile Empty Soul on Myspace
• Smile Empty Soul at Allmusic
• Interview @ SHOUT! Music Webzine