Sean Danger Smith Stays True To His Form With "Space Camp"
Photo courtesy of the artist
Philly-based singer/songwriter Sean Danger Smith has been refining this collection of songs found in his latest Space Camp EP for nearly half a decade, and the payoff seems to be well worth the wait. His emphatic acoustic guitar-heavy sound hangs in a unique balance between delicate and harsh tones. It’s deeply emotional when it needs to be, and light and almost ___ when it doesn’t. His live setup is just himself and a guitar, and he didn’t trade that for a full band on his recorded release. With the help of the occasional synthesizer, these tracks stay true to Smith’s core sound. His guitar style is stripped down and yet artfully abrasive, a duality that is often difficult to tastefully perfect, but that’s Smith’s calling card and he does it so well. The lyrics within Space Camp’s tracks are real and highly specific and will certainly make you think back to your own universally intimate experiences.
I asked Smith about what went into making Space Camp, and his answers involve a lot of red wine and Glocca Morra. IYKYK.
If you were trying to sell me your album, how would you describe it in 10 words or less?
SS: Unapologetically myself, Acoustic, sad and empowering. Music to think to.
You emphasize that these songs are guitar only, which is a unique angle to take especially when you easily could have found a full band to work with. Is there a particular reason why you chose to stay with the sort of stripped down, organic sound?
SS: I’d say the music I’ve been writing for the past six or seven years has been stripped down in general. I am always trying my best to get a full sound from playing guitar and singing by themselves. On the record there are some synths (done beautifully by the producer Paul Geissinger AKA Starkey); though, the ‘less is more’ mentality was a decision we made before I even officially signed to the label Spring Garden Records. We most importantly wanted to catch what a live performance would sound like, and since I haven’t been in a band since leaving New Orleans in 2012, it felt like the accurate way to record.
What does your writing process look like? I know at least one of these songs ("Coffee") has been in your rotation for a few years. Did you rework old songs/build off old ideas/etc? Walk me through how to write a Sean Danger Smith song.
SS: My songwriting process is one of two different ways. One involves a lot of work, merlot, parliament lights, and isolation. The alternative is just going about my business during the day and immediately having to write a song that is just completely finished in my head in an instant. I don’t necessarily find one more rewarding than the other. But my favorites include the first track on the record, “Same Way. It was written out of nowhere when I just very suddenly felt an exorbitant amount of love and gratitude for a person that still lives in New Orleans.
Including riffs, this record has taken me over a decade to write. I have re-worked them countless times and the tracks themselves have become favorites of my friends and family long before the release date of May 1st.
If you’d want specific directions on how to write a Sean Danger Smith song, I’d say to
bust out your favorite parlor guitar,
pour a glass of dark red wine,
play around with the guitar and find odd voicings of chords,
come up with a melody,
create lyrics on a notes app,
use a voice memo app to immediately come up with something to listen to.
And then I would write the verse either then and there, or let it sit for a few days and come back to it. If I am able to write a verse that I’m happy with in a night, then that’s fantastic.
I like how, I think lyrically, there's a big sense of cohesion through all the songs. Sonically, there's a lot of dynamic variation. What's most important to you when putting a collection of songs together - the music or the lyrics? Is there a story you're trying to tell with one or both?
SS: I wanted to put a record together of songs that were generally written around the same time and were fan favorites when playing live. I also had a huge fear of all of the songs sounding the same sonically so I chose to keep them all as different as possible. I wanted to show a lot of range in six songs mostly to showcase my songwriting and guitar chops. I’d say the music was the biggest factor rather than lyrically. Though, a lot of the songs lead directly into one another. “Same Way” is about being forlorn for a relationship with someone in New Orleans and it leads into “Unsupervised” where I kind of give a good idea of how life in New Orleans was as an 18/19 year old kid away from home for the first time. “Svedka” and “Bloodshot Eyes” paint a picture for life after that, and “Coffee”/”Space Camp” are just complete anomalies; but they HAD to be on this record. I couldn't bring myself do the record without those songs being featured.
We spent an entire year working on this record and somehow finished it JUST BEFORE all of this madness went down. I’m glad we got it done in the studio right before.
List some major influences. I've been trying to place who your voice reminds me of and I can't yet. Your sound is incredibly unique.
SS: I’d say my influences for songwriting are completely different from how I perform said songs. While I’m trying to write a song sonically like TTNG, Glocca Morra, or Algernon Calladwaller; I am unable to have it sound like something other than a very technical and sad Dave Matthews. The biggest compliment anyone can give me is to compare my vocals to Adam Duritz of the counting crows. I absolutely am obsessed by how he uses his voice. I listen to a ton of indie music and don’t discriminate much between genres. I’m pulling from a ton of different places musically, I enjoy being able to write and perform differently even though my intention is to write pop songs.
Has quarantine been affecting your creativity lately? Do you feel overwhelmed with ideas, or are you taking the time to sit back and take a break from music? (because music sucks)
SS: Are we on the record? For the last time! Music is DUMB. I should explain that was a phrase coined by my late friend Ryan Wilson of the band Pill Friends. Please check out their records and buy a shirt. Music is Dumb is just to get a guttural reaction out of folks who think yelling “SPORTS, SPORTYYYY,” or “Score a goal touch down 123!” etc.
Generally I’ve been doing a lot more guitar playing, working on songs for the next record. I have written a few that I’m super proud of and been trying to put a cohesive plan together on what to record next with my awesome A&R/engineer Mike Amrhein. My main guitar is currently being worked on, though I picked up a great used electric guitar on Reverb recently. We’ll see what happens.
What are you listening to lately?
SS: Right now I’m listening to my man Johnny Petunia’s new record. Some Haley Hendrickx, Frightened Rabbit, and Flower Face. I bought a ton of original music off of my friend Beau Gordon (Party Muscles, Lady HD) recently. The thing I’m listening to most is an album called Pillar Of Na by Columbus Ohio’s Saintseneca. Really can’t get it out of my head. I am EAGERLY waiting on new music from Sixteen Jackies.
What do you want listeners to take away from "Space Camp" ?
SS: I’d like for them to judge for themselves how they feel about it, and what the music means to them. I don’t want to push any sort of agenda about what the songs are about or how they should treat the songs critically. Despite these songs being my BABIES, I can write others. If nothing else I’d like it to remind people to treat each other with love, respect, and understanding.