In an era of bloated production budgets and overproduced clips, Smile Empty Soul kept it simple. Frontman and primary songwriter Sean Danielsen and drummer Jon Loree bought a greenscreen for around $200, then used it to create the official video for their 2026 single “Bleeding Out.”
Loree directed the video. Sean handled vocals, guitar, and bass. Jon played drums. The track was written and produced by Sean, engineered by Brian Scheffer at Firebrand Recording in St. Louis, and mixed and mastered by Eddie Wohl at Babyland Studios. Sean’s daughter Norah appears as the DJ in the clip.
Comments on the official upload repeatedly call the video funny, unexpected, and pure Sean-and-Jon energy—more playful and chaotic than the song’s heavier title might suggest.
Viewers note the humor and the clear sense that the pair had fun making it.
“Bleeding Out” itself continues Smile Empty Soul’s post-grunge/alternative rock lane.
The song landed in June 2026, with the official video following shortly after.
It sits alongside other recent independent releases that have kept the band active long after the early-2000s major-label years of “Bottom of a Bottle” and the gold-certified debut.
This greenscreen approach fits the band’s long-running DIY streak. After lineup changes and label shifts, Sean has remained the constant, writing and performing the core of the material while rotating collaborators. Jon Loree joined on drums in 2024 (previously of Tantric) and has become a full creative partner, taking the director credit here.
A couple hundred dollars and some creativity produced a finished official video that fans are responding to.
No big crew, no massive set. Just the singer and the drummer, a cheap green screen, and the song. In 2026, that still works.
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