For Steven Smith of 'Steven's Untitled Rock Show,' the past is never really past

[Photos provided by Steven Smith]

In the early and mid-2000s, the rock, alternative, punk and emo/screamo scenes were practically synonymous with Steven’s Untitled Rock Show. You would come home from school and immediately turn on the TV to see which one of your favorite bands would be on that day. The Fuse television program only ran for four years before getting cancelled, but those four years were (and continue to be) crucial to the underground. You may remember Steven Smith, host of SURS, as a relic from the past, but he’s still very active. He has even recently appeared in a music video for up-and-coming punk/dark screamo band One Last Shot’s new single “Leather & Fangs.” Taylor Markarian caught up with Smith and OLS vocalist Jeremy Romance to reminisce and reflect.

“It was one of those fantastic moments in time,” Smith recalls. “There was a need that needed to be filled with that kind of music, and it was cool to be part of it. Warped Tour had been around for a long time and a lot of the bands that were on [it] started to get really big. The stars aligned and Fuse saw that there was an opening for that kind of show. My clothes got put in the Warped Tour exhibit for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.”

Steven’s Untitled Rock Show placed Smith’s name in rock history, but the show wasn’t just about his own fame. It inspired a generation of young rockers, many of whom are part of the music industry in one way or another today. “When I was younger, I watched SURS every day after getting off the bus from school,” One Last Shot’s Romance shares. “I always dreamed of being on the show and sitting on the couch as he introduced my then-imaginary band. Now that I'm older and have an actual band, I thought it would be cool to include that with our new video, and I'm very thankful Steven was totally down to help.”

Romance was able to track down the former Fuse personality by listening to Smith’s current podcast, Going Off Track, whose latest episode featured Frank Iero’s Death Spells. (The podcast is also helmed by former AP music editor Jonah Bayer.) One day, Smith opened up the podcast’s Facebook page to see a message from the One Last Shot vocalist. “He had a specific show in mind, like some intro I did for Avenged Sevenfold way back when,” Smith says. “I was like, ‘Wow, that’s very specific. Good for you!’ I was very honored.”

Read more: Remember how awesome it was seeing your favorite bands on ‘Steven’s Untitled Rock Show’?

For Romance, being able to collaborate with Smith for his band’s new music video was a nostalgic and meaningful experience. “Growing up can be difficult when you're looked at as the weird kid,” he says. “It was even more prevalent going to a small school. I always felt isolated from everyone else due to the hobbies and music I was into. When I would get home from school, I'd watch SURS and Daily Download and find out I wasn't the only one that was into that style of music. It was awesome to see bands like the Used, My Chemical Romance and Aiden being represented.”

“One thing that I loved about the show was that everybody was cool,” Smith reminisces. “It was very nice to find people that were very genuine and sincere. DIY, man. You see bands nowadays, too, who are so connected with their fans, like Modern Baseball and Beach Slang. They’re just so connected with people and the emotions.” It was this kind of community that Steven’s Untitled Rock Show engaged with, and it still rings true as the very mentality that defines these genres of alternative music. Even if it may get rough, there’s a genuineness and a passion that will never go away.

Case in point: At the end of our interview, Smith had only one thing to say. “Thank you,” he says in earnest. “Thank you for enjoying it. We did, too. We were having as much fun making it as you were watching it. It was just as important to us as it was to you.”