Posted 2 years ago
5 (or so) Questions for… Steven Smith!
If you’re like me, you were never really into starting your own band, but you loved music and wanted to get involved in the scene anyway. The same can be said of Steven Smith, well known for his now defunct “Steven’s Untitled Rock Show” on FUSE. Steven has interviewed many bands and contributed much to what music journalism means today.
Steven was kind enough to chat at length with Bandsintown about his story and anything that came to mind; where he came from, what happened to SURS, and all about music or what he might have done if he didn’t get his big break.
What is the story of Steven Smith?
It’s a tale as old as time. The long and the short of it – and I don’t even think Wikipedia has this right – I was living in California trying to be an actor and not being very good at it. I was dating a girl who was a swing dancer who was also a host… I was like ‘I can do that!’ and when I was asked if I had any experience I said yes – I lied – and auditioned for a music hosting job for VH1. I was 26 and they said I was too young, but they remembered me. So about 4 years later they hired me and I started working at VH1. Then VH1 stopped playing a lot of music and my deal ended there. Then I went over to FUSE which was MuchMusicUSA at the time… then I went from there and started freelancing, doing different gigs here and there. I did one for Myspace, I did some stuff for FUSE last year, and now I am doing what everyone else is doing, lookin’ for gigs. It’s a free market!
What ended up happening with FUSE?
That’s a good question, I don’t know. A couple of years ago when I had ‘Steven’s Untitled Rock Show’ we got moved from our timeslot after school to during school so that nobody could watch. We were confused, we were like ‘why did you do that?’ and the people then running the network didn’t like the show and basically killed it. They got fired and we were like ‘cool, rock on! The show is coming back!’ but since the show got moved to 2 o’clock the ratings tanked and the new people came in and said ‘we’re not doing it.’ That was the end of 2008 and then in 2009 we tried this show ‘Distortion’ and it didn’t work and it wasn’t any fun… that got canceled last November. I’ve been doing a couple of things since then, but if they need me I’d more than happily be there.
What was your first concert experience?
Oh god, you won’t even know them. I bet you your parents or grandparents might. They were a band called Sha Na Na, I was 7 years old… at the time – late ‘70s early ‘80s – they had a TV series that famously known for having The Ramones on. They had a concert and my parents took me because they watched the show. I didn’t go to a concert again until I was 14… that one was The Monkees.
What was the best and worst interview you’ve done?
There were so many that were really good. One comes to mind, an interview with Jay Bentley of Bad Religion which was amazing. I did a great interview with [the whole band] in which Brian Baker called Ian MacKaye… it was hilarious. Almost everybody I talk to is really, really cool. I’ve had very few diva moments… I’ve actually only had one in recent memory with a young women named Lady GaGa. She was quite a diva and I was very bummed because I am a huge Lady GaGa fan. I guess you just have to separate the artist from the interview… maybe she was having a bad day, but it bummed me out.
You have done a lot with music journalism, but have you done any performing before?
I was in a band in college, and I was a very bad drummer. That’s why I do this stuff, I like talking to bands! But yeah, I played drums in a band called The Ice Cream Socialists. We had a lot of fun, but that was it for me. Being in a band is the hardest thing you’ll ever do, unless you want to be a standup comedian.
What are you currently listening to?
Motion City Soundtrack at the moment, their new album [My Dinosaur Life] is really great. Before that Banner Pilot’s “Collapser” [off of Fat Wreck Cords], Strike Anywhere’s “Iron Front” – that was really good, I played the shit out of that – definitely Lady GaGa, and NOFX’s EP “Cokie the Clown.” That has one of Fat Mike’s catchiest songs on there… “Straight out of Massachusetts” [is the title] as a matter of fact.
Do you have a favorite venue?
Bowery Ballroom in NYC for sure.
If you didn’t get into the music journalism stuff, what would you have done?
Teacher. I was a substitute teacher while I was auditioning for parts. A few of my students found me and were like “Holy shit, you taught me, remember?” and I say “Yep, you were a prick, remember that?” I would probably teach English since I love to read.
What advice would you give to aspiring music journalists looking to get their foot in the door?
I would get a camera and just start taping yourself talking to bands. Talk to bands you know, talk to bands that are opening for bands you love, put all of it on a website and just go from there. I have said this to a lot of people and have said to friends, wrote it in my Alternative Press column, and I would meet kids and adults backstage at the Warped Tour in the press corps area and their like ‘I heard you said to do this, so I’m doing it!’ and it was the coolest thing. Then you start to establish credibility, and the bands begin to trust you.
For more info about Steven Smith: Follow him on Twitter, or add him on Myspace!
Tagged: interviews, .
