Lit

Throughout the years after grunge peaked, Lit brought together frontman A. Jay Popoff, his guitar-playing brother Jeremy, bassist Kevin Baldes, and drummer Allen Shellenberger. The quartet formed in 1990 in Orange County, California, and first played metal-tinged material under the name Razzle. Once they adopted the new moniker Lit, they moved toward an energetic punk-pop approach that quickly built a regional audience across California. They packed houses such as Club 369 in Fullerton and put out two early projects: the EP Five Smokin' Tracks from Lit and the full-length Tripping the Light Fantastic, which surfaced in spring 1997 and found success on college radio.

RCA Records then signed the band, issuing A Place in the Sun two years later. That release marked their commercial breakthrough, with the infectious riffs of “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Zip-Lock,” and “Miserable” driving platinum sales. “My Own Worst Enemy” reached the top of the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart, after which Lit spent extensive time on the road with the Offspring, No Doubt, and Garbage. The group also appeared at Woodstock 1999 and joined the 2000 Vans Warped Tour.

Atomic, their third album, arrived in fall 2001 and yielded singles such as “Lipstick and Bruises.” A self-titled set followed in 2004, serving as Lit’s fourth studio album and their first on the Nitrus label. In 2008 drummer Shellenberger was diagnosed with a brain tumor; he passed away on August 13, 2009, at age 39. Nathan Walker stepped in on drums, and the band began recording new material. Their fifth studio album, The View from the Bottom, produced by Butch Walker, came out in 2012 and was dedicated to Shellenberger. The sixth album, These Are the Days, appeared at the end of 2017 and revealed a rootsier, countrified direction.