The Orange County, California-based
lineup of A.Jay on vocals, Jeremy on guitars, Kevin Baldes
on bass, and Allen Shellenberger
on drums, together nearly 15 years, have in their own manner,
begun anew with Lit. Now on Nitrus/DRT/Dirty Martini Recordings
after a productive stint with RCA, the band produced Lit themselves,
and did it, to paraphrase Sinatra, "their way," as
Jeremy explains: "We went back to our warehouse in Anaheim,
feeling free, jamming, for the reasons we started playing in
the first place. No deadlines, no expectations, and no one
polluting the process; just getting together to have fun and
write songs. That said, this record is a little more serious
than our others," furthers the axeman. With songs like
'Bulletproof,' about a friend who committed suicide, and 'Lullaby," a
song written for his son, "there's not a whole lot of
tongue-in-cheek goin’ on."
However, Lit fans need not be concerned. The new disc possesses
everything that made and makes Lit great. From the bouncy musicality
and self-directed jab that is "Looks Like They Were Right," to
the heaviness and major choruses of "Too Fast For A U
Turn," to the irresistible, musically innocent "Forever
Begins Right Now," with its musical nods to Elvis Costello,
Lit have created a musical and lyrical time capsule of their
past couple years.
"We just write and then see what direction it takes
us," explains A.Jay of the process. "There was
a period of a few months that were pretty rough, for the
whole band, and you hear that in the record. There's a darker
side; we do more sharing of our personal turmoil. 'Times
Like This,' 'Hard to Find' and 'Throwaway,' are that way." In
addition to soul-baring songs, Lit was likewise recorded
somewhat naked, musically speaking, that is. The whole record
was written, recorded and mixed in Orange County. Plus, the
classic band photo on the CD cover is in line with the sort
of basic "this is Lit" vibe the band was feeling.
That stripped-down approach also went for the actual "sounds" on
Lit.
"
This record is different, because we actually used our
live touring gear," explains Jeremy. "On the
last two records I had a wall of amps, then we'd borrow
more, rent the drums that everyone else rented for their
record, companies would send us stuff, and we'd mix and
blend; such an ordeal and process. I always was happy with
the sound, but this time I grabbed my Fender Telecaster
and used my Marshall and my pedals and just tried to capture
our live sound. As a result, bass player Kevin Baldes believes, "This
record is more rocking than our other records. The guitars
are thicker, everything is just more 'real' sounding."
The "real sound" matches the gut-level "weird
combination of personal issues and drama," that went
into the writing on Lit, which included being first-time
dads for both Jeremy and his brother, A.Jay, plus the mixed
emotions of opting to sever ties with a major label. Jeremy
finds, as always, the perfect analogy for their leaving
RCA: "It was like when you break up with somebody.
You know it's for the right reasons, but it still feels
weird not having them around." The record industry
has changed drastically in Lit's lifetime, with layoffs
and consolidations around every corner. And, as Jeremy
notes, "there was literally nobody left at RCA from
the day we signed; people weren't motivated to work; they
were operating out of fear. We decided we'd rather we do
it ourselves. We parted ways as gentlemen, totally amicably."
And, clearly, doing it themselves has worked out beautifully,
with Lit as proof positive. There's
the usual welcome diversity, born from the quartet's range
of musical tastes and experience. "Our influences, and
who we are, is all over the place, explains A.Jay, "and
we've always left the door open for heavy songs, pop stuff,
dark songs, string sections, whatever. We've never said,
'no, that's not Lit,' because if we're into it, we'll do
it," they say. That explains "Pictures of You," Lit's
stellar cover of the Cure song. "I've always been a
huge fan of the song," admits Jeremy, "and we learned
the song 10 years ago to play it at an acoustic show, but
we never did. It was always a song we had wanted to do." Fortunately,
their cover choice made it to Lit, the band turning in a
lilting, faithful, yet Lit-like version of the Cure hit.
Other cool Lit nuggets: David Campbell
(aka Beck's father) did the strings on the song "Times Like This," while
co-songwriters include Dennis Hill from the band Lefty, and
Marty Fredericksen of Aerosmith fame, while the young guitarist
from the Matches, Jon Devoto (who cites Lit as the first
concert he ever saw, and who Lit took out on tour!), plays
the solo in "Needle & Thread," a song bassist
Kevin originally brought to the table. "Kevin has grown
a lot as a song writer and he played a bigger role this time
around, which was cool for us,” says Jeremy, who adds
about the collaborative process "It’s like if
you're a chef and you get a chance to cook next to Wolfgang
Puck, you're gonna go, 'fuck yeah!' We tend to co-write with
our friends, like Danny from Handsome Devil, or Butch Walker.
When you get friends in the same room and everyone digs each
other's style of writing, throw in some drinks, and it's
an inevitable thing."
Another collaboration comes in the
form of Lit's first-ever DVD, due in Fall 2004, and featuring
two-and-a half hours
of cool "shenanigans." Plus, it features live gig
footage and videos, all compiled by a close friend of the
band’s from an astonishing 700 hours of videotape.
It chronicles the band’s history from the mid-'90s
right up to the completion of Lit.
Like the band's past efforts, Lit is clearly loaded with
potential singles, but they never know what
will "hit," and still marvel that "My Own
Worst Enemy" is still played over 500 times a week on
radio. "It's unbelievable to us. When you write a batch
of songs, they feel like a body of work; you never imagine
one will take on a life of its own like that," A.Jay
confesses. "It could have happened to anybody, but you
still have to be proud that you're part of rock history in
a way." Jeremy adds, "It's awesome to have written
a classic riff. It's always a rush to play those first two
notes live, because the crowd always goes nuts!"
As the band reflects on Lit and what went into the making
of the album, it's clear they dug deep
without coming too close to the bottom. "This business
can chew you up and spit you out, and it's all a matter of
how you come out on the other side," muses Jeremy. "Sometimes
you come out on the other side stronger, and ready to kick
ass. In a way, any hardships of the last few years brought
the band closer together, because although we never questioned
the future of the band, it gave us a chance to rethink the
process." And though Lit ends with the sorrowfully inspired "Bulletproof," the
song and CD itself ends with rousing hope (and a nod to Cheap
Trick), as the band intones "here we are / we're all
alright."
And in Lit's case, they're better than alright.
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