| Lit | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Razzle (1989–1995), Stain (1995–1996) |
| Origin | Orange County, California, United States[1] |
| Genres | Post-grunge, alternative rock, punk rock, pop punk, grunge (early) |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | RCA (1998–2002), DRT Entertainment (2003–2005), Megaforce (2011–present) |
| Website | Official site |
| Members | |
| A. Jay Popoff Jeremy Popoff Kevin Baldes Nathan Walker Ryan Gillmor |
|
| Past members | |
| Allen Shellenberger Sean Holland Chadd Anthony |
|
Lit is an alternative rock band, based in Fullerton, California. Since their formation in 1989, the band has released four studio albums, one compilation album, two EPs (one was recorded under their original name Razzle), and one demo (also released under their original name Razzle). They released several singles in the late 1990s and early 2000s including their #1 hit "My Own Worst Enemy", "Miserable", "Zip-Lock", "Over My Head", "Lipstick and Bruises", "Addicted", "Looks Like They Were Right", and "Times Like This".[1]
Contents |
The band was formed in 1989 under the name Razzle. The group released a demo tape in 1990 and an EP entitled New Vibe Revolution in 1993. A few years later, the group changed its name to Stain, but due to another band owning the name, they changed their name to Lit in 1996.
In the spring of 1997 the group released Tripping the Light Fantastic on the Malicious Vinyl record label.[1] Malicious Vinyl went out of business shortly after Tripping the Light Fantastic was released, which left the band unsigned once again. They spent their time writing a new batch of songs and showcasing for various record labels until they signed with RCA Records in 1998.[1]
The group shot to stardom with the platinum album, A Place in the Sun, released in 1999. A Place in the Sun yielded the hit single, "My Own Worst Enemy," which held the number one position on the Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart for three months, and received a Billboard Music Award for the biggest modern rock song of 1999. It was followed by "Zip-Lock" (which featured Blink-182 in the video) and "Miserable", the latter of which was among the top ten most played songs of 2000 and featured Pamela Anderson in the video. The band performed over 286 shows and toured worldwide in support of A Place in the Sun. In addition to the Vans Warped Tour and a slot on Woodstock 1999, the band toured with The Offspring, Garbage, and No Doubt.
Lit followed up A Place in the Sun with the 2001 release of Atomic which gave the band another Top 10 hit with "Lipstick And Bruises". Lit toured to support Atomic with Kid Rock, and Butch Walker. The group was released from their contract with RCA Records in late 2002.
Lit went on a small, intimate club tour in the fall of 2003 before releasing the self-titled Lit on the DRT Entertainment label on June 24, 2004. The single "Looks Like They Were Right" made it on the Top 40 charts. That year the group also put out its first long-form DVD, All Access, on November 16, 2004.
In March 2006, "The Slidebar" restaurant and bar opened in Fullerton, California, of which the band are investors.
On May 5, 2008 it was announced that Lit's drummer, Allen Shellenberger, was diagnosed with a malignant glioma (brain tumor).[2] On July 26, 2008, Lit held a benefit for Allen at House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. A number of bands performed including Sugar Ray and Handsome Devil. No Doubt drummer Adrian Young filled in for Shellenberger on the drums for a few songs. Both drummers also played at the same time for a few songs. Shellenberger died on August 13, 2009, at the age of 39.[3]
On November 27, 2009, Lit officially announced that Nathan Walker would be the new drummer for Lit and that writing had begun on a new album.[4]
In April 2010 during an interview with OC Talk Radio, Lit hinted they are currently talking with and would return to a major label for their next release. They also revealed they are working on a new management deal as well as performing new material live.
In September 2010, Kevin Baldes confirmed that Lit were currently in the studio, writing and recording their sixth studio album. The band is working with producer Marti Fredericksen (Aerosmith, Def Leppard, Mötley Crüe, Sheryl Crow, Faith Hill).[5]
The band reported they were still in the studio their new album in July 2011, and released a demo titled "You Tonight".[6] On December 12, 2011, Lit announced on their Facebook page that they were back in the studio with producer Butch Vig (Garbage, Nirvana, The Smashing Pumpkins, Helmet, AFI, Jimmy Eat World and Green Day) to "lay down the rest of this record."
| Releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 5 | |
| ↙Compilation albums | 1 | |
| ↙EPs | 2 | |
| ↙Singles | 10 | |
| ↙Music videos | 16 | |
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions[7] | Album | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US Mod | US Main | CAN Rock | UK | |||||
| 1997 | "Bitter" | — | — | — | — | — | Tripping the Light Fantastic | ||
| 1999 | "My Own Worst Enemy" | 51 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 16 | A Place in the Sun | ||
| "Zip-Lock" | — | 11 | 34 | — | 60 | ||||
| 2000 | "Miserable" | 117 | 3 | 29 | — | — | |||
| "Over My Head" | — | 22 | — | — | 37 | Atomic | |||
| 2001 | "Lipstick and Bruises" | — | 10 | 28 | — | — | |||
| 2002 | "Addicted" | — | 23 | — | — | — | |||
| 2004 | "Looks Like They Were Right" | — | 34 | — | — | — | Lit | ||
| "Times Like This" | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2011 | "You Tonight" | — | — | — | — | — | Untitled Fifth Studio Album | ||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||