For being in a platinum-selling rock ‘n’ roll band, LIT bassist KEVIN BALDES has a very “guy next door” attitude and friendliness about him.   

Baldes’ demeanor is very much “anti-rock star,” which is a refreshing change from the –– “We deserve everything we’ve gotten!” –– attitude of many bands with whom this writer speaks.

     “We’ve worked hard and stayed focused to get to where we wanted to be, but there are a lot of other hard working bands...  Great bands who are out there who never get a shot.  In the end, we’re just a really lucky bunch of guys,” he said of his band’s good fortune in racking up a string of hit radio singles – “My Own Worst Enemy,” “Zip-Lock,” “Miserable” and “Over My Head.”

 LIT’s 1999 release, "A Place In The Sun," took the  long-running Orange County band –– rounded out by drummer ALLEN SHELLENBERG, vocalist A. JAY POPOFF and  his guitar-slinging older brother JEREMY POPOFF –– from the South Cali club scene to the international stage. 

 Today the band is at the helm of their own indie label –– Dirty Martini Records (partnered with RCA/BMG Music) –– which allows them to keep creative control on their music.  Having grown from being just a vanity label, Dirty Martini is now the recording home to another band.  

 That band is none other than, HANDSOME DEVIL, the primary support act on the current LIT tour.   In late fall, the Devils released their Jeremy Popoff-produced debut disc, "Love And Kisses From The Underground," on Dirty Martini.

 Together for twelve years with the same line-up, LIT were the proverbial “big fish in a little pond” on the West Coast club scene for some time.  After putting their songs to tape and releasing the regionally best selling CD, "Trippin’ The Light Fantastic," the group came to the attention of RCA Records who plucked them from the orange grove and set them on the road to stardom. 

 Their third album – “Atomic” – which hit stores last fall is rife with more of the same good time modern rock sounds that permeated "A Place In The Sun."

          The album’s first single, “Lipstick And Bruises,” landed in the Top 25 on Billboard’s Modern Rock charts the week of its release.  To these ears, that song about how fame attracts “suspect friends” looking for a free ride, utilizes a much heavier guitar than is typical for LIT.

  “I guess I can understand that people are picking up on the heavier guitar riff on ‘Lipstick And Bruises,’” says Baldes.  “When Jeremy first came up with that riff, I thought it was something from a Ted Nugent song, and he said, ‘No this is something I’m creating.’   But other than that, the song is really true to Lit’s style with the melody lines and the way the vocals are and everything. 

                 “A lot of people only know us for the stuff on ‘A Place In The Sun,’ which was more subdued than what we’d done earlier.  If you listen to ‘Trippin’ The Light Fantastic,’ it’s really a much heavier album.”

 As to trying to live up to the success of it’s 1999 breakthrough album, Baldes said they just forged ahead with the best material they could write and played the very best they could once they got into the recording studio. 

  “We didn’t really feel any added pressure because of the last CD,” remembered Baldes of the "Atomic" sessions.  “We took a little more time [with this album] than with either of our last two [albums], but that’s only because we had much more of a budget to work with this time around thanks to how well the last album did.” 

Behind the control board for "Atomic" was Don Gilmore, who had previously twisted knobs on "A Place In The Sun." He has also been at the helm on recent releases by Eve 6 and Sugar Ray.

       “What we like about working with Don is that whatever we bounce off of him, he’s had a suggestion,” said Baldes.  “To me that’s what a good producer is, someone who can throw ideas at you and say, ‘Hey, let’s try it this way and see how it works.’   You might not always agree with what they want to try, but you do it and sometimes it winds up working.

 One such example of an idea that worked is the stand out track, “Happy In The Meantime,” a very beautiful acoustic number that began as an all out electric rocker.

 Gilmore asked the band to play it acoustic so he could get a better feel for the lyrics.   “Alan and I stepped back and A. Jay and Jeremy did it for Don acoustically, and when they were done, we all just looked at each other and said, ‘This is way cooler than the electric version!’  So we brought in David Campbell (Beck’s dad) to do the arrangement and he had some of his people sit in with cellos and violins for the final take that you hear on the CD.”   

 Following “Lipstick and Bruises” up the charts was “Addicted.”   Both songs landed the band on Billboard’s Top 20.  “Picking singles has been really hard,” said Baldes.  “We have some really good songs on this album.  I think ‘Last Time Again’ or maybe ‘Drop D’ would do well too, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see those in the running [as follow-up singles].”

 While those are all great songs, this writer adds that with the summer months looming ahead, “Sunny Weather,” is a natural contender begging for radio attention.  “Yeah your right..  That song got a real Beach Boys’ kind of sound,” agreed Baldes, “so that’s a great choice for a summer single. See, I told you this CD was loaded with strong songs.”

           Just in at press time was word that the track, “Happy In The Meantime,” will be used on the soundtrack of Adam Sandler’s next film, “Mr. Deeds,” coming to theaters in May. And speaking of new films...

       Lit’s first home video/DVD –– "Stuck In The Middle of Everywhere" –– is a two-hour documentary/concert film that culls footage from the band’s early club days touring behind "Trippin’ The Light Fantastic" through their last tour supporting "A Place In The Sun."

      “It shows all we’ve been through,” concluded Baldes, “from playing in Cincinnati in 1997 in front of like 5 people to playing in England at the Redding Festival in front of 60,000 people.  Even people who aren’t really LIT fans, will find this interesting I think, because it’s a cool video about a band’s life on the road. And it’s not always a pretty sight.”

        (LIT perform April 26 at House Of Blues with HANDSOME DEVIL and PRESSURE 4-5)

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