Dom speaks to Kevin and Taylor from LIT about the band’s new material, and their attitude to legacy…
The band reflect on their recent tour of the UK tour (with Bowling For Soup) to start us off, and Kevin says that it’s the band’s intention to get back over as soon as possible: “We love it over there. I am bummed it took us so long. I talked to A. Jay and Jeremy [Popoff] the other day, and I said, ‘We’ve either got to go once a year, or stop going instead of going every eight or six years, we have to commit. The whole of the UK has been good to us!’”
The pair are also enamoured with the UK’s history, and Kevin shared a memory of going to Whitby Abbey: “I had a friend pick me up and take me there. I love seeing historical stuff like that.”
Baldes moves on to talk about how he has developed personally through being a part of the band: “It’s no secret that Lit has a history of drinking. That’s been a recurring story. In 2016, I made the decision to quit drinking. I have a wife and son, and I had to choose them. Now, I go on trips to the UK, and I take the time to see the sights, and the architecture. That stuff is so important. It’s easy to get drunk and hungover, and I did that for a long time. I wanted to try a sober life, and I love it. I’m a lot more mature, but I’m not perfect!”
Reflecting on the band’s legacy now, and how much that means, Kevin says that Lit is fortunate to have the kind of material that can mean so much to so many: “In this day and age, you need whatever fuel you can put in the tank to keep people interested, and coming to shows. We are so fortune to have released and written an album like ‘A Place In The Sun’ that still means a lot to people. There are people out there that have played our songs at funerals and weddings! As you get older, you embrace hearing those stories, and it shows you that you did something that matter.”
As a more recent addition to the band, Taylor comments on how much the music of Lit means to him as well, as a former fan and now a full-time member: “If Big Al [Allen Shellenberger] is looking down on us, I hope he is stoked that I am in this band, and I am trying to keep that respectful vibe alive,” he says. “There’s not another band like them. [Lit] has everything – they’ve got the riffs and the crazy tones, and they have style! I can never keep up with their style!! They always have new jackets, and cool shirts. It’s rad to be a part of it.”
On the band’s success and how it feels to be a part of Lit in 2022, Taylor adds this unique reflection: “I get to make my own schedule and wake up when I want. Dude, I get to keep a roof over my head with music. I feel very blessed to get to do this.”
To finish we discuss the new record, Kevin talks about how proud he is, and how it stands up next to the band’s best work: “I would almost put ‘Tastes Like Gold’ up against ‘A Place In The Sun’. That being the ‘holy grail’ of Lit albums, I think this album has so much to offer. It’s a great representation of the band in 2022.”
Lit will release their long-awaited seventh studio album, Tastes Like Gold on June 17, 2022 Via Round Hill Records.
For the full chat, talking about the new record and how the band has developed, listen and watch below:
