"It's sort of a made up story but everybody has been in that situation at one time or another," says Lit singer/songwriter A. Jay Popoff. "I was just thinking about the typical: you go out and you drink too much, you say a bunch of stupid shit and do stupid things, and you wake up the next morning and don't remember everything you do. Or you know you fucked up and are in deep shit. Your chick is gone and your house is in shambles."

"My Own Worst Enemy" is the first single from Lit's major label debut, A Place in the Sun, which hit stores last Tuesday (Feb. 23) on RCA Records. The song is climbing Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, as it moves from No. 17 last week to No. 14 this week.

The band has been together for nine years, so "Enemy" has been a longtime in the making for Popoff and his Orange County, Calif.-based bandmates. "I've never parked my car in my front yard but there has been many times I've woke up in my clothes, all the lights are on, everyone is pissed off at me for some reason, and I find out things that I did later on that day after talking to people," he says. "I just want to kill myself. I've told myself so many times, 'That's the last time I'm gonna go out and drink and from now on I'm sober.' It's not like I'm a alcoholic but I've done some stupid shit and learned from that."

Now Popoff is taking that knowledge straight to the bank. And about that drinking problem he doesn't have, check the "Endorses and Thanks" section of the liner notes to A Place in the Sun -- Jagermeister gets the top nod. "Jagermeister is the one drink I can't stop drinking," says Popoff. "I have Jagermeister onstage no matter where we are playing. I like everything about it!"

Lit is hitting the road, Jagermeister in tow, March 10 with Silverchair and Eve 6 shortly thereafter.

-- Kevin Raub