Dapper clothes, flashy cars and gambling tips to Las Vegas- LA smoothies LIT might be one of the most exciting new noises in America, but you're more likely to find them sipping Martinis than sweating in the mosh-pit. Meet the band intent on putting style back into rock 'n' roll.

“People are tired of worrying about worrying,” nods curiously-bearded Lit guitarist Jeremy Popoff. “They don’t know what the future holds so they might as well have a good time and live it up today. And they might as well look good doing it.”

Like the last greased-back gang in town, Lit are reclining after triumphant show in Detroit opening for label-mates Eve6. By the time you read this, they will have traveled at least another 20,000 miles and played an MTV-sponsored TV special in the Bahamas and a stadium show in Washington to a total of 80,000 people in just 24 hours, having chartered their first private jet in order to do so. They’ll also be looking to emulate the staggering US success of their “My Own Worst Enemy” single in the UK.

Oh yeah, and they’ll be urging you to don a set of customized, flame-kissed bowling shoes, slacks and lounge shirts in readiness for the release of their second album ‘A Place In The Sun.’ Right now, Lit are riding high and they’re hungry for more. After nine years of starving and grafting, it’s easy to understand why.

“We’ve been waiting for this all our lives,” grins frontman A.Jay Popoff, while his brother Jeremy nods in agreement. “It’s all we’ve ever wanted to do- we just want to play to people who like what we do and to make sure they have a good time.”

“We just want to bring back the good times and the big rock show to the whole scene,” adds Jeremy. “We want to be part of the generation bands that brings back the whole concept of arena rock for the right reasons. When we were growing up, if a band had a platinum album you’d go and see them in an arena. Now you go and see them in a club.”

Lit themselves grew up in Orange County, California, where the Popoff brothers formed a band with their friends Kevin Baldes (bass) and Allen Shellenberger (drums) in 1990. Back then, of course, they were weaned on the naive spirit of old school hard rock.

“When we were growing up we were into Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Ozzy and Metallica,” affirms Jeremy, a man who still harbours a keen interest in the recent Maiden reformation. “We didn’t discover these bands because we heard them on the radio. We discovered them because we read about them or bought the records or saw the concerts. It was about discovering stuff and finding it out for ourselves. That’s how we’d like people to get into this band.”

Despite the length of time the foursome spent paying their dues and selling out clubs like Fullerton’s Club 369- a place where No Doubt and KoRn also played early in their respective careers- Lit are fully aware that they have US radio to thank for their success right now.

‘My Own Worst Enemy’ has become a staple of both college and rock radio stations Stateside. An infectious slice of power-pop which hints at Green Day at their catchiest, the song also manages to ride a muscular riff that the likes of 3 Colours Red would be proud of. The fact that it comes wrapped in Lit’s unashamed ‘50s-styled, Scotch-on-the-rocks image is something which has endeared the four-piece to the million Americans who’ve snapped up copies of ‘A Place In The Sun’ in less than six months. The song’s cautionary tale is a further plus point.

“It’s a self-explanatory, universal song,” grins A.Jay. “It’s about going out and getting wasted. The next day you wake up and your chick’s gone and you can’t fix everything. The next morning your house is in shambles and so is your life.”

“We’re all our own worst enemy at different times,” adds Jeremy. “It’s not about one particular night. A.Jay got the title just from driving around in his car. We thought it was a cool title, so we wrote the song around it. It just applies to those nights where you stick your foot in your mouth and you can’t do anything about it, They happen all the time.”

For Lit, their current success has been made sweeter by their first, aborted attempt at the fame game a couple years back. The band’s debut album, ‘Tripping The Light Fantastic,’ crept out in 1997 on Malicious Vinyl. No sooner had the album emerged, however, that the label went belly-up. Not surpriseingly, A.Jay describes the entire escapade as “the worst time of our lives.”

A heavier effort than ‘A Place In The Sun,’ ‘Tripping...’ was a painful but valuable experience.

“We were unsigned for a year between the first album and this one. It was like starting all over again, and we made it past the point where we thought about throwing in the towel,” explains Jeremy. “There was a little bit of bitterness, but we were happy because suddenly everything was back in our hands again.”

After a period in the wilderness, Lit finally signed to RCA in October. Having moved on from the “angrier” sound of their debut, Lit had also developed a world view that Jeremy describes in comic movie terms.

“We’re like a cross between ‘Swingers’ and ‘Spinal Tap,’” he chuckles.

With the Popoff brothers harbouring a love for vintage Cadillacs and cocktail-fueled gambling trips to Las Vegas, all the needed to do was to translate their ‘90s approximation of the Frank Sinatra-led Rat Pack onto tape. The upshot of their efforts turned into ‘A Place In The Sun,’ an album named after the strap-line if notorious ‘50s Vegas night-spot The Sands hotel.

“The album’s about girls, gambling and cars,” smiles Jeremy. “We actually wrote a couple of the songs in our cars. People ask me what my influences are and, more than any guitar player, I get influenced by driving around in my car. That and hanging out with my friends at casinos.”

Along with their love of Cadillacs, Lit’s adoration of ‘50s and ‘60s culture extends to their album artwork, as well as their own image.

“Ever since the start of rock ‘n’ roll people have wanted to look good,” nods A.Jay. “It goes right back to Elvis Presley, and before that. We think it’s pretty important.”

“I’m into Frank Sinatra and that whole ‘50s thing,” adds Jeremy. “Although we’re not part of the swing scene in America right now, we definitely connect with it. Back in the ‘50s the American dream was a lot easier to achieve, and people are still searching for it now.”

Furthering their own quest for the American dream, Lit are in the process of forming their own label, Dirty Martini, the first release on which will be the band’s long-lost debut album.

“I will always be involved in the music business in some aspect,” concludes Jeremy. “We’re into the studio aspect, making videos and touring. The label’s also there so that when we see a cool band that we’re into, we can sign them. If we can help them get to the next stage, that’ll be awesome. Hopefully, in five or ten years from now we’ll have some kind of security too. Old Caddies are cool, but I wouldn’t mind having a new one!”

-Phil Alexander