Show & Tell - an interview with Allen Shellenberger, of Lit

ALLEN SHELLENBERGER of LIT
05.19.04

I'll admit it, Lit isn't my cup of tea. Obviously this isn't an indictment of Lit but rather an acknowledgement that my taste in music typically skews harder and darker than standard Lit fare.

With nary a filler track to be heard, the new self-produced, self-titled Lit record plays far more likable than I had imagined it would. A little "darker" than anything I'd heard previously, this is not your father's... okay, your older brother's Lit. Having split from RCA, the boys have gone it on their own this time out and the result is an eclectic bunch of tunes rooted in old-school guitar rock that separates them from their punk-pop brethren.

Consider me a convert.

We talked to drummer Allen Shellenberger shortly before the new album was released.

A: Hello, Scott.

S&T: Hey Allen, how are ya?

A: How you doing, buddy?

S&T: I’m doing pretty good, man. What’s going on?

A: Oh, just got back from eating a little lunch.

S&T: Lunch is good. You guys doing press today?

A: Yeah. It’s kind of like the first round of hopefully many.

S&T: Pretty much all week?

A: Um, it’s kind of scattered.

S&T: Does everybody [in the band] split duties?

A: Yeah, just to make it not such long days, you know. You got stuck with the drummer.

S&T: That happens, though. [laughs] I was just talking to somebody the other day and they were complaining because they have two guys [in the band] that can do interviews and two guys that can’t. And the two guys that can’t pretty much just skate by and the other two guys just get hammered with everything.

A: That’s so funny.

S&T: But that’s apparently the case with a lot of bands. I don’t know if it’s that some guys don’t have a voice or some guys don’t participate as much or…

A: Right. Well, some people are better at it than others.

S&T: How are you?

A: I’m alright. [laughs] Short and to the point.

S&T: Well, that’s more work for me.

A: Cool.

S&T: So I listened to the new album…

A: Oh, awesome.

S&T: …and it was a lot darker than I expected, musically and lyrically.

A: Really?

S&T: Yeah. I don’t know if that’s me not being familiar enough with your older stuff, but to me it seemed just a little bit…not dark, just darker. Not as happy as I thought it was going to be.

A: Yeah, I totally agree with you. It is, a little bit. Not too much – we didn’t go off the deep end into the darkness, but I think it’s a reflection on our craftsmanship of songwriting and lyrics and that kind of stuff.

S&T: Is it a reflection of where you’re at now?

A: Darker? No, we’re not like depressed guys, we all kind of have families. Certain things just come out different, I guess. But I really don’t write any of the lyrics, so… [laughs]

S&T: Well even musically, the vibe to it is – not “bouncy,” ‘cause that has negative connotations, but there’s just something underneath it.

A: Right, no, I think you nailed it. We didn’t purposely try to do that, it just kind of came out that way. Like you said, this is just kind of where we’re at.

S&T: Right. Now, you cover the Cure, who I love. Where did that come from? Were you guys like, “Hey, we need to do a cover song,” and then you made a list? Or did you hear that one day and say, “Damn, we really need to cover this song?”

A: Actually, there wasn’t a list, but when we were rehearsing and doing production for the album, we said we were all going to bring one cover to the table. Each guy would pick one so we’d have four, and then collectively we’d all agree on another one. And Jeremy picked that one and we actually learned that one probably ten years ago. We never played it live, but we’d play it for our own entertainment.

S&T: OK. Are you guys big fans?

A: I mean, we’re not like huge fans, but they’re great. We like a lot of their songs and stuff. When we started recording that one we just ditched the other ones because that one was just kind of molding into its own and we focused on making one great cover instead of just banging through five. So I thought it turned out great.

S&T: I like it, because it stays true but it still sounds different. And that’s a tough place to get to.

A: Yeah, exactly. We didn’t want to try to change it too much and say, “Here’s our version.” Like you said, we had to kind of stay true to what the song was about and stuff.

S&T: Now have you been doing that one live?

A: Um, we rehearsed it a few times, but I think we’re gonna mix that one in later when we do our own headlining tour.

S&T: OK, ‘cause aren’t you playing with (The Cure) in Washington?

A: Yeah, we kind of joked about playing that one. It might be a little weird.

S&T: That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw the dates, like, “Wait – they’re playing with the Cure!?” That’s actually excellent. At last year’s Summer Sanitarium Tour, Limp Bizkit played “Sanitarium,” and we’re sitting there watching, going, “Oh, what is he doing?” [laughs]

A: Oops.

S&T: And then half an hour later, Metallica comes out and does it. Like, what is that?

A: Right.

S&T: There’s another song on the album, “Forever Begins Right Now” - I had to check myself to see if that was an Elvis Costello cover. I mean, that song is like…

A: Yeah, that one is very Elvis Costello influenced. A.J. and Jeremy love Elvis Costello. Not that I don’t like him, but just from a songwriting stance, they love that guy.

S&T: Right. So he’s somebody that actively influences them when they’re writing.

A: Yeah.

S&T: Now in the case of that song, should I take that as a clear homage to him, or does it just happen to play out that way?

A: Um, I don’t know. It’s heavily influenced, but that song actually came about when we were done recording and like two songs into mixing and the people from [the movie] “Shrek 2” came to us and they needed a song, like, yesterday. So Jeremy got on the phone with [the film’s] music director and was like, “What are you looking for?” And he gave him the premise, it was the opening title song and all that stuff and they had something synched in there and it was so many beats per minute, so we took it back and it had to kind of be just like that happy, backbeat kind of thing. Lyrically it kind of fits for us, but we didn’t want to make it about a green monster, you know what I mean? So it fits as a Lit song and it could be in the “Shrek 2” movie, but we just decided to keep it and put it on our album instead of....

S&T: So there were actual parameters for that song? That’s interesting.

A: A little bit, yeah, but it still came out like us.

S&T: What about other bands that actively influenced you guys during the writing process?

A: Um, we’re influenced by everything. I mean, anything from Sinatra to Metallica and everything in between.

S&T: Do you listen to that stuff when you guys are writing? What comes to mind is that I remember Scooter Ward saying once that when [Cold is] writing an album, he doesn’t listen to any music because he wants everything to be as open and new and fresh and honest as possible.

A: Not to reference our songwriting, but we’re just fans of music in general, so we never stop listening to it just to focus on songwriting.

S&T: Right. Now on songwriting, what kind of pressure comes from having a Platinum album in your discography?

A: Um, for this one there was no pressure at all because we had broken our ties with RCA and it was like a brick being lifted off of our shoulders. So it was just getting back in our warehouse and just doing what we did before. Like, before we got signed with RCA we were just writing songs to do shows.

S&T: Right. Now, the contract wasn’t up with them?

A: No. We did two records with them and there was just a night and day difference between the staff at RCA on the two records. It just wasn’t a good place for us anymore. I think there were maybe two people who were still there from the Place in the Sun record, and we just weren’t happy at all.

S&T: That seems to be the case a lot, and what happens is the people that are there when you get signed to a label, that signed you and loved you and worked with you – they’re gone, and then everybody else is like, “They’re not our band, we didn’t sign them, what the hell should we care?”

A: Exactly, there’s not the passion…

S&T: Yeah, that sort of personal investment. Were you contracted for another album?

A: Yeah, we were tied up for a while, but it was almost a mutual thing. It went down real easy. We weren’t happy and they had just merged or whatever, so it was perfect.

S&T: How much of that had to do with the amount of time between the last album and this one?

A: Oh that had almost everything to do with it.

S&T: When you guys are going through the process of trying to get out of the contract, are you writing music?

A: Um, yeah, but it was kind of the D[own] L[ow]. We didn’t have a bunch of songs, but as soon as we severed our ties with them, there was a whole new vibe that was awesome.

S&T: Right. Now, Dirty Martini – isn’t that or wasn’t that part of RCA?

A: The Dirty Martini thing, when we signed our deal it was with us and as an imprint too, and that came with us.

S&T: OK, I got it – so that’s basically yours?

A: Yeah.

S&T: So now where did you take that?

A: We didn’t really take it. It’s still there and even on this record, the logo will be there. We’re always looking for new and interesting stuff, but right now we’re just pretty much focusing on this record.

S&T: So the album’s self-titled, which is an unusual choice this many albums in. What was the thinking behind that?

A: It’s pretty much just where we’re at now. We got out of our deal, we produced everything ourselves, we recorded everything in Orange County, everything was done on our terms and it just seemed and felt right.

S&T: Clean slate, fresh start, our album. I got it. Self-producing, how about that decision? Was that a no-brainer?

A: Yeah. We never even put one call out, ‘cause we were just writing and we started booking studio time with this friend of ours whose name is Kyle. He has a little studio in Anaheim and he’s a great engineer, so we were just going in and using all the talents we learned from other people.

S&T: Now how does that work? Is everybody going to get a producer credit? Does the band as a whole get credit?

A: Yeah, just Lit.

S&T: For me it’s hard enough to imagine four guys being in a room together and being on the same page in terms of writing music. But those same four guys being in the same room producing those songs just boggles my mind. How smooth is that process?

A: We’ve been together for…we were friends before we were in the band, so we all kind of have the same perspective. And it was good because we could experiment – we didn’t have a month to record the album. We could always go, “Let’s try this” and if it doesn’t work it doesn’t work. It was real smooth, actually.

S&T: Honest, that just boggles my mind. I think it’s great that you guys managed to find four guys who are always on the same page together, but that’s just unfathomable to me.

A: You know, every guy has their own personality and their own tastes. It just all blends in really well.

S&T: What’s better or worse about producing it yourselves? Although you guys had sort of taken production credits on the other albums as well, right?

A: Yeah, we’ve always taken a pretty big role…

S&T: But there’s always been like another guy in there.

A: Yeah, the only weird part is that you don’t have that outside ear. Just us saying, “Oh, let’s try this.” We’re always open to suggestion, but if you do it yourself there isn’t that outside ear until you play it for somebody.

S&T: Right. So was there a lot of that? Bringing people in, associates or industry people?

A: Not bring them in, but just, “Oh, what do you think of this?” and play it for them. If they love it, they love it.

S&T: How long did that whole process take?

A: Um, let’s see, it’s kind of hard to judge ‘cause like I said it wasn’t really a set time.

S&T: Yeah, you’re home, so you’re just gonna absolutely take your time. “Let’s go in now and jam and…”

A: Yeah, that’s exactly right, that’s exactly how it was and that was another good thing – you’re sleeping in your bed every night and you’re busy, but you’re at home busy.

S&T: Right. Now with that, is there an opportunity to get lazy about it? Like, “Oh, it’ll still be there tomorrow…”

A: Yeah, there could’ve been but we were all pretty focused and excited ‘cause it was so fresh and everything was so new.

S&T: I read somewhere that you had a bunch of songs and went on the road and had fans help pick them?

A: Not pick them, but we just road tested them.

S&T: Oh, ‘cause the quote I saw insinuated that there was fan participation in picking the songs.

A: You know what, I think we probably put that out there so that people know they can come approach us after a show and give us their approval or disapproval or whatever.

S&T: So you went out just locally?

A: It was a west coast thing.

S&T: And how’d it work? Did you play all new songs?

A: No, it was mixed but we took the ones we felt were ready to mix those songs live and threw them in the mix.

S&T: And did those shows actually help shape what songs eventually wound up on the album?

A: Yeah, kind of. I think the ones we played live did, with the exception of one. On the Internet they had a little voting thing and the one that was everyone’s favorite didn’t even make the album. [laughs] Because in between the time of them voting and us still writing and recording, we felt that we outdid ourselves and that one just got left off.

S&T: That’s another possible negative too, isn’t it, with taking a long time to put together a record? That the stuff at the beginning maybe isn’t up to par with the later stuff?

A: Yeah, it probably could. That’s kind of why, towards the end, we met with the [DRT] people and said we needed to put a cap on it, ‘cause we wanted to get the album out this summer, so we just kinda shut down that part of it.

S&T: Right. Now I saw a couple of larger dates and larger shows on your website, but then nothing beyond that. What’s the plan for the summer?

A: Just mass shows. I mean, we don’t have a tour booked right now, but we’re just gonna be busy trying to be everywhere at the same time. And then just book a tour.

S&T: Who’s booking for you guys?

A: It’s Brian Greenbaum at C.A.A. He’s awesome.

S&T: You’ve been working with him for a while?

A: Yeah, he’ll get us where we need to be, for sure.

S&T: Now you’ll do a headline tour – any thoughts of who would come out with you?

A: Nobody that we can...I’m sure there’s somebody out there, but we like to keep the bill really fresh and people that we’re into and get along with and have some fun out on the road.

S&T: What if I said I had a band that’s not signed?

A: Actually, on that west coast tour we took a band that’s not signed that’s in our warehouse and they did the opening slot.

S&T: How’d that go for them?

A: Oh it was awesome. They were stoked. ‘Cause I mean, they were serious. They bought a van and they bought a trailer and were ready to go at any time.

S&T: You remember those days of driving your own van?

A: Yeah.

S&T: Miss ‘em?

A: Um…well, in a way, but I don’t miss actually having to drive the van. [laughs]

S&T: When you guys were doing that, was there one guy who did most of the driving? That seems to be the case with a lot of bands.

A: We always had a minimum of at least two crew guys, so it depended on how far the drive was and if it was totally long one of us would drive, but Tom and Andrew usually try to take care of that.

S&T: Right. Now, when you guys’ll tour, what kind of venues will you play?

A: It depends. We love doing the 2,000 seaters with a stage big enough to do production, and w e love the outdoor gigs too.

S&T: When was the last time you guys actually did a coast-to-coast?

A: Wow. It’s been, hmm, I would say, what, 2002?

S&T: That’s a long time to be off the road. Now you all have families? You’re all married with children, or the majority of you?

A: Yeah, a few of the guys. I have a kid and we all have families and we’ve always been really close to our families too.

S&T: So that’s good, but are you itching?

A: To be on the road? We’re totally itching to get on the road at a feverish pace.

S&T: Alright well, I’m gonna let you run.

A: Right on.

S&T: We’ve taken enough of your time. I appreciate your time.

A: Likewise.

S&T: And we’ll catch you when you come around to the east coast.

A: Absolutely.

interview by scott sisti