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Lit's Guitarist Jeremy Popoff

We first did 20 Questions with Jeremy back on January 22, 2002. Now it's June of 2004 and not only does Lit have a new CD coming out next week but they're also on that hugely successful and chart topping Metal Sludge CD! So we thought we'd catch up with Jeremy to find out what was up. We got some good Sludge on a variety of things, and the answer to Question #11 is especially Sludge-Worthy and we'll go over that at the end of this Rewind! Enjoy!

1. What are you currently up to? What’s up?
We are getting ready for our new record to come out on June 22, doing a bunch of shows and TV stuff. We'll hit the road in July. We're also building a rock n' roll themed bar/ restaurant in downtown Fullerton called The Slidebar. It's going to be killer. And, the new record's killer too, by the way.

2. Tell us about “No Turning Back,” which of course can be found on our “Hey, That’s What I Call Sludge – Volume 1” CD. It was originally called “All Or Nothing” but the name changed and now there’s a new version of the song on the new Lit CD. How did you end up with two versions, and on that note, how excited are you that your song is on our CD? Isn’t this pretty much the highlight of your career?
"All Or Nothing" written about a year ago, and we totally dug it but it didn't quite fit in with the sequence of the record. There were about 4 songs that didn't. So, I was playing this new song idea at rehearsal one night, kind of darker, slower riff type thing, and for some reason we just started singing the word to "All Or Nothing" over it and it totally worked. So we re-wrote it like that for the record, but we still love the older version too. So on that monumental day, (you know the kind of day a guy always dreams of having in this business) when Metal Sludge called, after we stopped crying tears of joy and hugging each other, we thought it would be a cool song for the "Hey, That's What I Call Sludge Vol.1" album. I'm already writing a new song for Vol.2. The working title so far is "Hey Stevie Rachelle, What The Fuck Were You Thinking?"

3. When we last talked to you, you mentioned running over the drummer of Nickelback in a golf cart and throwing a TV out a window. Since our last talk, what kind of rock n’ roll shenanigans have you done?
Let's see...... I think I might have mellowed out a little bit on my destructive behavior. One, because I became a dad, and two, because it started getting really expensive. You know, you can buy a 25 inch TV now for like a hundred bucks, but throw one out a fuckin' window and all of a sudden it's worth 2 grand! But I did get really fucked up with a famous motorcycle club a couple of times, and at NAMM this year, I charged a couple hundred bucks worth of cocktails and valet parking to George Lynch's room. He made the mistake of telling us what room he was staying in, and for 2 days, we were all "George Lynch" as far as the Hilton knew. Don't tell him though.

4. What happened with “Atomic?” A lot of fans had no idea Lit put out a CD after “Place In The Sun.” Why did “Atomic” go so undetected and how are you making sure that doesn’t happen with the new CD?
Fuck, I could go on for days. Let's just say that we made a killer record with Atomic, and if the only complaint about it is that somebody didn't know it was even out, that's obviously not our fault. We don't sell records, we make them and then go out and kick ass live. That's all we can do. That's why we left our former label. We're way more involved with this one, and hopefully people will know it's out there. Our new label seems really cool, and we've got a bunch of cool shit coming up.

5. The last of Jeremy Popoff:
Last rock star you went golfing with = Al and I played in a tournament with Adrian from No Doubt and Eric from S.T.P.
Last time you messed up “My Own Worst Enemy” live = The last time we played it!
Last time you rode around in a firetruck = Funny. Not since Jersey.
Last tattoo you got = A skeleton hand giving the metal sign on my wrist, and lyrics from an Elvis Costello song going from my armpit to my waist on each side. I got all of that done within a couple of days, and my right hand went numb for a few days from shock. Not that rad!
Last time you talked to somebody in Handsome Devil = A few days ago.
Last movie you saw = Shrek 2, with my son.
Last CD you purchased = Sugarcult and Avenged Sevenfold.
Last time you threw up from drinking = I don't really throw up any more from drinking, I just black out and keep going. Is that bad?
Last argument you got into with A.Jay was about = What size wheels he should put on his Navigator. I told him 24's would rub and it would ride like shit and he'd be bummed. We don't really argue that much. When we do, it's usually pretty silly.
Last rock star you met = Robert Smith from The Cure, last week. Very nice guy. And William Hung, a couple days ago.

6. Your manager informed us that your new video you guys, “tip the hat to many greats in the video such as Odin, Iron Maiden, Ted Nugent, KISS, Def Leppard, Motley Crue and many others.” How exactly are you tipping the hat to these bands? What’s going on?
The video is done, and you'll see it soon. It has a lot of elements, such as T-shirts, posters, guitars, etc., that are constantly changing, and you get the idea by the end of the video that we definitely grew up on the rock! We thought it would be cool to wave the flag a bit of some of the bands who influenced us. We got permission from everyone..... Kiss, Crue, Aerosmith, Maiden, Def Leppard, etc., to use their stuff in the video. They all thought it was cool. The only person who said no was Eddie Van Halen. I used a guitar for a couple quick shots that was a homemade replica of his red and white stripped one, and he made us take it out of the video. He really bummed me out, cuz I was a huge fan.

7. Who’s the most famous rock star/celebrity you have in your cell phone?
I got a new phone a while back, and I didn't put them all in yet. Probably Drew Carey. Kevin and Allen have a ton. I have Jim from Slipknot/ Stone Sour in there. He was like the first number I put in cuz I had lunch with him right after I got the phone. So his number is stored as speed dial #1. My kid plays with my phone in the morning before I wake up and he calls people accidentally. He's called that dude like 30 times around 7 AM. Poor guy probably thinks I'm stalking him.

8. Are you guys getting royalties from Simple Plan for them borrowing from your songs?
Hey, at least someone had a hit with it! They're nice guys though. I'll settle for them buying me a drink next time I see them.

9. Ok, lets say Lit could go out and tour with any 4 OTHER bands today. What 4 other bands would you want to go out with and where would you put Lit on that bill?
We've always wanted to tour with Aerosmith. How 'bout Aerosmith, Stone Temple Pilots, Lit, and Jet. If Jet's busy, maybe the Foo Fighters, and we'll open. We've been very lucky and have been able to play with so many bands that we've always wanted to play with. The Used is killer live too.

10. Rate the following guitarists on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being somebody who sounds like they play with broken fingers and 10 being a virtuoso.
All these guys are better than me, so who the fuck am I to judge? Ok, here goes..........
C.C. DeVille = He rocks. 7.
Mark Tremonti = 8, but he gets a 3 point penalty for wearing his guitar too high, so 5.
George Lynch = 10. Thanks for all the drinks at NAMM!!!
Ace Frehley = 4, Tommy Thayer as Ace- 6.
Adrian Smith = 10. Hero.
Glenn Tipton = 10. Another hero.
Jack White = Fuck, I don't know.
Steve Vai = 10, But again 3 point penalty.
Butch Walker = 11. Makes me sick.
Snake Sabo = My boy. 7, but he gets a 3 point bonus for getting me so fucked up everytime I see him, so 10.

11. In your 20 Questions we talked about your brother A.Jay hooking up with Christina Aguilera, and now we hear that he also hooked up with Paris Hilton! Does it make you proud that your brother is banging hot chicks and is there any chances of an A.Jay/Paris sex tape coming out?
A.Jay's hooked up pretty well. God bless him. There was a tape, and it was way better then the one you saw. Trust me. But, being the cool guy he is, (or the idiot??) he had our tour manager erase it the next day so it wouldn't get in the wrong hands. Well, at least most of it got erased!

12. True or False. We make a statement and you tell us if you think it’s true or false.

David Lee Roth should get back together with Van Halen = Why bother.
Downloading music doesn’t hurt album sales = False
Kiss should call it a day = You mean, for the 10th time?
Track 3 on our Metal Sludge CD is the best track on the CD = True, and the one from the Supersuckers.
The Darkness are the saviors of rock ‘n’ roll = If that's true, then I quit.
Frank Sinatra had no ties to the mob at all = If Frank said it's true, then I say it's true.
Reality TV is fucking gay = True
Second hand smoke is good for you = False. That's why I get all mine first hand.
Fake tits are better than real tits = Sometimes true.
Warrant without Jani Lane is a joke = True. Really not a good idea.

13. Speaking of Warrant, it’s been reported that Poison and Warrant are in Lit’s upcoming DVD. Uh, first of all, why, and second, what are they doing in the DVD?
Poison invited us to their Detroit show in 2000 while we were on tour with No Doubt. They had us out onstage to play "Rock N' Roll All Night" with them. It was fuckin' rad. 18 thousand people. The Poison guys are really cool, and they put on a great show. We've hung out a few times since. There's footage of that Detroit show on the DVD. There's also a part where we pieced together "My Own Worst Enemy" with footage of other people doing it, and Warrant used to cover it live, so there's a clip of that on there.

14. You’ve guys have played a lot of radio shows over the years, which generally include a wide array of bands. What are some of the coolest bands you’ve ended up meeting and who were some of the most standoffish cocks you guys ran into?
We've met so many cool bands. Let's see........Dave Grohl took us on his private jet one night, which didn't suck. Dexter from Offspring not only took us on his plane too, he fucking flys the thing himself. We first met Stone Temple Pilots at a radio show and they were super cool. A lot of these bands, we've become friends with over the years. Mike from Staind, one of the nicest guys. I played Craps in Vegas with Billy Gibbons, and he ruled. I think the only time I was disappointed meeting someone was when I met Bruce Dickenson. He was someone I'd wanted to meet since "Number Of The Beast" came out. I was the biggest Maiden fan ever. He was a dick, and it bummed me out. The other guy who stands out as kind of a cock sucker was the singer from Filter. We played a show together and A.Jay and I had been Filter fans for a long time. But he was pretty fucking far from cool in person. Over all though, most bands we've met have been cool.

15. You guys are known for hanging out in Las Vegas, so rate the following casinos on a scale of 1 to 10. 1 being a place that’s a total bust and 10 being blackjack! Feel free to leave any necessary tips as well.

Hard Rock = I love it. Never win there, but good vibe, and my guitar from Woodstock is hanging there. 10.
Mandalay Bay = Great Poker room. Nice hotel. House Of Blues. 9.
The Palm = Couldn't get a cocktail to save my life, and shitty attitudes. 2.
Binion’s Horseshoe = The shit! The best Poker room, and the best place for gambling. No Disneyland crap here.
Luxor = 4. But Blue Man Group rocks, so I'll go 6.
Golden Nugget = Ok, but might as well go across the street to Binions. I'll say 8 cuz it's old school.
Flamingo = Cheap rooms, good pool, swim up Blackjack, 7.
MGM = Too big, not really worth the hassle unless you're going to a fight. 5.
Circus Circus = Lame. But Slots Of Fun next door is great for cheap, late night snacks and gambling. 5.
Stardust = Cool sign. Cool valet parking. Over all though, it's definitely seen it's better days. 4.

16. What are some of your best groupie stories, involving you or somebody else in the band? What freaky shit has gone down out on the road?
C'mon dude, I'm not going there. Code of the road.

17. Are you ever frustrated that Lit gets thrown in with the Simple Plans, Good Charlottes, Blink 182s, or other alternative bands when Lit is actually more of a guitar based, hard rock band?
Yes.
Lit with Rock God William Hung

18. Ok, who’s idea was it for the red wagon in the Razzle photo in our Exposed section? Who would you like to point your finger at and blame for that?
I forget who the photographer was, but someone from Hollywood called us and offered us a free photo shoot. All that shit was his idea. We were kids. Whatever. We get a good laugh from it too.

19. Being that the two bands Lit signed to Dirty Martini, Handsome Devil and The Color Red, didn’t sell many CDs, is it safe to say that your days of signing bands is possibly over?
I love those bands, and those records. My days of signing bands are definitely not over, just my days of signing bands to RCA. I'm sure every A&R guy has had simillar frustration with bringing in a rad band, working hard on making a good record, and then watching someone else fuck it up. It's sucks but it's how it goes.

20. Time for Metal Sludge’s Word Association. We mention a name and you give us your thoughts.
Nikki Sixx = Total rock star.
Gwen Stefani = Sweetheart. Great voice, amazing frontman (or frontwoman), and sexy as fuck.
Ozzy Osbourne = Ozzy rules.
MulletTron = Before his time. Expensive.
Elvis Costello = Favorite songwriter, amazing voice, blows me away.
Sum 41 = Cool guys, great videos, good live band.
Scott Weiland = Best frontman and biggest disappointment ever.
Ruta Sepetys = Great manager, even greater friend. Trust her with my life.
Gene Simmons = Slashed our rider to a six pack and a bag of chips when we opened up for them, but smart guy and he's always cool to us, and he's fucking Gene Simmons! What can you say? Icon.
Rob Halford = Can't wait to see him back with Priest! One of my favorite singers, and he was really cool when I met him. Even knew some of our songs!

Now there was a scoop! We had heard that A.Jay Popoff had hooked up with Paris Hilton before, and since it's been rumored that she's been filmed having sex more than just once, the easy question/joke was to ask about a Paris/A.Jay video. However, we weren't expecting the answer we got, which was there is, or was, a A.Jay & Paris sex tape! Jackpot! See, asking stupid questions can occasionally pay off. Now the question is, how much did get erased and when can we get it?

By the way, if any of you rock stars, or even Sludgeaholics for that matter, film yourselves having sex with somebody famous, NEVER ERASE IT!!! Duh!? Due society a favor and keep that shit so sad sacks like us can pay to download it online.

We also learned never to let anybody in Lit know what room number you're staying in or else they're charge drinks to your room. Sounds like something we'd do.

Anyway, for more info on Lit, you can visit, www.LitLounge.com! They'll also be appearing on Jay Leno this coming Thursday, June 17th, as well.