Lit's spark came from its Iron Maiden fandom

For A. Jay Popoff, frontman of the California rock group Lit, it all started with Iron Maiden concerts.

“We used to go to heavy metal concerts,” he said. “Those were the kinds of shows that made us want to be onstage. When you see us up there, it’s not like watching Blink 182.”

Saturday night, Lit rocks Vinyl Music Hall, 2 Palafox Place. The band is probably best known for its 1999 single “My Own Worst Enemy,” which exploded onto the charts and was crowned the Billboard Music Awards’ Modern Rock Track of the Year.

With a sound that touches everything from punk and post-grunge rock to power ballads, Popoff proudly proclaims that metal grabbed his attention and influenced the band’s live shows.

But having been born into a musical family, Popoff and his brother, Lit guitarist Jeremy Popoff, listened to everything.

“Our grandfather was a jazz musician, so we were exposed to a lot of jazz,” he said. “Our dad was in Top 40 radio as a DJ at one of the bigger radio stations in L.A.”

The silky textures of jazz and the safety of pop were soon discarded for a heavier sound.

“When we were old enough to buy our own records, we were huge metalheads,” Popoff said. “We were listening to bands like Iron Maiden, Metallica and all that heavy stuff.”

Popoff’s first concert was Iron Maiden on its “Killer” world tour, when he was 8.

With the release of its platinum album “A Place in the Sun,” Lit found success and ventured on its own tours. Stops that included Woodstock 1999 and the Vans Warped Tour intertwined with the airwave success of the group’s “Miserable” music video, featuring Pamela Anderson.

The Lit party seemed unstoppable until 2006, when Popoff’s stepfather was killed and his mother was injured in a motorcycle accident. Then in 2009, drummer and founding member Allen Shellenberger died after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

“There was such a dark cloud following us everywhere we went,” Popoff said. “We just kept on hiatus during that time and waited until not only it felt right, but until the time was right, and we were inspired to write good music again.”

In 2011, the band joined Megaforce Records, and its latest album, “The View from the Bottom,” will be released June 19.

“We weren’t ready to make a record until we healed a little bit,” Popoff said. “It lit a whole new fire under us and inspired us again. Consequently, the songs that are on this record are probably our best songs ever.”

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Check out local group The Icarus Effect opening the show. For details, visit www.vinylmusichall.com.

The Big Easy goes goth

Saturday, The Black Syndicate presents Sedition IV at the Big Easy Tavern, 710 N. Palafox Street. Vik Kaos, Finite Automata and Prognosis will perform, and costume contests will take place and prizes will be awarded during the celebration of all things goth and industrial. Doors open at 9 p.m.