Lit-Virginian-Pilot

Thirteen years ago, the rock band Lit was on top of the pop music world with a platinum-selling album and a No. 1 hit song in "My Own Worst Enemy."

Musical trends have changed since Lit's sugary, serrated guitar riffs and semi-gloomy Southern California melodies were late-'90s buzz fodder; so much so that it's easy to assume Lit's flame burned out years ago.

The reality is much more complicated.
"We've been through a lot," confided the rock band's bassist, Kevin Baldes. "But we're still standing, and I think that speaks volumes."

The fact that Lit, which plays the nTelos Wireless Pavilion in Portsmouth on Tuesday, has survived is something of a minor miracle. And although the band's performance is part of the "Summerland" tour of '90s acts, Lit's story is more than just nostalgic. It's one of endurance through tragedy.

Since releasing its last album eight years ago, Lit has faced a number of heartbreaking challenges. In 2005, brothers A. Jay and Jeremy Popoff - the group's lead singer and guitarist - lost their stepfather when he was killed in a motorcycle accident. Their mother survived but was seriously injured.
"They were hit head-on by a drunk driver," Baldes revealed. "It was horrific."

It would be several years before the Popoff brothers felt ready to return to making music on a full-time basis.

"Obviously, family comes first, and A. Jay and Jeremy needed to take care of their mother," Baldes said.

By 2008, things were looking up for Lit.

"We were writing new songs and had booked a tour to open up for Kiss in Europe," Baldes said.
A week before the tour was scheduled to start, tragedy struck again when Lit's drummer, Allen Shellenberger, collapsed.

"I was the first guy he called after it happened," Baldes said. "He was really upset because he didn't know what was going on."

Medical tests revealed that the 38-year-old drummer was suffering from brain cancer. He died just over a year later. After his band mates took time to grieve, they opted to carry on.

"Allen would have been really mad if we hadn't kept going," said Baldes. "Music has always been soothing for us, just as it is for a lot of people."

Fast-forward to the present, and Lit is now a five-piece group, with the addition of guitarist/keyboardist Ryan Gilmour and new drummer Nathan Walker, Shellenberger's one-time drum tech.

Even so, the loss of the long-time member is still palpable.

"As a bass player I'm part of the rhythm section, and there are many different points in a show where I would have to look at Allen to keep time," said Baldes, his voice cracking with emotion. "So I have to look back at Nate now. It's still hard sometimes."

Triumph over tribulation is a theme that colors many of the songs on Lit's new album, "The View From the Bottom," released last month.

"The Wall" and "Here's to Us" are poignant power ballads informed by loss. But that's not to say Lit has abandoned its fist-pumping rock side, as evidenced on the new single, "You Tonight."

"If you're a fan of Lit and like what we do, why would we change that and try to be something different?" Baldes said.

So far, the reception for Lit's return has been more than the bass player had expected.

"We've been away for a long time, so the support we've been getting is just awesome," he said. "People seem to be really digging the album, and that is very validating. I can't tell you how good that feels after all we've been through."

Mindy Smith-VirginianPilot

Not quite a country singer, and with a sound that's sexier than folk music, Mindy Smith isn't easy to label, and that's just the way she likes it.
"I don't much care to be put in a box or be in any specific genre," said the Nashville-based musician.

Even so, by creating music that favors substance over style, Smith has found an audience with fans of intimate songcraft.

"That's the reason I write songs; to deal with difficult things," said the musician, who plays the Jewish Mother in Virginia Beach on Sunday. "I think that's what draws people to my music. They can hear that it's real."

Whether she's calling out a thoughtless lover or expressing grief, Smith strikes a chord and offers catharsis.

"There's a certain element of exposure emotionally within myself that I allow people to get in touch with," she said. "But at the same time I think they can reflect on situations in their own lives."
The 40-year-old native New Yorker moved to Nashville in 1998 and, like many young hopefuls, started out by playing open-mic nights. It wasn't long before her sweet soprano voice began eliciting comparisons to country-folk artists like Alison Krauss and Shawn Colvin.

As the daughter of a pastor, she draws on spiritual themes.

From "Come to Jesus" off her 2004 debut, "One Moment More," to "Closer" on her new self-titled record, Smith isn't shy about expressing her faith.

"I'm proud of being a pastor's kid," she said. "I think it's actually pretty cool."

But that spiritual journey hasn't always been an easy one.

"It's been a challenge sometimes, I'll be honest with you," said Smith, who purposely took a three- year hiatus between albums. "I spent the last several years trying to get my bearings and investing in myself. We all have to do that at times. I call it weeding the garden."

The time off re-energized the singer-songwriter and allowed her to dig deep into her emotional life, one that will forever be influenced by the passing of her mother when she was still a teenager.
"The songs that I write are very much coping mechanisms for traumatic experiences," she said.
One other method of attempting to deal with difficult feelings has held her back, but it's something Smith says she's come to terms with.

"There are elements in my journey that have inhibited me, and one of them is having obsessive compulsive disorder," she said.

"When I do a show I have to explain to the stage manager that these are my issues and this is how things need to be because a lot of people are coming to my show and I want to be able to give them the best one possible."

Smith used to find these types of exchanges embarrassing.

"Now I'm like, whatever," she said. "There are a lot of people struggling with the same thing, and maybe, by me being open about it, it will help them in their own struggle to be OK with themselves."
Above all else, Smith seems to have found some peace of her own, and it's resulted in a newfound confidence.

"I really feel like this is my moment," she said of her career. "And there a lot of people pulling for me."

Carbon Leaf-Virginian Pilot

On his way to band rehearsal, Carbon Leaf frontman Barry Privett ruminates over the concept of time.

“I’ve been chewing on the fact that we’re all on this linear timeline,” he said of a theme that’s emerged in the rock band’s latest batch of songs. “There have been a lot of questions about how you use that as you move through life. Are your dreams still the ones you once had or do they need adjusting?”

It’s fitting that the band takes such stock in its timeline as Carbon Leaf just hit its 20-year mark. What began as a dorm room jam session at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland in 1992 has evolved into a career that’s included radio hits and tours with the Dave Matthews Band and John Mayer.

Privett, who was raised in the Elizabeth Park section of Norfolk, admits that the milestone snuck up on the band.

“Before we knew it, all this time has flown by,” said the 41-year-old singer, talking on the phone from his home in Richmond. “It makes me wonder how we managed to stick with it. It’s still a lot of hard work, but on the other hand, we still get to create things and throw it out into the world.”
Carbon Leaf’s career trajectory has been slow but steady. The band, which plays the Fourth of July Stars in the Sky event at Victory Landing Park in Newport News on Wednesday, started performing at small clubs in Hampton Roads and Richmond before moving on to larger East Coast venues.
In 2002, the rootsy, harmony-driven rock band beat out more than 1,000 other entrants to become the first unsigned group to perform at the American Music Awards. The high-profile gig garnered the quintet national radio airplay and a record contract. Two years later, Carbon Leaf had a pop-rock radio hit with “Life Less Ordinary.”

The band’s latest release is 2011’s three-disc set “Live, Acoustic … And in Cinemascope!” a collection that showcases Carbon Leaf’s warm, amiable vibe. Now, the group is in the initial phase of readying its next project.

“There are different seasons for the band, and we just ended kind of a long, dark winter,” said Privett. “I was off on my own writing lyrics and everyone else was doing a lot of heavy practicing, so now we’re getting reacquainted with the creative process again.”

To that end, Carbon Leaf has been holed up in the West End of Richmond at the home of guitarist Terry Clark.

“He’s got a two-car garage attached to his house, which we converted to a rehearsal space and recording studio,” Privett said. “We have about 30 new songs, and we’ve been working out the arrangements and hitting about four or five a day for the last couple of weeks. Once we cycle through them, we’ll see which ones are good and which ones are disasters.”