Earlier this summer, A. Jay Popoff had family visiting him in Nashville, and naturally, they wanted to see the sights on Lower Broadway.

They ended up at Kid Rock’s honky tonk, where the cover band was playing songs by Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World and other rock hits of the ‘90s.

That’s when Popoff thought to himself: “Well, probably any minute now.”

And then, of course, it happened. The guitarist began the instantly recognizable riff of “My Own Worst Enemy” – the pop-punk song that launched Popoff’s California-based band, Lit, to the top of the rock charts in 1999.

You know the one: “Please tell me why/ My car is in the front yard/ and I’m sleeping with my clothes on/ I came in through the window last night/ And you’re gone.”

Popoff, Lit’s lead singer, watched as his lyrics were shouted by seemingly everyone in the room, from the bachelorette parties to the dudes in cowboy hats.

And just as their signature song has become a staple on Lower Broadway, Nashville is now home to A. Jay and his brother, Lit guitarist Jeremy Popoff.

Jeremy started making trips to town in 2005, co-writing songs like Jamey Johnson’s “Mowin’ Down the Roses.” He says it “always felt like home.”

Within a few years he was a part-time resident, and in 2020, both he and A. Jay became full-time Nashvillians.

“It seems like there's a lot more support here for fellow musicians and fellow writers,” A. Jay says. “Where in California, it's every man for themselves, and it's hard to get inspired.”

Music City was creatively invigorating enough for Lit to try their hand at a country-inspired album, 2017’s “These Are The Days,” which grew out of their Nashville songwriting sessions. But they’ve tapped right back into their classic sound for their latest, “Tastes Like Gold,” which arrives Friday via Round Hill Records.

And really, there’s no time like the present to evoke the glory days of ’99, as you could argue that “My Own Worst Enemy” is more popular today than ever.

It’s not just about nostalgic millennials – Gen. Z loves the song too, whether they discovered it through the video game “Rock Band” or saw stars like Post Malone and Machine Gun Kelly cover it on YouTube.

“It still amazes us,” Jeremy Popoff says. “(A. Jay’s) daughter and my son both go to the University of Utah, and they'll send video clips of them at a party with 300 college kids jumping up and down to ‘My Own Worst Enemy.’ It's something that you can never plan for or anticipate.”

Even with kids in college, the music video for “Gold” track “Yeah Yeah Yeah” finds Lit still refusing to grow up. Just as they played a sleazy ‘70s-styled bowling team in the “Enemy” video, here they’re wearing mullet wigs and sleeveless jackets, riding jet-skis and pushing each other into the pool.

“We just wanted to kind of set the tone like, ‘Hey, guys, we're back, and we're still not taking ourselves too seriously,’” Jeremy says.

“20 years ago, we'd have a quarter of a million dollars to make a video for MTV. Now, you really have to do it old-school guerilla-style with a very small percentage of that budget. You've got to get creative and crafty, phone in favors from friends and borrow jet skis.”

When they’re not plugging “Enemy” and their new tunes into the latest Tik Tok trends (which appears to be a full time gig for these guys), Lit is back on the road. They’ll celebrate the new album with a Friday show at their old stomping grounds in Anaheim, Calif., followed by a trek that includes shows with 311, Hoobastank and Everclear.