Kit Major was eight when “Brain Stew” fixed itself to a very specific set of memories: the living room of her family home in Beijing, her mum’s red Jeep, her dad’s black iPod and Green Day’s “International Superhits!” playing through a Walkman. Years later, the Los Angeles punk rocker has recorded the song with Kit on vocals, AJ Peacox on guitar, Kamber Fishbein on bass and Tom Fitzgibbon on drums. It is the first Kit Major recording made by the current lineup.
“When I think of ‘Brain Stew,’ I see a very particular time and place in my life- the living room of my family home in Beijing, my mom’s red Jeep and her drumming on the steering wheel, my dad’s black iPod, and International Superhits! playing in my Walkman. Miss Ego is about who I am now, but without Green Day, there would be no Kit Major.”
Kit spent her early childhood in Japan and China from the ages of one to eight. Green Day also belong to her American memories.
“I was 8, I lived in Japan and China during my early childhood from the ages of 1-8. It is connected to both Asia and the US! Seeing the American Idiot 2005 tour in Chicago was my first concert.”
Three months before “Brain Stew“, Kit released the six-song “Miss Ego” EP through Futureless. The record came out on 12 June, after she had already spent part of 2026 playing around California and the Southwest, with her first UK tour following.
“Miss Ego” puts her own writing up front, with identity, femininity and taking up space in punk rock running through the songs. Musically, Kit works with short punk and grunge-rooted rock songs, garage rock, hooks and a strong pop instinct. Her listening puts Iggy Pop and the Ramones next to Britney Spears, with Sonic Youth, Green Day and Gorillaz also in the mix.
“I think covers can express identity without using your own words. When I cover a song and incorporate it into my set, I’m intentionally choosing something to be part of my world, even if it’s not my words. Music brings us together so having a cover is a way to connect. I’ve selected songs in past sets like, ‘Hang On To Yourself’ by David Bowie or ‘Foxey Lady’ Jimi Hendrix, and ‘These Boots Are Made For Walkin” by Nancy Sinatra, just for the sake of seeing who gets excited with me.”
“Brain Stew” had already been in Kit Major’s shows for four years when she recorded it.
“The first time I played it live was at my Vampire Saturday EP release show in 2022. It stuck around because audiences and my family really responded to it, and because it’s very fun to high kick to.”
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When Punk Rock Radar and Coffin Curse Records put together their Green Day compilation, Kit already knew which song she wanted.
“If you’ve ever been to a Kit Major show, there’s a good chance you’ve seen me high kicking to ‘Brain Stew,'” Kit said. “I never imagined we would actually record our own version, but when we got involved with the Punk Rock Radar x Coffin Curse Records compilation CD, there was no question which song we would choose. It was the first cover we learned as a band and is also the first Kit Major recording with band members AJ Peacox, Kamber Fishbein, and Tom Fitzgibbon.”
The cover came out on 21 August as part of Punk Rock Radar and Coffin Curse Records’ “Green Day Tribute Volume 3”, now available as a 56-track, two-CD set. It is the same compilation we covered in August through Bad To Worse’s straight hardcore version of “Jaded”. On CD 1, Kit Major’s “Brain Stew” is track nine and Bad To Worse’s “Jaded” is track ten. The compilation is streaming here.
Bad To Worse play “Jaded” as a straight hardcore song. Kit’s “Brain Stew” comes through her punk, grunge and rock’n’roll setup, with the familiar stop-start guitar figure carrying the song and the vocal tied closely to the way she performs it live. It is a different corner of the same tribute, with Kit keeping the song recognisable and bringing her own band into it.
Grammy-nominated mixer, engineer and producer Keith Armstrong recorded “Brain Stew” at his home studio and handled the mix. His credits include Green Day, My Chemical Romance and Paramore. For Kit’s vocal take, he put her alone in a room with the microphone and told her to move.
“Keith Armstrong, who produced and mixed the track, had me record in a way I never had before. I was alone in a room with the mic, and he told me to run around, perform it the way I do at shows, and get ugly with it like I would live. Even though we were recording a cover, the experience changed the way I’ll approach recording moving forward. I loved bridging the gap between a studio performance and a live performance.”
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AJ co-produced the track, and Sterling Sound handled the mastering. The session was also the first time Kit, AJ, Kamber and Tom had taken something developed together in their rehearsal space all the way through a full recording.
“The process itself felt new to us and it was exciting to take something we had developed together in our rehearsal space and hear it become a fully recorded song!”
Keith’s Green Day history also came with a piece of gear AJ was very happy to use.
“It made me feel confident in what we were doing. Having Keith’s stamp of approval meant a lot to us. AJ, my guitarist and bandmate, also got a huge kick out of using Billie Joe’s ‘Dookie-modded Marshall’ from Keith.”
Kit later clarified exactly what that meant. The amp was not Billie Joe Armstrong’s personal Marshall. Green Day’s guitar tech modified Billie Joe’s Marshall with the Dookie Mod, then made the same modification to a small number of other Marshalls prepared as backup live amps. Keith later ended up with one of those modified amps.
Kit said it came with handwritten instructions on how to dial in the tone. Keith says it basically sounds good on one setting, the “Dookie tone”. AJ used the amp for all of his guitar parts on “Brain Stew”.
Green Day had already become common ground for the current lineup.
“We didn’t plan for Green Day to become such a common thread. I started noticing it every time I’d ask, ‘should we cover this Green Day song?’ and was always met with a ‘hell yeah.’ We all have our own relationship with the music, but the shared enthusiasm has always been there!”
Their individual picks go in four directions. Kit chooses “Hitchin’ A Ride”, Kamber “She’s A Rebel”, AJ “The Grouch” and Tom “Waiting”.
The release came after Kit’s first UK tour and just before another run of West Coast dates with Tess & The Details. They played The Cat Nip in San Bernardino on 22 August, Spats Bar in Berkeley on 28 August, The Boardwalk in Sacramento on 29 August and Neutral Ground in Reno on 30 August, with the Reno show presented by Reno Punk Flea.
“‘Brain Stew’ has always been one of my favorite Green Day songs, so recording it with my band made the whole experience feel extremely thrilling.”
