Veruca Salt is an American
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists
Nina Gordon
Nina Rachel Gordon Shapiro (born November 14, 1967), known as Nina Gordon, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-founded the alternative rock band Veruca Salt and played on their first two studio albums, ''American Thighs'' ( ...
and
Louise Post
Louise Lightner Post (born December 7, 1966) is an American musician. She is best known for being a vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Veruca Salt, which she co-founded with Nina Gordon in 1993.
Early life
Post was born in ...
, drummer
Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, "
Seether", that was released on the 1994 album ''
American Thighs
''American Thighs'' is the 1994 debut studio album by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt. The album features the hit single " Seether" and received positive critical reviews.
Background and release
Singer-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louis ...
''. They followed up that success with 1997's ''
Eight Arms to Hold You
''Eight Arms to Hold You'' is the second studio album by alternative rock band Veruca Salt. It was released on February 11, 1997, through Outpost/Geffen Records.
Release
The album was produced by Bob Rock. The title is a reference to the workin ...
''. By 1998, Post was the only original member still in the band and continued on with other musicians. Veruca Salt released the album ''
Resolver'' in 2000 and the album ''
IV'' in 2006. After a hiatus in 2012, the band reformed with its original lineup. Their fifth studio album, ''
Ghost Notes
In music, a ghost note is a musical note with a rhythmic value, but no discernible pitch when played. In musical notation, this is represented by an "X" for a note head instead of an oval, or parentheses around the note head. It should not be ...
'', was released in 2015.
History
1992–1998: Formation and mainstream success
Named after
Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", th ...
, the spoiled rotten rich girl from the 1964 children's book ''
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' is a 1964 children's novel by British author Roald Dahl. The story features the adventures of young Charlie Bucket inside the chocolate factory of eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka.
The story was originally ...
'' by
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
, Veruca Salt was formed in Chicago in 1992 by
Louise Post
Louise Lightner Post (born December 7, 1966) is an American musician. She is best known for being a vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Veruca Salt, which she co-founded with Nina Gordon in 1993.
Early life
Post was born in ...
(guitar and vocals) and
Nina Gordon
Nina Rachel Gordon Shapiro (born November 14, 1967), known as Nina Gordon, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-founded the alternative rock band Veruca Salt and played on their first two studio albums, ''American Thighs'' ( ...
(guitar and vocals).
Post and Gordon were introduced through mutual friend
Lili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s ...
, and began playing music together. They wrote songs for a year and a half before placing an ad in the Chicago Times for an all-female rhythm section. Instead, the band was joined by Gordon's brother
Jim Shapiro on drums and Steve Lack on bass.
Songwriting was shared between Gordon and Post, though the two seldom collaborated. Rather, each would typically submit a complete song to the group and sing the lead vocals on that song, while the other would record backing vocals.
The band had performed a handful of shows when Jim Powers of
Minty Fresh Records
Minty Fresh is a Chicago-based record label, founded in 1993 by Jim Powers with Anthony Musiala. The label is known for launching the careers of Veruca Salt. They also gave the Swedish band The Cardigans their first US release and released the d ...
asked them to sign to the independent label. The band's first release was the single "
Seether"/"All Hail Me" on Minty Fresh Records, in 1994.
The single was a success and Veruca Salt accompanied
Hole
A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...
on a tour, before releasing their first full-length album, ''
American Thighs
''American Thighs'' is the 1994 debut studio album by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt. The album features the hit single " Seether" and received positive critical reviews.
Background and release
Singer-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louis ...
''. The album, which included "Seether" and "All Hail Me", eventually reached
Gold status. In a 2014 retrospective,
music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with recorded music.
Notable mu ...
''
Paste'' listed "Seether" as number 10 and "All Hail Me" as number 39 on their list of the 50 greatest grunge songs of all time.
After signing to
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
, the band quickly gained in popularity as "Seether" became an
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
hit. A second single, "
Number One Blind
"Number One Blind" is a song by Veruca Salt. It was released previously on the album '' American Thighs.'' It was written by Nina Gordon. The song references the window blind manufacturer Levolor in the chorus. The music video for the song was ...
" was released along with a music video directed by
Steve Hanft
Steve Hanft is a writer, director, musician, and artist.
Early life
Steven Paul Hanft was born in Ventura, California where he started making films at the age of nine.
He has an MFA in Experimental Narrative Film from California Institute of the ...
. The band was unsure about the resulting video and pulled it from MTV in a panic. As a result, Geffen ceased any further marketing for ''American Thighs''.
A stop-gap EP recorded by
Steve Albini
Steve Albini (pronounced ; born July 22, 1962) is an American musician, record producer, audio engineer and music journalist. He was a member of Big Black, Rapeman and Flour, and is a member of Shellac. He is the founder, owner and principal en ...
, ''
Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt
''Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt'' is an EP by Veruca Salt released in 1996. It followed the band's hit album ''American Thighs'' (1994). The EP contains four songs, two by Nina Gordon and two by Louise Post.
The album art shows the band ...
'', was released in 1996.
In 1996, Veruca Salt appeared as
Pavement's replacement band in their video "Painted Soldiers".
Veruca Salt's second album, ''
Eight Arms to Hold You
''Eight Arms to Hold You'' is the second studio album by alternative rock band Veruca Salt. It was released on February 11, 1997, through Outpost/Geffen Records.
Release
The album was produced by Bob Rock. The title is a reference to the workin ...
'', was produced by
Bob Rock
Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, sound engineer and musician, best known for producing rock bands and music artists such as Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, The Tragically Hip, the Cult, 31 ...
and released in 1997. Lead single "
Volcano Girls
"Volcano Girls" is a single by the American alternative rock band Veruca Salt, released in 1997 on their album ''Eight Arms to Hold You''. It was written by Nina Gordon who also sang lead vocals, with Louise Post performing backup vocals. This s ...
" gained exposure as the opening theme to the teen comedy film ''
Jawbreaker''.
Veruca Salt performed another single, "Shutterbug", on ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...
''; instead of the featured musical group performing two songs as had been a tradition, the musical performances were split between
Sting and Veruca Salt. This change was announced at the last minute between the dress rehearsal and the live show, at the behest of Sting to producer
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels (born Lorne David Lipowitz; November 17, 1944) is a Canadian-American producer, screenwriter, and comedian. He is best known for creating and producing ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1980, 1985–present) and producing the '' La ...
.
Nina Gordon claims the band was erroneously introduced by Sting as "Veronica Salt",
but a review of the broadcast shows this isn't tru
Shapiro left the band soon after the release of ''Eight Arms'', due to unease with having to learn how to play drums – an instrument he had only started playing when asked to join the band – while under public scrutiny.
Shapiro was replaced by
Stacy Jones (musician), Stacy Jones (of
Letters to Cleo
Letters to Cleo is an American alternative rock band originating from Boston, Massachusetts, best known for the 1994 single, "Here & Now", from their full-length debut album, '' Aurora Gory Alice''. The band's members are Kay Hanley, Greg McKe ...
and
American Hi-Fi
American Hi-Fi is an American rock band formed in Boston in 1998. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Stacy Jones, lead guitarist Jamie Arentzen, bassist and backing vocalist Drew Parsons, and drummer Brian Nolan. Prior t ...
).
Jones toured with the band on the ''Eight Arms'' tour and appeared in the music videos for "Volcano Girls" and "Shutterbug". In 1997, Veruca Salt opened for the band
Bush
Bush commonly refers to:
* Shrub, a small or medium woody plant
Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to:
People
* Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name
**Bush family, a prominent American family that includes:
*** ...
in a North American tour.
1998–2012: Gordon's departure and reformation
Gordon and Post started working together on Veruca Salt's third album. However, after an argument between the two, Gordon left the band to pursue a solo career in 1998. (Gordon's first album, ''
Tonight and the Rest of My Life'', was released in 2000 and featured drumming by Stacy Jones, who had also left Veruca Salt and was in a relationship with Gordon).
The undisclosed dispute between Gordon and Post has been described as "one of the greatest rock soap operas since
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
or
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist/vocalist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notabili ...
."
Post, as the only remaining band member, contributed the song "
Somebody
Somebody may refer to:
Music Albums
* ''Somebody'', by Connie Dover, 1991
* ''Somebody'', by Philip Michael Thomas, 1988
Songs
* "Somebody" (Aerosmith song), 1973
* "Somebody" (Bonnie McKee song), 2004
* "Somebody" (Bridgit Mendler song), 20 ...
" to the
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting).
Depeche ...
tribute album ''
For the Masses
''For the Masses'' is a 1998 tribute album to the British band Depeche Mode, specifically the works of Martin Gore. The album charted in America and reached the Top 20 in Germany, making it the most successful Depeche Mode tribute album of all ...
'' before recruiting a new lineup. Guitarist Stephen Fitzpatrick joined and went on to become one of Post's principal songwriting partners during the next decade. Jimmy Madla and Suzanne Sokol joined on drums and bass guitar, respectively. Most of the band's record label support had been fired during the
Universal
Universal is the adjective for universe.
Universal may also refer to:
Companies
* NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company
** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal
** Universal TV, a ...
/
PolyGram
PolyGram N.V. was a multinational entertainment company and major music record label formerly based in the Netherlands. It was founded in 1962 as the Grammophon-Philips Group by Dutch corporation Philips and German corporation Siemens, to be a ...
merger, so Post left
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
, formed her own Velveteen Records label, and signed a distribution deal with Beyond Records. The reformed band released the album ''
Resolver'', which spawned both a single and video for "
Born Entertainer" in May 2000.
Sokol left the band at the end of 2000 and was replaced by Post's friend Gina Crosley. The band continued to tour through the summer of 2001 in the UK. Post and Crosley also attempted to form a supergroup with
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as ...
of
Hole
A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...
and others but the project soon imploded. This allowed the pair to focus on new material for Veruca Salt which eventually yielded the ''
Officially Dead'' EP that was primarily distributed during the band's 2003 tour of Australia.
By 2005, Madla left to enter the restaurant business and Crosley was also dismissed. They were replaced in the studio by Solomon Snyder and Michael Miley, respectively. Veruca Salt began 2005 by touring Australia, undertaking both headline festival appearances and club shows. This session resulted in the ''
Lords of Sounds and Lesser Things'' ''(LOSALT)''. The band went on tour with Post, Fitzpatrick, drummer Kellii Scott, and bassist Nicole Fiorentino. ''LOSALT'' was released independently by the band and included six new songs. The EP's title is an extract from
Zora Neale Hurston
Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-1900s American South and published research on Hoodoo (spirituality), hoodoo. The most ...
's ''
Their Eyes Were Watching God
''Their Eyes Were Watching God'' is a 1937 novel by American writer Zora Neale Hurston. It is considered a classic of the Harlem Renaissance, and Hurston's best known work. The novel explores main character Janie Crawford's "ripening from a v ...
''. This lineup then recorded a full-length album, ''
IV'', and released it in September 2006 (like ''Resolver'' before it, this album was released a month apart from a Nina Gordon solo album). The band then went on what would prove to be the last tour of Louise Post's solo incarnation of the band. A single, "So Weird", was released to radio at the end of October 2006, but neither the song nor the album did well commercially.
In 2007, the band recorded a cover of
Neil Young
Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...
's song "Burned" for a 2007 breast cancer benefit album and then went almost entirely dormant. Post took time to have a child while Fiorentino went on to play bass with the
Smashing Pumpkins
Smash may refer to:
People
* Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler
* Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above.
* DJ Smash, DJ and music producer
Art, ...
and The Cold and Lovely. Kellii Scott returned to his original band,
Failure
Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective (goal), objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of Success (concept), success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a parti ...
. On March 14, 2012, the band announced on their official website that they were on an indefinite hiatus.
2013–present: Original lineup reunion
On March 15, 2013, Veruca Salt announced the reunion of its original line-up (
Nina Gordon
Nina Rachel Gordon Shapiro (born November 14, 1967), known as Nina Gordon, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-founded the alternative rock band Veruca Salt and played on their first two studio albums, ''American Thighs'' ( ...
,
Louise Post
Louise Lightner Post (born December 7, 1966) is an American musician. She is best known for being a vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Veruca Salt, which she co-founded with Nina Gordon in 1993.
Early life
Post was born in ...
,
Jim Shapiro, and Steve Lack) with a message on the band's official Facebook page which read, "for now let's just say this: hatchets buried, axes exhumed." The band also mentioned that they might be open to adding material from their time apart into their sets at some point. The reunion marked the first time Shapiro would play drums since leaving the band in 1997. It had also been years since Lack played bass, with his time out of the band spent on overcoming drug and alcohol abuse and pursuing surfing.
On September 29, 2013, the band announced via social media that they were working on new material. Their first release since reforming came in the form of a release for
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
2014. The band released a 10-inch vinyl EP,
MMXIV, which contained two new songs, "It's Holy" and "The Museum of Broken Relationships", on one side and a 20th-anniversary re-release of "
Seether" on the other. The band then toured both the United States and a nine-date sold-out tour of Australia.
On May 19, 2015, the band announced the release of their fifth album, ''
Ghost Notes
In music, a ghost note is a musical note with a rhythmic value, but no discernible pitch when played. In musical notation, this is represented by an "X" for a note head instead of an oval, or parentheses around the note head. It should not be ...
''. The album, released on July 10, 2015, was the first to feature the band's original lineup since 1997's ''Eight Arms to Hold You''.
Post and Gordon appeared on
Ken Reid's TV Guidance Counselor Podcast on August 7, 2015, and revealed that Veruca Salt were approached to host a Fox comedy variety show in the 1990s.
In March 2017, the band reunited with Nicole Fiorentino for a one-off performance at a Planned Parenthood charity event; Patty Schemel, formerly of Hole, filled in on drums. The band returned to Australia in February 2018 for a series of headline shows, as well as being part of the mini-festival ''A Day on the Green'' alongside
The Fauves,
Tumbleweed
A tumbleweed is a structural part of the above-ground anatomy of a number of species of plants. It is a diaspore that, once mature and dry, detaches from its root or stem and rolls due to the force of the wind. In most such species, the tumble ...
,
The Lemonheads
The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member.
After their initial punk-influenced releases and tour ...
,
Spiderbait and
The Living End
The Living End are an Australian punk rockabilly band from Melbourne, formed in 1994. Since 2002, the line-up consists of Chris Cheney (vocals, guitar), Scott Owen (double bass, vocals), and Andy Strachan (drums). The band rose to fame in 199 ...
. Veruca Salt teamed up with
Rock the Vote
Rock the Vote is a non-profit progressive-aligned organization in the United States whose stated mission is "to engage and build the political power of young Americans."
The organization was founded in 1990 by Virgin Records America Co-Chairman ...
for the 2018 American election, releasing a track titled "Low Grade Fever" from the ''
Ghost Notes
In music, a ghost note is a musical note with a rhythmic value, but no discernible pitch when played. In musical notation, this is represented by an "X" for a note head instead of an oval, or parentheses around the note head. It should not be ...
'' recording sessions.
In June 2022, Louise Post released ''But I Love You Without Mascara (Demos ’97-’98)'' which featured several unreleased demos from the transitional period between ''Eight Arms to Hold You'' and ''Resolver''. She also announced intentions to release a solo album in 2023.
Band members
*
Louise Post
Louise Lightner Post (born December 7, 1966) is an American musician. She is best known for being a vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Veruca Salt, which she co-founded with Nina Gordon in 1993.
Early life
Post was born in ...
– guitar, vocals (1992–2012, 2013–present), bass (1998–1999, 2001–2006, 2008–2012)
*
Nina Gordon
Nina Rachel Gordon Shapiro (born November 14, 1967), known as Nina Gordon, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-founded the alternative rock band Veruca Salt and played on their first two studio albums, ''American Thighs'' ( ...
– guitar, vocals (1992–1998, 2013–present)
*Steve Lack – bass (1992–1998, 2013–present)
*Jim Shapiro – drums (1992–1997, 2013–present)
Former members
*
Stacy Jones – drums (1997–1998)
*Stephen Fitzpatrick – guitar (1999–2012), bass (2002–2006, 2008–2012)
*Jimmy Madla – drums (1999–2005)
*Suzanne Sokol – bass, backing vocals (1999–2000)
*Gina Crosley – bass, backing vocals (2000–2001)
*Kellii Scott – drums (2005–2012)
*
Nicole Fiorentino
Nicole Margaret Fiorentino (born April 7, 1979) is an American bass guitarist. Originally a touring member of the alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins (replacing Ginger Pooley and her temporary replacement Mark Tulin), – bass, backing vocals (2006–2008; one-off in 2017)
Touring members
*Bill Brabec – bass, guitar (1997–1998)
*
Eva Gardner
Eva Catherine Gardner (born February 17, 1979) is an American bassist from Los Angeles. A founding member of The Mars Volta, she has been a studio and touring musician in bands for Cher, Gwen Stefani, P!NK, Veruca Salt and Tegan and Sara.
E ...
– bass, guitar (2005)
*Toby Lang – drums (2005)
Studio members
*Mareea Paterson – bass, guitar (2003, 2005)
*Solomon Snyder – bass, guitar (2004)
*Michael Miley – drums (2004–2005)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Extended plays
Singles
Promo singles
Music videos
See also
*
List of alternative rock artists
This is a list of alternative rock artists. Bands are listed alphabetically by the first letter in their name (not including "The"), and individuals are listed by the first name.
0–9
* +44
* 3 Doors Down
*3OH!3
* 4 Non Blondes
*7 Yea ...
References
External links
*
*
Veruca Saltat ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Veruca Salt
1992 establishments in Illinois
Alternative rock groups from Chicago
Musical groups established in 1992
Musical groups disestablished in 2012
Musical groups reestablished in 2013
Sympathy for the Record Industry artists
Female-fronted musical groups