Veruca Salt (band)
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| Veruca Salt | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Genre(s) | Alternative Rock Grunge |
| Years active | 1993 - present |
| Label(s) | Minty Fresh DGC Records Outpost Beyond Music MGM/Embryo Sympathy for the Record Industry |
| Members | |
| Louise Post Stephen Fitzpatrick Kellii Scott Nicole Fiorentino |
|
| Former members | |
| Nina Gordon Suzanne Sokol Jimmy Madla Gina Crosley (touring bassist) Jim Shapiro Stacy Jones Steve Lack Mareea Paterson Zach Ingraham (touring drummer) Solomon Snyder Michael Miley (touring drummer) Eva Gardner (touring bassist) Toby Lang (touring drummer) |
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Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in 1993, which gained popularity in the '90s with hit singles "Seether", and "Volcano Girls."
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] 1993 - 1998: Formation and Growth
Named after a character from the novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Veruca Salt was formed in Chicago by Louise Post (guitar/vocals) and Nina Gordon (guitar/vocals). Post and Gordon were introduced through mutual friend and actress Lili Taylor, and began playing music together. They wrote songs for a year and a half before being joined by drummer, and Gordon's brother, Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. The band had done a handful of shows when Jim Powers of Minty Fresh Records asked to sign them to the independent label.[1] 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 on a tour, before releasing their debut full-length LP, American Thighs, which eventually reached Gold status.
After signing to Geffen Records, the band quickly gained in popularity as "Seether" became an MTV hit. A stopgap EP produced by Steve Albini, Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt, was released in 1996.
Veruca Salt's popularity skyrocketed after their second full album, Eight Arms to Hold You, was released in 1997. Produced by Bob Rock, the album generated the hit lead single "Volcano Girls", which gained exposure as the opening theme to teen comedy Jawbreaker. Veruca Salt performed another single, "Shutterbug", on Saturday Night Live however, instead of the featured musical group performing two songs as had been tradition, the musical performances were split between Sting and Veruca Salt. Shapiro left the band soon after the release of Eight Arms and was replaced by Stacy Jones (of Letters to Cleo and now American Hi-Fi). Jones toured with the band on the Eight Arms tour, but never recorded with them.[citation needed]
Songwriting duties were 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 vocal on that song, while the other would submit backing vocals. Critics often cited the harmonies between Gordon and Post as one of the band's major strengths.[citation needed]
[edit] 1998 - 2005: Gordon's Departure, Reformation and Resolver
In 1998, Gordon left the band to pursue a solo career (her debut album Tonight and the Rest of My Life was released in 2000). The undisclosed dispute between Gordon and Post has been described as "one of the greatest rock soap operas since Fleetwood Mac or Hüsker Dü."[2]
Post, now the only original band member, recruited a new band, consisting of Stephen Fitzpatrick (guitar), Suzanne Sokol (bass) and Jimmy Madla (of 'Blind Venetians' and 'Anger Cake')(drums), and continued to record and perform under the Veruca Salt moniker. The new band signed with Beyond Records. The first album with the new lineup was 2000's Resolver.
Suzanne Sokol was let go at the end of 2000. Post's friend, Gina Crosley, took her place. The new line-up toured in the summer of 2001, and spent time promoting Resolver in the UK. Crosley and Post then moved to L.A. where they lived together and wrote songs that appeared on the Officially Dead EP. Crosley is credited for co-writing "Straight Jacket", but left the band before the record was released. She also worked on songs that later appeared on IV, but no credit is officially given.
December 2002 saw the release of both Resolver and lead single "Born Entertainer", in Australia through Embryo Records/MGM. Following the release of "Born Entertainer", the label released the single "Officially Dead", which contained newly recorded tracks as well as a remix of "The Same Person". The band toured Australia, including the Splendour in the Grass festival alongside bands such as Placebo and Coldplay. "Yeah Man" was released as a radio only single.
After planning to take some time to step away from the music industry the band once again toured and performed at some festival shows in Australia. The tour took in the capital cities as well as performances at both the Falls Festival and the newly created Southbound festival in Perth. The band completed the 2 week tour and upon arrival back in the United States performed a show at the Viper Room. The band debuted the tracks "Blissful Queen" and "Circular Trend" live, both would end up on the album IV.
[edit] 2005 - Present: VSIV
In 2005, the band went through another line-up change with Sokol and Madla leaving, being replaced by Solomon Snyder on bass and Michael Miley on drums for the recording of the EP Lords of Sounds and Lesser Things (LOSALT). The band then went on tour as Post, Fitzpatrick, drummer Kellii Scott, and bassist Nicole Fiorentino. LOSALT was released and sold independently at the bands shows and via the website and included six new songs. The title of the EP is an extract from Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. This preceded the full length album, IV, released September 2006, accompanied by a U.S. tour. IV failed to chart in the US; lead single "So Weird" was released to radio at the end of October 2006, however a video was never produced and the single failed to receive any significant radio play.
The band recently recorded a cover of Neil Young's song "Burned" for a 2007 Breast Cancer Benefit album due for release in October 2007.
[edit] Discography
| Year | Album Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | American Thighs | Minty Fresh DGC/Minty Fresh (re-release) |
| 1995 | Victrola (EP) | Minty Fresh |
| 1996 | Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt (EP) | DGC/Minty Fresh |
| 1997 | Eight Arms to Hold You | Outpost/Geffen |
| 2000 | Resolver | Beyond |
| 2003 | Officially Dead (EP) | Embryo Records |
| 2005 | Lords of Sound and Lesser Things (EP) | Self-released |
| 2006 | IV | Sympathy For The Record Industry (US) and on Shock Records (AUS) |
| Year | Single Title | Album Taken From |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Seether" | predates album |
| 1995 | "All Hail Me" | American Thighs |
| 1995 | "Number One Blind" | American Thighs |
| 1995 | "Victrola" | American Thighs |
| 1997 | "Volcano Girls" | Eight Arms to Hold You |
| 1997 | "Shutterbug" | Eight Arms to Hold You |
| 1997 | "Benjamin" | Eight Arms to Hold You |
| 1997 | "The Morning Sad" (Promo Only) | Eight Arms to Hold You |
| 1997 | "Straight" (Promo Only) | Eight Arms to Hold You |
| 2000 | "Born Entertainer" | Resolver |
| 2000 | "Only You Know" (Promo Only) | Resolver |
| 2003 | "Born Entertainer" (Australian Release) | Resolver |
| 2003 | "Officially Dead" | Resolver |
| 2003 | "Yeah Man" (Promo Only) | Resolver |
| 2006 | "So Weird" | IV |
[edit] Chart Performance
| Album | Billboard 200 | |
|---|---|---|
| American Thighs | # 69 | |
| Eight Arms To Hold You | # 55 | |
| Resolver | # 171 | |
| IV | DNC |
| Modern Rock Tracks | Mainstream Rock Tracks | |
|---|---|---|
| Seether | # 8 | |
| Number One Blind | # 20 | |
| Volcano Girls | # 8 | # 9 |
| Shutterbug | # 38 | |
| Straight | # 39 |
| Triple J Top 100 | |
|---|---|
| Born Entertainer | # 1 |
| Yeah Man | # 5 |
| Officially Dead | # 13 |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Eric Blair Interview With Louise Post, 2006 "[1]"
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Resolver: Review". All Music Guide. Retrieved August 18, 2005.
