Veruca Salt

1992–1998: Formation and mainstream success

Named after Veruca Salt, the spoiled rotten rich girl from the 1964 children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, Veruca Salt was formed in Chicago in 1992 by Louise Post (guitar and vocals) and Nina Gordon (guitar and vocals). Post and Gordon were introduced through mutual friend Lili Taylor, and began playing music together. They wrote songs for a year and a half before placing an ad in the Chicago Sun-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,...

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 dispute between Gordon and Post has been described as "one of the greatest rock soap operas since Fleetwood Mac or Hüsker Dü."

2013–present: Original line-up reunion

On March 15, 2013, Veruca Salt announced the reunion of its original line-up (Nina Gordon, Louise Post, 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.

Number One Blind

"Number One Blind" is a song by Veruca Salt. It was released previously on the album American Thighs.

Background

It was written by Nina Gordon and Jim Shapiro. The song references the window blind manufacturer Levolor in the chorus. The music video for the song was directed by Steve Hanft, but the band was unhappy with the result and pulled it from MTV circulation.

Seether

"Seether" is a song by American alternative rock band Veruca Salt, released as the lead single from their first studio album, American Thighs, in March 1994. Along with 1997's "Volcano Girls", "Seether" became the band's highest-charting hit on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number eight.

The title inspired the name for South African rock band Seether.

Background

The song was written by Veruca Salt singer-guitarist Nina Gordon. "Seether" was more pop-sounding compared to the rest of the band's material. In a 1994 interview with MuchMusic, an interviewer suggested that "Seether" could either be about female "animalistic instincts" or bouts of rage. Gordon agreed that her songs' meanings often changed during and after the writing process. "You write a song, think it's about one thing for five minutes....and discover that it's about many different things and working on many different levels." In Veruca Salt's 1997 hit single "Volcano Girls," the seether was identified as "Louise," which presumably refers to Veruca Salt singer-guitarist Louise Post.[2]

Release

Veruca Salt recorded the song in early 1994, with production by Brad Wood. They then released "Seether"/"All Hail Me" as their debut single on the independent label Minty Fresh. "Seether" quickly became popular on college and alternative radio stations. Its success led the band to record and release their debut album American Thighs, which included "Seether", later that year. Shortly thereafter, the band signed with the major label Geffen Records, which re-released the album. "Seether" peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, became a hit on MTV, and launched the band into fame.

Reception and legacy

In 1994, the song was ranked number three in British Radio One DJ John Peel's Festive Fifty. In a 2014 retrospective, music magazine Paste listed "Seether" at number 10 on their list of the 50 greatest grunge songs of all time. Pitchfork called it, "bubblegrunge at its finest, all guitar fuzz and pop stickiness and crackling angst animating a personification of anger that just can't be leashed. 'I try to cram her back in my mouth,' co-frontwoman Nina Gordon sings in the verse, but she didn't really try that hard."

Music video

The video features band members Nina Gordon, Louise Post, Jim Shapiro, and Steve Lack playing the song in front of the iconic shimmering red Randolph Street Gallery building when it was located at 756 North Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. The indoor shots of the band with cats roaming about were taken at Tree House Humane Society at their former location, 1212 West Carmen Street, Chicago.

Victrola

"Victrola" is a single by the band Veruca Salt. It was released in 1995 on Minty Fresh Records.

It includes a cover of The Knack's "My Sharona".

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.

Background

It was written by Nina Gordon who also sang lead vocals, with Louise Post performing backup vocals. "Volcano Girls" features a partial interpolation of the lyrics to The Beatles' "Glass Onion", and also includes a reference and reprise to Veruca Salt's earlier single "Seether".

Music video

The highly energetic music video for "Volcano Girls" was shot over two days at Essenay in Chicago, Illinois, in 1997. This video consists of the band in the central arena attached to bungee cords, on which Post (right side and airborne), Nina Gordon (left side and performing), and other band members bounce erratically. The video also shows Post and Gordon performing the song while a camera circles around them. Surrounding this arena stand a group of fans, watching them perform several takes of the song.