Friday Nite Retro - Veruca Salt

Welcome to Friday Nite Retro - the short but sweet edition:

Named after the spoiled rich girl 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 Gordon's brother, Jim Shapiro, on drums and Steve Lack on bass.

The band had done a handful of shows when Jim Powers of Minty Fresh Records asked to sign them 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 on a tour, before releasing their debut full-length LP, American Thighs, which eventually reached Gold status.

Seether


Veruca Salt's popularity skyrocketed after their second full album, Eight Arms to Hold You, was released in 1997. The album generated the hit lead single "Volcano Girls", which gained exposure as the opening theme to teen comedy Jawbreaker.

Volcano Girls


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." The band has gone through several shake-ups since then, but has never again reached the heights it had experienced during their 15 minutes of fame in the mid '90's.

As always, you can check out the latest reincarnation at their official website.