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B i o g r a p h y
(by Heather Phares)
A
fixture of alternative rock since the 1990s, Veruca Salt co-founder and solo
artist Louise Post is a lyrically frank singer/songwriter who reimagines her
influences into a brashly catchy sound. With the smash hit "Seether" and 1994's
gold-selling debut album American Thighs, Veruca Salt reshaped the jagged sounds
of Nirvana, Pixies, and the Breeders into a more accessible, riff-driven power
pop formula that also borrowed from rockers like Cheap Trick, then doubled down
on their love of hard rock with 1997's Eight Arms to Hold You. When the rest of
the band's original lineup -- including co-lead singer/songwriter Nina Gordon --
left after that album's release, Post kept Veruca Salt going with heavy,
soul-baring albums like 2006's IV before she and Gordon reunited to make 2015's
Ghost Notes. Post expanded her horizons with 2023's solo debut Sleepwalker,
pairing direct songwriting with sounds ranging from grungy rock to airy
electronic pop.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri on December 7, 1967, Post grew up in the Midwest but
moved to New York City to attend Barnard College, where she obtained a BA in
English. She then made Chicago her home, and it was there that she met
like-minded singer/songwriter Nina Gordon, who had lived in Washington, D.C. and
Madison, Wisconsin before her family put down roots in Chicago while she was a
teenager. Introduced to each other by mutual friend Lili Taylor, they began
playing music together in 1992 and adopted the name of the spoiled rich girl
from Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for their project's moniker.
First touring the local folk circuit, Post and Gordon played over a year's worth
of shows as a duo before seeking members to flesh out Veruca Salt's lineup.
Initially posting ads for an all-female rhythm section, Gordon and Post
eventually completed the band's roster with bassist Steve Lack and Gordon's
brother Jim Shapiro on drums.
After signing to Minty Fresh Records, Veruca Salt went into the studio with
producer Brad Wood (who also produced Liz Phair's critically acclaimed 1993
album Exile in Guyville) in January 1994 to record their debut single, that
March's "Seether/All Hail Me." Mixing the grungy riffs and dynamic shifts of
alternative rock with hooky pop sensibilities, it became a word-of-mouth
sensation on alternative and college radio stations. The band worked with Wood
once again on their debut full-length, American Thighs. Titled after a lyric
from AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long," the album was first released by
Minty Fresh that September and then reissued by Geffen in November once Veruca
Salt signed with the major label. American Thighs charted in the U.K.,
Australia, and the U.S. (where it reached number 69 on the 200 Albums chart) and
was ultimately certified gold in the U.S. and Canada. "Seether" became an MTV
hit and peaked at number eight on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart, while the
subsequent singles "All Hail Me" and "Number One Blind" charted in the U.S., the
U.K., and Australia. Also in 1994, Post collaborated with the Chicago band Loud
Lucy on a version of "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" for You Got Lucky: A
Tribute to Tom Petty.
After touring with Hole, Live, and PJ Harvey to support American Thighs, Veruca
Salt returned with the April 1996 EP Blow It out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt;
produced by Steve Albini, it emphasized the band's hard rock undercurrents.
Veruca Salt's love of '80s metal and hard rock became even more evident when
they hired Bob Rock to produce their second full-length album, February 1997's
Eight Arms to Hold You. Named after the working title for the Beatles' 1965
movie Help!, the album's heavier sound drew a mixed critical reaction, but it
spawned a hit in the lead single "Volcano Girls," which reached the Top Ten of
the U.S. Mainstream Rock chart (two of its other singles, "Shutterbug" and
"Straight," also appeared on that chart). Certified gold in Canada, Eight Arms
to Hold You peaked at 55 on the U.S. 200 Albums chart -- the band's highest
position to date -- and entered the U.K. and Australian album charts.
Shortly after Eight Arms to Hold You was completed, Shapiro departed Veruca
Salt. Former Letters to Cleo drummer Stacy Jones joined the fold, performing
dates that included a stint opening for Bush on their 1997 North American tour.
That year, Post collaborated with her then-partner Dave Grohl on a pair of songs
for the soundtrack to the film Touch. Veruca Salt's lineup changes continued in
early 1998, when Gordon left to pursue a solo career. Lack and Jones also
departed, leaving Post as the band's only founding member. As she regrouped
Veruca Salt, she worked with Ashtar Command on "Solve My Problems," a song for
The Avengers soundtrack, contributed her version of "Somebody" to the Depeche
Mode tribute album For the Masses, and appeared on Frogpond's 1999 album Safe
Ride Home. With a lineup including guitarist Stephen Fitzpatrick, bassist
Suzanne Sokol, and drummer Jimmy Madla, Veruca Salt left Geffen Records in favor
of Post's own imprint Velveteen Records, which was distributed by Beyond. The
label released May 2000's cathartic Resolver, an album featuring a title that
played off of the Beatles' Revolver and songs that dealt with Gordon's departure
and the end of Post and Grohl's relationship. Produced by Brian Liesegang,
Resolver earned praise for its consistent songwriting and reached number 171 on
the 200 Albums chart in the U.S.
Late in 2000, Sokol left Veruca Salt, and Gina Crosley became the band's bassist
for their mid-2001 U.K. tour. The following year, Post lent her vocals to
Firetrucs' album Hovercraft. In 2003, Veruca Salt toured Australia in support of
Resolver's release in that country, and released the Officially Dead EP, which
hit number 13 on the Triple J Top 100. More lineup changes followed: On November
2004's Lords of Sounds and Lesser Things EP, Post was joined by Fitzpatrick,
bassist Solomon Snyder, and drummer Michael Miley. Early in 2005, Veruca Salt
returned to Australia for a string of shows with Fitzpatrick, drummer Kellii
Scott, and bassist Nicole Fiorentino joining Post. This lineup of the band
recorded September 2006's hard-hitting IV. Issued by Sympathy for the Record
Industry, the album featured several songs that originally appeared on Lords of
Sounds and Lesser Things and was hailed by some reviewers as Veruca Salt's most
focused release since Eight Arms to Hold You. In 2008, Post contributed two
tracks to Cinnamon Girl: Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity, one with
Veruca Salt ("Burned") and one on her own ("Sugar Mountain"). She then took some
time to start a family, with Scott returning to his band Failure and Fiorentino
playing bass with the Cold and Lovely and Smashing Pumpkins. In 2011, Post
appeared on Ashtar Command's album American Sunshine, Vol. 1.
Inspired by Mazzy Star's 2012 reunion, Post and Gordon revived Veruca Salt's
original lineup in 2013. The band readied new material, starting with April
2014's Record Store Day EP MMXIV. Produced by Wood and released by Minty Fresh,
the EP featured two new songs and a re-release of "Seether" to commemorate the
song's 20th anniversary. Following U.S. and Australian shows, Veruca Salt
released their fifth album, July 2015's Ghost Notes, on El Camino. Once again
produced by Wood, the album's spiky examinations of Post and Gordon's
relationship earned strong reviews. Ghost Notes topped the U.S. Independent
Albums chart and appeared on the Heatseekers and Alternative Albums charts, as
well as the 200 Albums chart, where it landed at 159. The band followed this
success in 2017 with New Trick, a collaborative EP with Skating Polly, and a
performance at a Planned Parenthood benefit show where Fiorentino rejoined on
bass and Patty Schemel played drums. The next year, Veruca Salt played
Australian dates and issued the Ghost Notes outtake "Low Grade Fever" as part of
Rock the Vote's mission to get music fans to the polls for the 2018 American
elections.
Post returned in June 2022 with But I Love You Without Mascara (Demos '97-'98),
a collection of previously unreleased songs written between Eight Arms to Hold
You and Resolver. A year later, she issued her solo debut Sleepwalker on El
Camino. A set of songs Post wrote during the COVID-19 global pandemic that she
felt were too personal to be recorded with Veruca Salt, the album ranged from
'90s-style rock to electronic ballads informed by 2020s pop.
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