Veruca Salt is back downuder and this time it’s with the four original members! Need we say more? We caught up with Guitarist/Vocalist Louise Post to get the lowdown!
The great news for Australian fans is of course that you are heading to Australia later this month for dates down the east coast and also Perth – what can we expect from the tour? A reminder of how great those first two albums were and a glimpse into the future?
Louise: Yes, beautifully put.
It’s been eleven years by our reckoning since we last saw you?
I was last there in 2005 and last there with Nina and Steve in 1997. This will be our first tour with our original drummer, Jim.
I always loved the description of the Resolver/IV era as “Veruca Starship” I take it we will hear nothing from those years?
Correct. Not this time around.
Australia has always had a particular love for Veruca Salt – why do you think that is? Do we just have impeccable taste?
Ha! I would say so! We love you back.
We heard the new songs on the Record Store Day 10” this year. Can we expect more and will there be Post/Gordon collaborations on any of the new material?
RSD was only six months ago, mind you, and yes, those songs were band collaborations, as are the rest of the songs on the new album. Nina and I are co-writing like we never have before. It is liberating and so much fun.
How do you approach the creation process today and has it changed over the years?
We are collaborating from the ground up. We used to bring finished songs in to the band, and now we often throw ideas around—verses, snippets, choruses, etc.. Someone else will be inspired and write the next part, and so on. Before you know it, the song is finished. When we get in these zones, we are intensely focused and things move at a fast pace. I can’t imagine what it would be like to walk in on one of our song-writing sessions. The way we work is very specific to us as a band. It is so private and personal.
What piece of music you have created most defines you as a band?
Well, “It’s Holy” is most indicative of who we are now. It references the past, as we love to do, but it is a celebration of how sacred this reunion is for us. And I have to say, tonight playing Seether at rehearsal, it sounded so good, and I thought about how this song is so much bigger than we are—that it is universal property now. It seems to be synonymous with Veruca Salt. I was struck by this.
What is your greatest fear for the world?
Global warming. Terrifying.
In a world where technology and fast food has led people down a path to instant gratification at the expense of quality and larger more fulfilling experience do you see a way back for music that seeks to engage the intellect and the dulled senses?
I think people will seek out music that makes them feel alive because they need to feel alive. One cannot live on McDonalds alone.
Who is your most enduring influence individually and collectively from a musical perspective?
Possibly Led Zeppelin. They will always feel like home to me.
Do you listen to contemporary music, is the Indie scene still thriving the way it was in the nineties?
Louise: I can’t speak for the whole indie scene. There are way too many bands to follow and keep track of. I will say that I just heard The Life and Times new record and saw them play a show here in LA, and both were spectacular. I love hearing new music that inspires me and makes me want to be better, and play louder and harder and more beautifully than I ever have before. These guys do just that. They are on fire.
Have you any unfulfilled musical ambitions?
I still have a need to make an acoustic album—a really raw, acoustic album. Like early Neil Young.
If you could compose with anyone living or dead who would it be?
Maybe Neil Young. Or Elliot Smith. Or Rickie Lee Jones. Or Lucinda Williams. Or Jim Morrison. Or Rhianna.
Can music still have the power to change the world in 2014?
Of course. It always changes the world, little by little, note by note. It is an incredibly powerful medium.
What will you get up to in your downtime down under?
There won’t be much of it. Our tour will be fast and furious. We will spend a lot of time on airplanes. However, we were offered a VIP wildlife tour while in Queensland, and I am hoping we have time to do it. I fancy a swim with a sea lion.
Have you thought about how you would like to be remembered when you stop making music? What will Veruca Salt’s legacy be?
I would like to be remembered for great songs that left imprints on many lives. Our legacy will be the power of friendship.
What are your plans for the rest of 2014 and beyond?
We are busy. After Australia, we are going to go back in the studio to record a couple more songs for the album, get all our ducks in a row for the spring release, as well as most likely make a video and release a new song from that album.
Thinking back to your early memories of music, what was it that first made you decide you needed to be in a Rock and Roll band?
The cover of Fleetwood Mac Rumours, and Abbey Road. Later on it was The Ramones.
From what you’ve learned so far what is the most valuable advice you’ve been given so far as a musician?
Persevere.
If you could have been a ‘Fly on the wall’ for the creation of any great album from any period, just to see how the magic happened and it all came together, what would it have been for you any why?
Miles Davis In A Silent Way. Because I would have loved to be present for that passion– To be a witness of that unearthly talent.
What is the meaning of life?
To love and be loved
