Louise Post of
VERUCA SALT
(Los Angeles, CA)

By G. Cataline


MUEN: CAN YOU CATCH US UP TO DATE ON WHAT VERUCA SALT HAS BEEN DOING THE PAST COUPLE YEARS SINCE YOUR LAST RELEASE, "IV?" HOW DID THE NEW MEMBERS COME INTO THE BAND, AND WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE NEW ALBUM?

I can't quite believe it's been two years. I was so proud of that record and excited for it to be heard everywhere and disappointed when it didn't get much exposure--even many of our fans didn't know it had come out. On this record I purposefully signed to a small indie (as in, one very eccentric, very cool guy without high-speed internet or even an answering machine, running it out of his house) without fully considering its inherent limitations. We did a couple of tours on VSIV and hoped to do much more, but it didn't make sense financially for us to stay out on the road. Since then we've been casually writing our next record, and playing shows here in L.A.. There is no pressure from anyone but ourselves to write and record, and it's kind of nice that way. At the same time, without hard deadlines, I tend to drag my heels a little. We plan to release the next album in a way that makes more sense for us and our fans. The record is still taking shape, but I am loving the songs and the growth of the band.

Regarding line-up, Stephen Fitzpatrick had been with me since the initial split of the original line-up and together we were searching for the perfect rhythm section. Kellii Scott and I had done some work together on Resolver in Chicago, and we reunited out here in LA for VSIV and made it official. I had been a fan of Failure and Kellii's drumming for some time before meeting him. Nicole Fiorentino also came into the band very organically. We all fit really well together and are a fiery foursome. Any musician will tell you, it's the chemistry in a band that makes for good music.

MUEN: HOW WOULD YOU SAY YOU'VE GROWN, OR HOW HAS THE BAND CHANGED OVER THE YEARS (OTHER THAN BAND MEMBERS)... LOUISE, DO YOU FEEL THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT ARE OF MORE IMPORTANCE, ETC. COMPARED TO WHAT WAS OF IMPORTANCE IN THE EARLY YEARS OF VERUCA SALT?

Well, so much has changed, naturally, that this is kind of a daunting question. I generally follow the philosophy of "going where the love is" now, versus my old habit of gravitating toward the uphill battle. It's the easier, softer way. The way this pertains to our live shows is in the way I used to approach them as a 'fight'...or a 'challenge'...like I had to convert anyone in the audience who may not like my band or who happened to be on the fence--this was intolerable to me. I made it my business to hit them over the head with our music and leave them with ears ringing and a changed life. I think this is how I sort of bulldozed my way through a lot of things back then; If someone didn't agree with me, they usually had to be wrong. I guess you can imagine that I have become a little more tolerant since then. And playing a show or even releasing a record is much more about other people than it is about me. It's an honor to be able to make an imprint on someone's heart or memory with music. If I hear positive things from fans, it's very meaningful. And if someone doesn't like my band, the great part is, it's none of my business and definitely none of my concern. What a concept. :)

MUEN: ALOT OF YOUR FELLOW PEERS IN MUSIC, ARE NOT REALLY DOING MUCH THESE DAYS... ALTHOUGH WE HAVE SEEN A SLIGHT RESURGENCE.. WHAT INSPIRES YOU PERSONALLY TO KEEP GOING ON WITH WRITING AND CREATING GREAT MUSIC?

Hold on, what about Radiohead, Beck, Filter, Foo Fighters, Juliana Hatfield, Jucifer, The Breeders, Queens of the Stoneage, The Deftones, Stephen Malkmus, and NIN to name a few? But ok, I get your point, and I sometimes wonder where some of the finest songwriters of the nineties are and what they're doing now. I keep writing music cuz it's just what I do. It doesn't feel like a choice. I feel dead (and extraordinarily frustrated) without it and contrarily most alive when I am writing, recording and playing with my band. I've also finally, reluctantly, come to understand (at the risk of sounding sickeningly-pretentious) that songwriting is a gift I've been given, and I feel like it's my responsibility to make use of it.

MUEN: WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE BAND SEETHER, NAMING THEMSELVES AFTER ONE OF YOUR HOTTEST SELLING SINGLES AND MTV HIT?

Just recently a friend of mine met them on the set of the Carson Daly show, and they stressed to him what big fans of ours they are and how it was an homage. I thought that was sweet.

MUEN: I AM PERSONALLY THRILLED BY VERUCA SALT'S UNIQUE WAY OF BLENDING AND MIXING BIG HELPINGS OF LOVE WITH OUTRIGHT FULL-BLOWN HELL RAISING ANGST! WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS IN LIFE THAT MOST INSPIRE YOU TO WRITE, AND WHAT VERUCA SALT SONGS BARES THE MOST PERSONAL SENTIMENT AND GRATIFICATION FOR YOU?

Thank you. I love how you describe our music. Often someone I'm speaking to will just say something in the context of a conversation, and it will strike me as beautiful and I will want to incorporate it in a song. For example, the other day, a friend was talking about "the silent agreement" between people--the way that we relate, often in a dysfunctional manner, as a habit, for years, without discussing the reasons underneath it all. I loved this, and I want to put it in a song. The trick is writing the moment down so that I don't forget it. When my heart is open and my head is quiet, I'm inspired every where i look.

My most recent personal favorite VS song is "Salt Flat Epic". Talk about silent agreements and the long-term ramifications...

The other is "Wolf". It sounds like it's about someone who had a drug overdose, but it was actually a requiem for my cat who died tragically when he was only one. I still miss him.

MUEN: HOW AND WHY DID YOU CHOOSE "BURNED" BY NEIL YOUNG, TO BE ON THE 2007 BREAST CANCER BENEFIT ALBUM? YOU DID "SUGAR MOUNTAIN" AS WELL? AND ARE THERE ANY OTHER SIMILAR PROJECTS THAT YOU'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH?

I wanted to record "Cinnamon Girl" or "Old Man", but we came on board late in the game, and those two songs were taken. "Burned" was not, and we decided as a band that we would give it a try. Stephen started playing that wicked guitar line, and the rest followed. It turned out to be really fun, but I do feel like it's a little unfinished. We were a bit rushed in the studio, and I would have liked to add some more texture--vocally and instrumentally.

"Sugar Mountain" will always remind me of growing up in St. Louis and especially of a highschool friend of mine who committed suicide senior year. He had specified in his note that this song be played at this funeral. I'll never forget seeing his girlfriend leaving the church while that song was playing--she could barely walk and she was being held up by a friend, sobbing. It was a very sad scene. This song was a bold choice in that I don't know that I could ever do it justice.

MUEN: THE SONG "SO WEIRD" IS SO VERY COOL... WAS IT INSPIRED BY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES? AND WHAT IS THE REASON DO YOU THINK, THAT IT DIDN'T REALLY REACH IT'S FULL POTENTIAL WHEN IT WAS RELEASED IN '06? IN OTHER WORDS... DO YOU HAVE ANY HORROR STORIES ABOUT THE MUSIC BUSINESS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE?

That song is about all of the spinal tap moments one encounters on the road. There are truly weird people everywhere, and certain individuals can leave me baffled. It's really more about the crappy behavior we witness on the road--both on and off the bus. Our band is in a strange place right now--we are either obscure or extremely well-known, depending on the person/place. I like to go out after shows and say hello to the people who support us. Most are very respectful, but some are not, and I detest it when people take liberties with me and demonstrate bad behavior just because they have access to me. Ick. Plus, it's really weird. ;)

You ask why it didn't reach its full potential. The main reason is that there has to be a lot of money to get the human machine going which will properly launch a single. I explained a little earlier that this song didn't get much of a chance at radio. One thing young bands may not know is that its outrageously expensive to promote a song at radio. Our tiny budget only included college radio, for which this power-pop-song was not so well-suited, so it didn't even get sent to major alternative rock or modern rock stations. There certainly was not a budget for a video, so we were stuck. The Red Sea would have had to part for this song to get a chance.

MUEN: WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE MOMENTS DURING THE 90'S AS FAR AS TOURS, OR JUST EVENTS THAT MADE AN IMPACT ON YOU FOR GOOD OR BAD?

Hmmmm....too big of a question..makes my head spin. And I want to get this thing in to you. A lot of life happens in 10 years. I hate 90's nostalgia.

MUEN: WHAT IS THIS "SYMPATHY FOR THE RECORD INDUSTRY" LABEL? LOVE THE NAME! WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO SIGN WITH THEM?

A friend of mine introduced me to the founder of Sympathy Records, Long Gone John, directly after a tour for our self-released e.p. Lords of Sounds & Lesser Things. He loved it and wanted to put it out on his label. I had a lot of respect for him and for his roster and definitely wanted to do something with him, but I was already onto the next thing. We ended up deciding to do a full-length release the following year. He's an amazing guy, and he was very passionate about our record.

MUEN: WE ARE NOT INTERESTED IN GOSSIP ETC. OR PRYING INTO PERSONAL AFFAIRS.. BUT IF YOU FEEL LIKE TALKING ABOUT IT, HOW DO THINGS STAND BETWEEN YOU AND FORMER BAND MATE AND CO-SONGWRITER NINA GORDON?

We are friendly, and that is really nice.

MUEN: DO YOU CONSIDER L.A. YOUR HOME (BEING YOU ARE FROM CHICAGO) AND WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS YOU LIKE AND DISLIKE ABOUT THE MUSIC ENVIRONMENT AS IT STANDS RIGHT NOW?

I do consider L.A. my home now, although I do often get nostalgic and even sometimes hardcore 'homesick' for Chicago. Home is wherever my husband, my dog, my cat, and my band are, and right now, that is here.

Regarding the music 'environment', (you have a way of combining two questions in one), I have a one-way-love-hate relationship with the internet and it's influence on the music industry. I intensely dislike the lack of privacy that the internet breeds, as well as the obvious pirating of everything art. I also see it as a way for bands to take control of the release and distribution and sales of their music. Done right, it cuts out the middleman and puts musicians in their rightful place of sovereignty over their art.

MUEN: I'M SURE YOU HAVE GOTTEN ASKED THIS PLENTY, BUT WE COVER A LOT OF FEMALE FRONTED BANDS... WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE WOMEN IN ROCK?

Sing from your core. We want your true expression. Live large. Be expansive. Take control of your business and listen to your heart. Know that the universe is big enough for all of us.

MUEN: WHAT OTHER THINGS CAN WE EXPECT, AS THIS ALBUM GETS RELEASED? ARE YOU PLANNING THE TOUR YET? AND WHEN APPROXIMATELY DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE RELEASED?

As I mentioned earlier, no release date yet. And no tour currently planned. But stay posted!