When Nirvana took off they already had an album behind them, a couple of cross-country and trans-Atlantic tours, the dedicated support of MTV and SPIN and the combined clout of the Geffen label and Gold Mountain Management besides having the right songs at the right time.
On the other hand, the Veruca Salt craze started early last year with U.S. commercial radio stations spinning their first single, "Seether" for no particular reason other than it sounded good.
Chicago's miniscule Minty Fresh label -- which independently released and distributed the single mere months after Veruca Salt singer/guitarist bookends Nina Gordon and Louise Post formed the group -- could barely keep up with radio DJ demand for copies of "Seether", let alone create or sustain a nationwide buzz. That the tag-team guitar bash of early Veruca Salt tunes bore more than a passing resemblance to the Breeders didn't complete an obvious formula for success.
If Veruca Salt is just a cheap knock-off of the Breeders, the natural question is, why then is Veruca Salt's, American Thighs album selling by the truckload while the Breeders quietly move into the final stages of a rock star burn-out cycle characterized by journalist humping and drug charges?
"Aurora is a really casual, lo-fi version of this song we had no intention of recording again," explains Gordon from her Chicago pad. "We put it on the Number One Blind single thinking that no one would ever hear the thing. So it's funny that Aurora of all songs was selected to be on the Tank Girl soundtrack. When they asked for permission to use it we just said 'Sue, whatever' and approved it. Yesterday, I listened back to it for the first time and I hear this squeak, squeak, squeak all the way through. Then I realize, 'Oh, my god! That's my fucking guitar squeaking!' It was totally unintentional."
Apart from the rite of passage associated with having a song transcribed in Guitar magazine, perhaps the most crucial moment in the Veruca Salt story occurred three years before the group was formed. It was still a long time before Gordon met her guitar-playing counterpart, Post, when they both happened to attend the same 1990 Wendy and Lisa concert in Chicago. Gordon recalls the moment of guitar enlightenment with born-again fervour.
"Seeing Wendy and Lisa perform just freaked us both out. This was before either of us thought of being in bands or committing our lives to making music. We've often talked about that show and how we each were in awe of these women. I couldn't believe what an amazing guitar player Wendy was and what incredible voices and harmonics they had. It was just a stunning show of beauty, power, strength and unity.
"There was just something overwhelming about these women storming on stage playing such powerful music. I didn't know whether I wanted to be these women or if I was in love with them. It was so shocking that it made me question everything about myself."
Shortly after Gordon and Post connected and started playing their private compositions for each other, they both felt inspired to write more prolifically than ever before. The real revolution came when they strapped on their Gibson Les Paul and SG copies and plugged them in.
"It was just like in high school when I got a leather jacket and had my mom paint 'Hello Kitty' on it. I put this jacket on and I felt like a different person. It made me move differently and think differently about myself. I felt empowered by the heaviness of this jacket. It was just like picking up the electric guitar -- at first it feels like an act but soon you become that confident person."