Fame and success came fast to Veruca Salt, in 1994 they’d only played a handful of shows when they were signed to an indie record label.

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Their first single Seether became a worldwide smash, and soon the four piece made up of friends Louise Post, Nina Gordon, her brother Jim Shapiro, and drummer Steve Lack were touring the world.

The band rode on a wave of success releasing two hugely popular albums, the second of which included the anthemic Volcano Girls. Then Post and Gordon fell out. By the time the band’s third album came out only Louise Post remained as a member.

Under her stewardship the band kept releasing records, with a constantly changing line up. Then in 2013, fifteen years after they went their separate ways the band members put their differences aside and got back together, and made a new album.

Post told OUTinPerth the band’s members had certainly changed during their time apart.

“We’d all grown up a lot and we all now really appreciate playing with each other, and have a really deep sense of gratitude about playing together, having reconnected and made this new album.

“Our lives have changed a lot. We’ve started families, and all got really rich full lives separate from one another, so now playing together is a blast, it’s like the greatest gift to be able to come back together and play a record that tells the story of our break up and our reunion.” Post said.

“It’s incredibly cathartic and healing, but when it comes down to it, we still fight the same, we still piss each other sometimes, Jim and I still bark at each other at sound check.”

Previously each of Veruca Salt’s songs were either written by Louise Post or Nina Gordon, on their latest album Ghost Notes all of the songs are written by the band as a whole. Post says this time around they approached things differently.

“We did a lot more co-songwriting on this album. Nina and I still brought songs to one and other, but some were written from the ground up.” Post said.

“We came to understand song writing differently, in the past in was explained to us that songwriting was lyrics and melody, but we understand it something different now, songwriting is much more complex and nebulous.” Post said they were pleased to involve all four members of the band in the creative process.          

Post was recently in the news when she she spoke out about her experiences of being sexually harassed by film director James Toback. The musician said she was glad that the issue was being spoken about around the world.

“The first thing that needs to happen is breaking the silence, and that’s what’s happening, because change cannot come out of silence, people have to speak their truth, and it takes bravery to do so.” Post said.

“People are emboldened by hearing other come forth, and I’m proud to have come forth about my own incident with a sexual predator.”

Post said she did hesitate before she spoke out about her experiences, but she’s since realised speaking out does make a difference.

“It has emboldened many other women to come forward,and speak their truth, and it did in part spark this giant tidal wave of stories that have come from every recesses of every corner of our society.         

Post notes that the victims of sexual aggression, assault and impropriety are not exclusively female, and sharing stories challenges society’s norms.     

‘There are norms that we have come to accept in society, and women and others have come to suppress these experiences, and tired to justify them. Those have to come to an end, and that only happens by changing the vocabulary and changing the narrative.”

“There have to be repercussions, people have to be held responsible for their actions, and time is up. Time is up for this to be permissible on any level.”      

Post says Perth is a place she remembers fondly from their previous trips.

“Nineteen ninety seven was the first time we came to Australia, and I just remember being up to no good, being in the hotel, and listening to Verbena. We were just having tons of fun and being really silly.”

“I remember having a flat white, and thinking it was the most amazing thing ever! We didn’t have coffee like that, we’ve only just recently started to get flat whites in the US.”

“I also have such wonderful memories of playing Southbound in 2003, where I got to go on stage with Regurgitator and dance around sing Blubber Boy with them and I was in heaven!.”     

Veruca Salt play a Day on the Green alongside The Living End, Spiderbait and The Lemonheads on Saturday 3rd March at Red Hill Auditorium.

Graeme Watson