Today I had the pleasure of speaking to Nina Gordon of the band Veruca Salt. Nina and the band are preparing to head to Australia for a tour which will see them play the length and breadth of our country throughout September and October with several shows in the major capitals. The big story for the fans here in Australia is the fact that the original line up will be performing together, having reformed in 2013 after having not played together for over 15 years.
Nina was very open about how the reconciliation took place “It was a long road back to this moment, years and years had gone by. You know we had a huge falling out and it took a really long time to heal and although our friendships sort of healed sooner, our musical collaboration really couldn’t come about again. We couldn’t reconnect musically until we were really ready and truly healed, and so really it was this rift between me and Louise. We hadn’t spoken for many years. We started talking occasionally and emailing occasionally, we didn’t really entertain the idea of making music together again.”
It wasn’t until one of their contemporaries reformed after a fifteen year hiatus that the final walls came down, Nina recounts that “All of a sudden I got my first pang of jealousy, I just thought oh we need to do that, we should be doing that, why aren’t we doing that. I want to sing with Louise again, I want to play with Jim and Steve again.”
Much has been published in the media about the past relationship between Nina and Louise Post, it was quoted as being "one of the greatest rock soap operas since Fleetwood Mac or Husker Do.” I enquired whether the change of perspective due to motherhood had helped with the reconciliation process “totally, I mean 100%, I think that was the necessary piece in the puzzle towards reuniting. I mean I really, truly do, I think being a parent forces you to grow up. In a world where you don’t have kids you can find excuses because you’re still a kid yourself. Absolutely I think it opened us up to the bigger picture and you sort of hang back and say that was way too precious to let slip away. All the little stuff, the stuff that seemed so huge seems so small, yes, I think motherhood had a lot to do with us being able to reconnect.”
Nina was very open about how the reconciliation took place “It was a long road back to this moment, years and years had gone by. You know we had a huge falling out and it took a really long time to heal and although our friendships sort of healed sooner, our musical collaboration really couldn’t come about again. We couldn’t reconnect musically until we were really ready and truly healed, and so really it was this rift between me and Louise. We hadn’t spoken for many years. We started talking occasionally and emailing occasionally, we didn’t really entertain the idea of making music together again.”
It wasn’t until one of their contemporaries reformed after a fifteen year hiatus that the final walls came down, Nina recounts that “All of a sudden I got my first pang of jealousy, I just thought oh we need to do that, we should be doing that, why aren’t we doing that. I want to sing with Louise again, I want to play with Jim and Steve again.”
Much has been published in the media about the past relationship between Nina and Louise Post, it was quoted as being "one of the greatest rock soap operas since Fleetwood Mac or Husker Do.” I enquired whether the change of perspective due to motherhood had helped with the reconciliation process “totally, I mean 100%, I think that was the necessary piece in the puzzle towards reuniting. I mean I really, truly do, I think being a parent forces you to grow up. In a world where you don’t have kids you can find excuses because you’re still a kid yourself. Absolutely I think it opened us up to the bigger picture and you sort of hang back and say that was way too precious to let slip away. All the little stuff, the stuff that seemed so huge seems so small, yes, I think motherhood had a lot to do with us being able to reconnect.”
With the Australian shows quickly selling out. I asked Nina what it is about Veruca Salt that Australian audiences have a love affair with. Her response was very humble. “You know, I don’t know but I love it, it’s so fantastic. I was hoping when this all started up again, I thought wow, I wonder if we’ll get to go and play Australia again and sure enough there you guys are still there for us. We can’t wait to get over there, I don’t know what it is. I felt like all these kids came to our show back then and there were a lot of teenage girls who would come and say I started guitar because of you and now I can’t wait to get back there and see how everyone turned out.”
So what can the Australian audiences expect on this tour? “It’s gonna be really loud and we will probably be smiling a lot. It’s funny because we recorded with Bob Rock on the second album we did together and he’s remained a really close friend and Mentor. He was with us when we were rehearsing for the U.S. tour and we were all smiling while we were playing and he was telling us James Hetfield from Metallica says there is no place for smiling in Rock and Roll. Well you know what, we are gonna be crying, we are going to be smiling and it’s gonna be really loud, that’s what I can promise.”
Adelaide fans can witness Nina Gordon and Veruca Salt at The Gov on Thursday the 25th of September.
Interview by Mike Trandafil
So what can the Australian audiences expect on this tour? “It’s gonna be really loud and we will probably be smiling a lot. It’s funny because we recorded with Bob Rock on the second album we did together and he’s remained a really close friend and Mentor. He was with us when we were rehearsing for the U.S. tour and we were all smiling while we were playing and he was telling us James Hetfield from Metallica says there is no place for smiling in Rock and Roll. Well you know what, we are gonna be crying, we are going to be smiling and it’s gonna be really loud, that’s what I can promise.”
Adelaide fans can witness Nina Gordon and Veruca Salt at The Gov on Thursday the 25th of September.
Interview by Mike Trandafil
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