VERUCA SALT: The Most OVERHYPED Band of the Mid 90's?

[@rnrtruestories]

Coming this Friday…A highly requested punk band that is a really great and different group. And Wednesday....more 80's era rock.

[@simons2155]

the starting line!

[@travgpeters1]

you should do a story on the british group "Suede"

[@dontutchmi]

Have you done the Whitesnake 1987 story yet? When Coverdale dumped the whole band for a more photogenic one? Or something...?

[@daniell1125]

Hopefully Friday is Social Distortion and Wednesday is Queensryche 🙏

[@floydsemlow8253]

Where's your helmet video at?

[@chizorama]

I love Louise's & Nina's voices & harmonies, always thought they sounded great together, & they wrote a lot of great tunes. Would never say they were overhyped.

[@pfzt]

Yeah, i agree, their vocal harmonies were fantastic and the songs were at least on par with most of the other 90s alternative bands, although not as outstanding as the juggernauts of that era, like "Cannonball" for example. They were a solid, very lovable band and certainly not overhyped.

[@chizorama]

@@pfzt I honestly don't remember them being hyped anymore thsn any other band that was releasing albums at that time. Course that was a long time ago these days, & with all the brain cells I massacred since then I can't say that with certainty.

[@dESTRON76]

I mean yeah, you can't fight the seether.

[@nankerphelge3771]

Watch the live cut of Seether at the Glastonbury concert and you will never say this band was overhyped.

[@aypanda88]

Agreed! Love this song.

[@andrewhudson7108]

Love Veruca Salt. They hit the perfect balance between being poppy enough to be addictively catchy but grungy enough to have honest grit.

[@louiecmancuzo2903]

American Thighs is a great album. There were a ton of overhyped bands from the 90s, but for me, Veruca Salt isn't one of them.

[@LeviBulger]

It's like he decided to do research on this band he wasn't too familiar with in order to do a video and came across one article about them being overhyped. I've never heard this about them. American Thighs was a huge success.

[@nilespeshay1734]

I completely agree. It's in my top 10 of 'guitar-based' albums from the 90s. The whole things just flows really well as one cohesive piece...

[@alexeilindes7507]

They are for me. Seether is the most perfect example of this. Starts off kick ass then turns lame

[@Argeaux2]

In some ways I prefer Eight Arms to Hold You. Their recent Ghost Notes album is also amazing.

[@Argeaux2]

Was the song not bashy bashy smashy smashy enough for you? lol

[@sayrerowan734]

Not over hyped. They were the real deal Their comeback album, Ghost Notes, is amazing

[@mor4725]

The album is good, only problem I have with it is the way it was recorded. It sounds shrill, especially when you turn up the volume a bit, which for me, makes it to hard to listen to it.

[@bumtrash77]

@@mor4725 I concur. But "Eyes on You", "Prince of Wales"- ugh- such great songs... :-)

[@juanramirez-wk8ty]

As a die hard metalhead I always loved Veruca Salt, there were a lot of great girl bands in the 90's like Belly , The Breeders, Julianna Hatfield but my favorite was always Veruca Salt.

[@jmason61]

Don't forget L7

[@Th-tg4zm]

Sleater Kinney

[@gpi66]

Plus Lunachicks and Babes in Toyland.

[@shyman99]

I would say turn in your metalhead card because this group has incredibly weak vocals (sounds like an amateur kiddie rock group) and they couldn't play a metal tune to save themselves.

[@jasondesselles9168]

@@Th-tg4zm Scissor-Rock.

[@LeviBulger]

Overhyped ? No way. Nina and Louise had natural talent, wrote some really good pop tracks, and are the biggest influence of so many of the bands like Paramore that were huge in the early 2000s. Their harmonies are top notch and they sounded exactly like their albums when they played live. A rarity among bands nowadays.

[@denisefreitas6727]

Veruca Salt is a great band. Louise Post and Nina Gordon are very talented.

[@andrewbair7810]

I still love Veruca Salt. They may have been overhyped at the time but to me they'll always feel like one of the 90s' most underrated bands. American Thighs is a classic and 2015's Ghost Notes was an excellent renaissance record.

[@photofriend44]

The EP in between their first 2 full records is also brilliant. It's probably my favorite recorded music by them.

[@RolandDeschain1]

I loved them. Eight Arms to Hold You is a killer album. And I had a MASSIVE crush on Louise.

[@wolf_biter]

Yep. We all did.

[@mor4725]

Actually, I still have.... :O

[@mattturner7531]

"Who's that sexy dark haired chick wailing like a banshee?!" Me to my sister when first watching the Volcano Girls music video.

[@pussyhigh]

Yes, God!

[@ikd3240]

I remember reading about them and how great they were before American Thighs was released in a few rock magazines. When that record finally came out and I bought it, I felt the positive buzz I had read about them was warranted. That album will always be one of my 90's favorites.

[@OriginalGrasshopper]

Overhyped??!! BLASPHEMY! I saw Veruca Salt in concert in 1994 and to this day they were one of the best live shows I have ever attended.

[@shaolinnomad]

American Thighs is a prime example of 90s music. Solid album. Eight Arms to Hold You was equally as good.

[@alisterfolson]

I met them at a bar in Wicker Park, IL after a show around 93. I love American Thighs even today with some other hits. Source: GenX at 54.

[@waffles_7482]

Love the shift to 90s alternative. Could you throw in some 80s next? The Smiths could be a good topic. New Order/Joy Division would be awesome as well

[@rnrtruestories]

Yes, those bands are on my to do list and more 80s coming this week and in new year!

[@bryanfuknc]

yeah new order/joy division would be killer

[@jackjude]

@@rnrtruestories or something a bit more off the beaten track?

[@infernicide666]

Surprised to hear that the 2nd album didn’t do as well as American Thighs. I remember there being two relatively big hits on there Volcano Girls was played quite regularly and then the follow up to that was Shutterbug which also got played quite frequently. I’m wondering if there might have been a follow up single to Seether on American Thighs that I’m unaware of. I could have sworn that was the only video off that album.

[@tomjohnson4922]

I love Eight Arms to Hold You. Surprised that it didn't do as well. Oh and since you were looking for suggestions... have you thought about doing one on Rainbow?

[@Nemy_Pred]

Volcano Girls is still a banger of a track!

[@Bobbytaylor1981]

Can you do video on silverchair or on band Days of the new.

[@ambiguousUndertones-]

Silverchair were an embarrassment, a pure and simple Nirvana cover band. I was at one of their gigs in Australia, and the punters were going crazy. Absolutely electric atmosphere. But, I was the odd man out.

[@poutinstereo]

Love them, getting to finally see them live really made me realize how fantastic they are. Loved the albums but so amazing live

[@peterjpalmer4441]

They were underhyped. One of the best bands of that era. Eight Arms to Hold You is an absolute masterpiece.

[@pdzombie1906]

Always great to see where these bands feom the 90's Alt Rock came from and where they are now!!!

[@gwts1171]

Very underrated band. "Eight Arms..." is one of the best rock albums of the 90's.

[@Kissfan96dr]

I agree. Not a single song to hit the skip button.

[@mrteabaggervance]

I saw them live at KROQ almost acoustic Christmas in 94. They were up against STP in their prime and Bad Religion but it was still a memorable performance

[@luckytaco97]

I was there that night too, and I remembered they sounded good. I remember Hole and Live had awesome performances too!

[@stevenhenry5267]

STP had a prime?

[@randall9000]

@@stevenhenry5267core and purple, that’s it

[@mrteabaggervance]

@@stevenhenry5267 I should say before Scott was a total shitshow They had a living room setup and did a cover of the Charlie Brown Xmas song at one point. It was cool

[@mrteabaggervance]

@@luckytaco97 Awesome! We stood in line for tickets all night for that one. Managed to sneak down near the front towards the end of the show

[@JTHarrisHF]

The two were both banging Bob Rock behind each others back. That’s what actually killed the band as eventually they both found out about each other.

[@vlcheish]

You got to be kidding me

[@stopmikeandjim3196]

I remember hearing at the time that was one of the replacement band members they were both banging

[@ogre36]

Veruca Salt was not overhyped. They were awesome. American Thighs and Eight Arms To Hold You are amazing.

[@stabithatv]

"8 Arms ..." & "Resolver" are some of my favourite albums ever.

[@sdl1ishappy]

I love American Thighs. It's still a great album.

[@daniell1125]

Local H is another good Chicago band (from nearby Zion, IL) that was popular in the 90s

[@pastorofmuppets777]

Saw them open for Bush in the 90’s they were great. Lots of people had their albums

[@stinkasscat]

I saw them with Bush also in Michigan.

[@koobs4549]

Love Bush, now that’s a highly UNDER rated band, everyone moves straight from grunge to nu metal, in rock history & gloss right over bands like Bush. It’s boring, we know enough about Pearl Jam, Nirvana, & Soundgarden, can we please start talking about bands that didn’t fit inside a genre box?

[@stinkasscat]

@@koobs4549 excellent idea 👍👍👍

[@geraldpolzinjr9670]

I had a crush on Nina & bought 8 arms to hold you, Bob Rock really brought out their sound & the whole album was amazing!

[@ctsilva45]

Hey! Cowboy Junkies shoutout! Appreciate that. If they were more rock and roll I would suggest them as a future video topic. Go see them live. They are amazing

[@rnrtruestories]

Great suggestion! Saw a book on them in the bookstore recently

[@msjsq1966]

Loved this band back in the day. Thank you! xo

[@rnrtruestories]

Our pleasure!

[@LouisMazzei]

I was there, they weren’t overhyped at all, no more than any other smaller alt rock band of the time, American Thighs was a great album and a great example of guitar driven 90’s rock

[@MedalionDS9]

Lovely gals and pretty good alternative music. I was not yet into music when their breakout song "Seether" came out, but I was really into "Volcano Girls" despite it's more glossier style of rock music.

[@stephenhood2948]

Volcano Girls is such a good song, one of my all time favorites. Louise is so hot!!

[@markcheetah4960]

"All Hail Me" is a great song too.

[@stephenhood2948]

@@markcheetah4960 Benjamin is really good too, I always liked that one.

[@Pleasure_Victim]

@@stephenhood2948 Love it!!!

[@kevinbraden7021]

The character of Veruca Salt in Dahl's novel did not unabashedly go after what she wanted - she complained incessantly and acted like a child until she got what she wanted, no matter how banal or trite the object in question. Not the same thing, dude.

[@paulschirf9259]

Their 2015 album Ghost Notes is great from start to finish. I'm so glad they got back together for this masterpiece.

[@kenterminateddq5311]

I like when Rock and Roll True Stories talks about one hit wonders or underground rock bands of the 90s. 😊

[@TheRaven8]

Every one of their albums is really precious to me for very different reasons. Thanks for making this. They’re definitely one of my top ten of all time favorites

[@KipArmadillo]

Volcano Girls is still an excelllent track. Nina and Louise harmonize incredibly well together.

[@ericacruz8261]

I was 15 when I Met my now husband when Volcano Girls came out. I Hated rock music but my husband loves it. He Loves Marilyn Manson, White Zombie. But that song just brings back so many memories. Driving down the country road to his house with the windows rolled down with this song blaring. Me hating rock but there is always that one song or a few that take you to a time and this is that song to me❤

[@baxtronx5972]

Every band after 1992 was riding the coattails of Nirvana. It was hard to avoid.

[@jester6-1-6]

Every *American band

[@gothsteeze]

@jester6-1-6 Neither Silverchair or Bush are American bands and they received the riding Nirvana's coattails criticism the most.

[@iansmith9125]

Not pavement

[@RobotShlomo]

I had the misfortune of seeing Veruca Salt twice. Both times I got free tickets. The first time was in a club and it was like watching four people that never played together in their lives, and had no idea how to write songs. Then in 1993 they played the WMRQ Jingle Bell Jam at the Oakdale Theater in Wallingford, CT. and once again I had access to free tickets. I said "There's no way they could have been that bad. Maybe it was a bad night for them" and went to the show. Yes, they were THAT BAD.

[@Kissfan96dr]

they seem to have problems singing off key as the night progresses. Maybe their voices get tired.

[@talltodd]

Louise had a great album Sleepwalker that came out in June which she also toured behind.

[@ImaRockStarPR]

You’ve reviewed a lot of lame bands lately. Veruca Salt was excellent

[@ol48spring]

I saw v salt , madder rose and some band called hole. One of the best shows I ever saw. There was around two to three hundred in the crowd. I miss that shit. I miss that shit!

[@JoeHartman80]

Still one of my favorite bands to date! Louise post has been very active musically this year.

[@olivergingrich6839]

seether was a great song - I remember when it came out, had an immediate punch. I knew 0 about anything about the band, it was just a cool sounding song on the radio.

[@toddplummer1187]

Awesome video. I love Veruca Salt!!

[@aaronmayhew2.0]

Have you ever heard of the band Floater from Oregon. Came out the same time tool did and in my opinion are just as good. An in depth video about them might be epic. Not easy though. Like the videos. Thanks

[@Nut-ml5wc]

I knew the radio songs, but didn't become a fan until I saw them play "Shutterbug" on SNL.

[@snowdog202]

I remember them coming up in Chicago back in the day. Steve was a friend of my brother back then. Always thought they were totally overrated. There were soooo many better local bands.

[@mystifyband]

You don't know what you're talking about. Veruca Salt have always been terrific. Their vocal harmonies alone set them apart.

[@Trust_In_Jesus82]

Being in my teens when Volcano Girls dropped, I loved that song. I could never get into any of their other music though. I still can’t to this day. But I still blast Volcano Girls. If they kept that sound for all their songs, I would be a huge fan.

[@scottyarm]

Earthcrosser is a top 20 all time song for me.

[@TruthAndMoreTruth]

One thing I absolutely loath about these type of videos, is how so much is glossed over. Kinda like: "The band started performing on the sidewalk in front of their house and before long, they were headlining stadiums" vibe. As an example, this video doesn't mention anything about any day jobs the members ever had, or how they supported themselves while they were playing all these unpaid shows. How did these adults eat and pay rent? How did they afford musical gear?

[@rnrtruestories]

Maybe you shouldn’t watch. These videos take a long time to write, record and edit

[@TruthAndMoreTruth]

@@rnrtruestories I don't care how long it took to make a superficial video. Reading off a wiki page and some google results isn't compelling.

[@LongGone77]

I'll echo the sentiment in the comments and say they were underhyped, if anything. I can still remember being 11 in 1995 reading about them and wondering what they sounded like. Then one day on my bunk bed, i was scanning different radio stations on my cassette walkman during the winter, when sometimes signals from distant radio stations would travel outside of their normal radius. I picked up on an American station (I'm from Canada) and I landed on "Seether" halfway into the solo. It was just enough of the song to blow me away. Unlike other post-grunge bands at the time, Veruca Salt had HOOKS and energy along with duo vocals that weren't the typical "Eddie Veddar" style singing of the male fronted groups. They were strong and blended amazingly. And Eight Arms to Hold You was as good as the debut. Love Veruca Salt and they deserved more recognition than they got.

[@J_Trotter]

Good to see someone else falling into the Veruca Salt rabbit hole. First concert I went to was them opening for Bush in '96

[@p1sstoph3]

".....and whatever happened to the band." they sucked, they couldn't last long. the only reason they were even mildly successful is because record labels were pushing everything they could find that they could slap the "alternative" label on

[@analogsignal]

Not mentioning Stacy Jones?? Psssshh

[@Pleasure_Victim]

I thought the same.

[@rogercarlson6300]

Veruca Salt is a great band! every song, every album! Love Them!

[@luckytaco97]

I saw them back in '94 at the KROQ ACP, and although not my favorite band back then they did have a good live sound and played well and loud. Ah to be 16 years old again!

[@jmason61]

They were a great band & deserved the fame. This video shows some stills from their live version of Seether from some big UK festival.... check it cause it's AWESOME

[@raine4214]

So I gotta ask about the hendrix poster behind ya... It's pretty radical! Where do I find one ?

[@rnrtruestories]

Sorry for the late reply I got it from displate a dude who made it has some sick posters

[@raine4214]

@@rnrtruestories all good, got a link ? I'd love to obtain one

[@choffmann8627]

You should try to get interviews with some of these bands👍🏻

[@docsavage8640]

Long story short: 2 rich girls with connections get extra breaks as a result, but their music didn't appeal to a wide enough audience to make them successful in the long term. Still some pretty good songs, though.

[@doug6191]

7:32 - That article was spot-on. The group was not deserving of the hype. "Seether" is the only song that came to mind when I heard the band name. I forgot about "Volcano Girl". Everything else was wayyyyy less successful.

[@onceuponatimeintoronto891]

2 hit wonders, #1 Blind and Seether, like Garbage and The Cranberries, great tunes but no real solid gotta have it hits after the debut album..

[@mattturner7531]

Dude, they f'n rocked -- nothing but solid tunes from Veruca Salt.

[@Kudeghraw]

There was a period in the mid 90's where I was going to just about any concert that came through town. Found myself at the Boathouse in Norfolk, VA where Veruca Salt was playing a gig because I saw a video and liked the guitar tone. I remember it being a good show until they stopped it to plead with the crowd to stop moshing. Nina kept saying "You have to stop hurting people!" and threatened to leave. I just thought that was kind of weird. There was some irate dude next to me as well and he was mad because people were moshing at a veruca salt concert. He was a bigger guy and kept violently shoving people that were thrown into him back in the pit. This action was accompanied frequently with a comment of "This isn't f**king Slayer!" Ah, the memories.

[@rogerballoujr.6244]

I always wanted more from this band, Volcano Girls was an amazing song and it was the only one that got any local airplay here on rock radio stations....if they ended up having more songs like that I would have been a huge fan!

[@markrigg6623]

"Over hyped" is a tautology.

[@nickdanger8502]

Gen X here. I liked Veruca Salt and 1) they weren't overhyped or even hyped at all, I heard the song Seether on college radio and most of my friends heard it the same way; 2) their album was quite decent, and Seether was actually a major song, and my friends and I - all music industry folks in Nashville - LOVED the fact they took their name from Willy Wonka - if anything they were considered underrated and cool; unfortunately they didn't have the songwriting chops to fulfill a long-term career. I still turn up Seether when it comes on the radio. One classic song and a handful of acceptable album cuts are much more than most bands achieve.

[@bobbydimes6316]

I might be late to the party, but I love the cuts to you. A face to the voice. I love your channel.

[@rnrtruestories]

Oh thank you!

[@pdog547]

Most overhyped? Not even close, they had some great songs. Most overhyped band of the 90s is probably Nirvana.

[@Brokenface]

You know that overhype means something that is presented like a massive thing and it's actually not that great or even bad, Nirvana wasn't like that at all.

[@pdog547]

@@Brokenface Yes I do, and yes they were.

[@travgpeters1]

kind of weird but i had a friend that claimed to have stolen Louis Post's panties in the mid 90s 😂

[@ambiguousUndertones-]

Ask your friend if they smell different to a gentile chick's undies.

[@stopmikeandjim3196]

They were my favorite band through the mid 90's. As far as why they split up, it's interesting to see them not want to discuss it now. IIRC Nina and Louise were both banging one of the replacement band members (I don't remember which one) which was the final straw that caused Nina to leave

[@joejones9520]

AT is one of the greatest albums of all time, they were geniuses and should be more known.

[@Chatta-Ortega]

I never understood the hype about Veruca Salt. Musically, they were limited.

[@Singleballtheory]

Not overhyped at all, just had an "easier than others" path to getting signed and took a lot of heat for the perception that they hadn't earned their success like most of their contemporaries did. Post and Gordon were fantastic song writers. "Earthcrosser" is, in my opinion, a painfully underrated tune that perfectly encapsulates life on the road for a rock musician. It's also almost absurd to me that Jim Shapiro didn't even know how to play the drums until he was asked to be in the band. Goes a long way towards explaining why their live performances probably weren't top notch in the beginning.

[@bassman8144]

Listened to Industrial and Metal in the 90’s but I loved Veruca Salt!! Definitely not overhyped out here in the east.

[@101mazz]

Plot Twist: Almost all of them from that era were overhyped.

[@vlcheish]

except Faith No More being underhyped

[@DRS-GMErica]

Born Entertainer was a dope track

[@peznee]

Great video sir. Lots of research and a thorough presentation of the facts. 🙌

[@jaake6019]

Whenever I hear Liz Phair's name, all I can think about is "Why Can't I?" sadly.

[@Lola_Santoro]

They were definitely not the most overhyped band of the 90s. They had some really good songs on American Thighs, and Eight Arms To Hold You had MANY great rock songs. They also backed up the attitude their music portrayed. I worked for a radio station when they were popular and we had a bootleg cd of some covers they did - it was smokin' hot. I probably still have it in a box somewhere. I really wanted this band to go on for a while. I don't remember much of what Louise Post did afterward, but I loved both of Nina's solo CDs and especially love her cover of Straight Outta Compton.

[@misterssippi601]

I would argue that space hog was the most overhyped band of the mid 90's. In 1995 you couldn't watch MTV for more than ten minutes without some type of space hog promotion. I bought the album the day it dropped. Should have opted for the single because the album only had one good song on it, which would soon be ran in the ground by MTV and radio.

[@GarrettLoganGriffin]

Louise was such a sniper. I LOVED this band. They have legitimately great tunes. Overhyped or not, they backed it up, on record and live.

[@graguitar6493]

Didn't hate them but they didn't set my world on fire

[@dflf]

So were they the most overhyped band of the mid-90's?

[@ghostrunnerco6791]

can remember being at some random festival they were playing at and people in the crowd pleading with them to exit the stage lol

[@Podcastforthewin]

I remember girls in school hating them because they were playing the girl victim card.

[@ColtraneTaylor]

A precusor of thngs to come. Now the Veruca Salt segment cannot be disagreed with or you're a Republican. And I'm not.

[@sah-win]

Love VS! One of my GOATs. The records with both Louise & Nina are fantastic. The ones when they split are good also, but it definitely wasn't the same. And I'm not sure the "overhype" thing was real. Maybe it happened in Chicago early on?

[@underground_music_uploads5422]

If you haven't already, be sure to check out Nina's cover of Straight Outta Compton on here

[@winkstar9265]

Dave Ghrol didnt want to make baby with one of the guitarists.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

I don't think they were overhyped. If anything, they probably deserved to be hyped a bit more considering they're mostly viewed as a bit of a one hit wonder. Great band, American Thighs is a solid album.

[@-Only.Facts-]

Nina was hott af 🔥

[@adamperry2349]

Nah Louise was way hotter!🔥🔥🔥

[@demharsh]

What about the band Salt? You need to check them out.

[@squarejawpublishing]

Got to support them on a gig one night. Really nice people and they played a really killer set with great songs

[@deathkampdrone]

Haha love the adrock vibe of the score here. That's definitely a bizarro ghost cover of "Rebellion (lies)" by Arcade Fire 12:27

[@MPF-80]

Nice details. I wasn't aware of any hype, other than seeing the videos. I liked them, and lusted after those sg/melody makers in Volcano Girls. Just started listening to them again a couple of years ago. American Thighs is solid.