Nina Gordon Proves There's Life After Veruca Salt By David Chiu

Pop quiz: Name some of today's female musicians who crafts gorgeous melodies echoing AM pop radio, writes introspective, sometimes pointed lyrics, and possess a distinctive, strong voice? Those descriptions could possibly describe any critically-praised singer/songwriter such as Aimee Mann, Sarah McLachlan, Fiona Apple, and Nina Gordon.

Nina Gordon you may ask? The same Nina Gordon from the alternative rock band Veruca Salt, who wrote the indie-sounding rock hits "Seether" and "Volcano Girls." With her Warner Bros. solo debut, Tonight and the Rest of My Life, Gordon still manages to make a big noise like what she did with her old band but on a more modest level. It's certainly a big deal for fans waiting to hear new music after her departure from Veruca Salt.

Those expecting to hear the cool, detached, riot grrl rock sound of her erstwhile group on this new album will be surprised. Tonight is full of brimming, melodic pop that recalls the Bangles and mid-70s Fleetwood Mac. Tonight does have some uptempo rockers such as "Hate Your Way" and "Badway." But what really grabs a listener are the meticulously crafted tracks and folksy tracks like the title song, the ironic "Now I Can Die," and the wistful "2003." Equally surprising about the album that it was produced by none other than Bob Rock, the auteur of the self-titled Metallica album and Veruca Salt's 1997 album Eight Arms to Hold You. Gordon's voice, which shared the mic with Veruca Salt's other singer/guitarist Louise Post, sounds more fuller and realized and her songwriting and sense of melody puts her in the league with the other preeminent singer/songwriters of her day.

It's been an interesting musical road for Gordon, who met Louise Post in 1992 and formed Veruca Salt. With bassist Steve Lack and Gordon's brother Jim Shapiro on drums, Veruca Salt recorded their debut American Thighs, which yielded the hit "Seether," now considered an alternative rock classic. The band subsequently recorded Eight Arms to Hold You with the aforementioned Rock and that album had a hit in "Volcano Girls." However, creative and personal differences between Gordon and Post resulted in Gordon leaving the band in February 1998.

Ironically in 2000, both Veruca Salt (now led by Louise Post) and Nina Gordon has released albums almost simultaneously of each other. To the delight of its fans, Veruca still plays its familiar brand of aggressive alternative rock. Gordon's album offers something a little bit different but sure to please old and new fans too.

Right now, Gordon has been performing the usual promotional duties for the new album, including a recent performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Rehearsing with her new band, Gordon is about to embark on her tour slated for this fall. The affable and charming artist took time out from her schedule to talk about her new music and life after Veruca Salt.

Most people are saying about the album is that how it is somewhat stylistically different from the sound from your former band. There are some uptempo rockers like "Badway," but there are some gorgeous pop tracks like the title song, "2003," and "Hold On to Me." Was this a conscious decision on your part to change or shake up people's perception about your solo music?

It really wasn't a calculated thing or conscious decision. It juts kind of happened that way. The only plan that I had of any kind was to be completely free and limitless and not to approach any song with any kind of formula. On the record, I knew I had an opportunity to approach each song individually and take the song wherever I felt like taking it. There was some freedom and experimentation and exploration of different sounds that never really got explored in Veruca Salt.

Would it be accurate of me to say that certainly your voice and lyrics seem more prominent, even liberated in a sense?

Definitely. When we started recording our first album when I was in Veruca Salt, there was definitely a tone in the music we were listening which was a little more modest. There was a certain humility that had to be maintained in the way that you sang. I know Louise and I were at the time listening to the Breeders and Liz Phair. They really didn't sing sing, but were sort of cool sounding. Both Louise and I had pretty strong voices and we both tried to tone them down in fact, and lyrically too. You didn't really want to divulge too much about yourself-you wanted to be a little more cryptic and a little more clever. Most of my songs were little injokes with myself, my friends, and my bandmates. On this album, I was like, "You know what, forget it. I'm singing and I'm spilling my guts out, so let's see what happens."

I think the way the album is crafted is not only a credit to you, but to your producer Bob Rock, who was producer of the self-titled Metallica album and Veruca Salt's Eight Arms to Hold You. As a producer, what did he bring to the sessions in terms of his guidance and skills.

He brings so much. It was really a collaboration. I brought my songs fully formed to the studio, He wasn't some song doctor Svengali type. He would challenge you to go home and stick in something: "You know what, the bridge in the song is a little shaky. Why don't you go home and rewrite that bridge and see what you can come up with." He really challenges you to become a better songwriter and give you the tools to be able to do that if you are stuck. He opened me up to ideas that I wouldn't be opened to previously.

What do you want your older fans and new listeners to come away from listening to this album? What impression do you want to leave them with?

It's pop music, not necessarily philosophy. I like to think there's a depth to it, and it's not simple sugary throwaway pop. Most of all, what I want to do is what some of my favorite records have done for me, just accompany my life in a positive way. The album was meant to entertain and to enrich people's lives.

Who did you listen to growing up? Who were your influences?

There are records I always come back to: The Beatles' White Album and Abbey Road, Stevie Wonder's Song in the Key of Life, the Stones' Sticky Fingers and Flowers, Joni Mitchell's Blue, Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album, Rumours, and Tusk. A bunch of Prince albums basically everything from Dirty Mind up to Lovesexy; the Bangles' All Over the Place; and the Go-Go's Beauty and the Beat and Talk Show. That's a lot. It always comes back to melody for me. That's the thing [that made] these albums great.

Does songwriting comes to you naturally? How would you describe the songwriting process?

Basically, I am inspired by something, whether it is some sort of strong emotion ranging from mild disillusionment to extreme trauma. There are also times when I am inspired by a great thing if I'm feeling particularly happy or at peace or excited by something. So I started playing chords on my guitar and sometimes when the planets are aligned as I start singing, something really special happens. If the chords don't really inspire me to sing a melody, I just kind of give up and do something else for a while.

How has been performing and touring with a new cast of players?

I can already tell from just demoing and from doing the album with these musicians I know that it's going to be really amazing. One of the things that made Veruca Salt really special was that we weren't really so great on our instruments until [drummer] Stacy Jones joined the band. We all picked up our instruments and did the best we could. I think that's what gave us our charm and songs so strong because we didn't have proficiency on our instruments to fall back on. It was something that was limiting. It's so great to be playing with great musicians and be able to do whatever I hear on my head: "Okay, I can't play that but you can play that for me?" It's pretty cool.

So that is one of the best parts about being a solo artist?

The other thing is feeling I don't have to make any compromises just being able to write songs that are meaningful to me and that's it, and not worry about what the other band members are going to think or whether it's going to be embraced. Being able to do whatever happens and not worry about what other people are going to think.

In recording this new music and of being on your own, what have you learned about yourself musically and or personally?

The only thing that I learned about myself is that I don't work well with others (laughs). I do work well with others when I'm in control. If I'm the one who gets the final say on how a song should go, I do just fine. I would do well if I was someone's backup singer and on somebody else's show, but when it comes to my songs I need to be the one to say, "Okay, this is how I hear it. This is how it goes." When I was in Veruca Salt, when things worked, they were amazing. There was a certain chemistry that was really special. In this case, it's way more gratifying when it came to my songs, to be able to say "Yes [or] no, this is how I like it and this is how I don't like it." It's definitely better this way.