It's been almost four months since she delivered her solo debut to stores, but former Veruca Salt singer Nina Gordon has finally announced the dates for her long-awaited U.S. solo tour.

Gordon is embarking on a headlining club and radio station concert jaunt that kicks off October 24 in Chicago. As we previously reported, the trek will be in support of her new album, "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life," which hit stores in June (see "Nina Gordon Preps Tour").

Gordon will be using the same band that's been accompanying her on a spate of recent TV appearances, with the exception of drummer (and boyfriend) Stacy Jones, who will be playing shows with his own group, American Hi-Fi. Boston-based drummer Steve Scully (Francine, Jennifer Trynin) will be manning the kit for Gordon instead.

The singer is currently in Australia promoting "Tonight...," but she is expected back this week in time to begin rehearsing for the tour in earnest.

Here's how the dates are shaping up:

• 10/24 - Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues (radio show)
• 10/25 - Milwaukee, WI @ Shank Hall
• 10/26 - Louisville, KY @ Phoenix Hill Tavern
• 10/28 - Minneapolis, MN @ Woman Club (WXTP)
• 10/30 - Grand Rapids, MI @ (radio show)
• 11/3 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Zephyr Club
• 11/5 - Portland, OR @ Aladdin
• 11/6 - Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Café
• 11/8 - Seattle, WA @ Borders
• 11/9 - Eugene, OR @ Wild Duck Music Hall
• 11/12 - San Francisco, CA @ Great American Music Hall
• 11/14 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
• 11/15 - Santa Ana, CA @ Galaxy Theater
• 11/16 - Tempe, AZ @ Bash On Ash
• 11/18 - Denver, CO @ Bluebirds
• 11/19 - Colorado Springs, CO @ Colorado Music Hall
• 11/21 - Des Moines, IA @ Val Air Ballroom
• 11/24 - Chicago, IL @ Park West
• 11/25 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's Front Room
• 11/26 - Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
• 11/28 - Cleveland, OH @ Odeon
• 11/29 - Champaign, IL @ Canopy Club
• 12/1 - St. Louis, MO @ (radio show)
• 12/7 - Houston, TX @ (radio show)
• 12/10 - Norfolk, VA @ The NorVa
• 12/11 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 12/13 - New York, New York @ Bowery Ballroom
• 12/14 - Philadelphia, PA @ TBD
• 12/15 - Philadelphia, PA @ TBD
• 12/16 - Rochester, NY @ Waterstreet
• 12/17 - Boston, MA @ Paradise

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

It's taken awhile, but Nina Gordon is finally planning to tour to support her new album, "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life," released in June.

According to an audio message from Gordon on her official Web site, she'll be heading out on the road for a seven-week jaunt starting October 24 and ending December 15. Sources close to the artist confirmed that Gordon will indeed headline her own tour, although a spokesperson for Gordon's management told MTV News that the details are still being worked out.

The former Veruca Salt singer (see "Nina Gordon Enjoys 'Life' After Veruca Salt") has put together a new band that so far includes her beau Stacy Jones on drums, Mike Eisenstein (Letters To Cleo) on guitar, Josh Lattanzi on bass, and Patrick Warren on keyboards.

The group has already played a couple of small warm-up radio concerts and put in an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," but the pending road trip will be the band's first major outing. (Tentative plans to open for Savage Garden earlier this summer were scrapped.)

Gordon may wind up heading out on tour without Jones, however. Jones, who played drums for Letters To Cleo and briefly handled the skins for Veruca Salt prior to Gordon's split with Louise Post (who retains the Veruca name), now handles guitar and vocals for American Hi-Fi. That band, which also features former Fig Dish drummer Brian Nolan, former Tracy Bonham bassist Drew Parsons, and ex-Sky Heroes guitarist Jamie Arentzen, is preparing to release its own self-titled album at the end of January. American Hi-Fi's management told MTV News that Jones is expected to be busy with promotional and other duties at the same time as Gordon's tour.

Formerly called BMX Girl (see "Members Of Veruca Salt, Letters To Cleo, Fig Dish Form New Bands") and now signed to Island/Def Jam, American Hi-Fi recorded its upcoming album late last summer with veteran producer Bob Rock, who also produced Gordon's solo effort as well as Veruca Salt's "Eight Arms To Hold You," the band's final album with Gordon.

American Hi-Fi has a show scheduled for Saturday night at a TT The Bear's in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a handful of other dates are on tap for later this month.

Gordon's next appearance, meanwhile, will be on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" on September 8.

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

Sonicnet Music News

On the eve of the release of her first solo album,"Tonight And The Rest Of My Life," former Veruca Salt co-frontwoman Nina Gordon remembered how liberating it felt to leave behind the tense situation with her old band.

"It was pretty miraculous how quickly I adjusted," she said. "And that's why I know it was the right decision for me to leave the band, because almost instantly I felt the weight of the world sort of fall away, and I suddenly felt extremely free and streamlined."

"Tonight And The Rest Of My Life," released on Tuesday, establishes Gordon's departure from the brash Veruca Salt style familiar from the group's hits "Seether" and "Volcano Girls." The record's evolving, often-orchestral sound marks her arrival in territory closer to Aimee Mann's new "Bachelor No. 2" than Veruca Salt's latest, "Resolver."

The record marks profound changes in Gordon's life: the dissolution of her relationship with her best friend and Veruca Salt co-founder and frontwoman Louise Post (who is continuing the band with all-new personnel and a markedly harder rock sound); a new-ish boyfriend, former Veruca Salt drummer Stacy Jones; and a change of record labels that left her album, originally scheduled for release last August, in limbo for ten months.

In 1999, Gordon's label, Outpost/Geffen, was folded into the Interscope label in a corporate merger, and Outpost and Interscope were "feuding," according to Gordon. The restructuring was threatening to hold up "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life." The singer felt caught in the middle and wanted out of her deal.

With a determination befitting her newfound confidence, Gordon took charge. "I had to get out," she said. Ultimately, she landed at Warner Bros. "It was definitely the smartest and best thing that could've happened. Now it's a total love affair between me and my record label, which has never happened to me before. So I'm psyched."

That kind of support continues to buoy Gordon as she enters a new phase in her career. The singer was always the more pop-oriented member of Veruca Salt, compared with Post, whose musical inclinations leaned toward stadium rock and metal. Making a solo album allowed Gordon to fulfill her own pop vision.

"I chose to leave the nest and go off and do my own thing. Really, everything is very different," Gordon said. "That's not to say that I never looked back and never had any doubts, but overall, it was a totally positive thing."

When it came time to capture her emotional, personal songs in the studio, Gordon turned to producer Bob Rock, who had worked with Veruca Salt on 1997's "Eight Arms To Hold You." "I knew that he and I really did have a similar take on things, musically," Gordon said.

With a supporting cast that included Jones, his former Letters To Cleo bandmate Michael Eisenstein, and Gordon's brother, original Veruca Salt drummer Jim Shapiro, Gordon felt liberated from a band format. "We could explore things that we wouldn't ordinarily explore or that we never really thought to explore in the band," she said. "It was a much more free environment, and things happened that I don't think would've happened had there been this very rigid band structure."

Gordon also marveled at the assistance from L.A. producer and session musician Jon Brion, who played a variety of keyboards and guitar.

"As far as I'm concerned, he's a genius," Gordon said. "He would go and play the strangest stuff, and sometimes we'd all be scratching our heads, wondering, 'What is he doing? This doesn't make sense.' But when we mixed the record, we realized that whatever he had done had just made the song."

While Gordon admits making the album was "very collaborative," she's proud that "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life" essentially boils down to her singular vision.

"Ultimately, while everybody was playing around with ideas, I got to listen and say, 'I like this,' or 'I don't like this,'" she said. "I got the final say, and it's much easier than getting in a room with four people and making everyone agree somehow. It's much easier to have one person saying, 'Yes, no, maybe.'"

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

After completing its run in support of headliners Filter, the recently revamped Veruca Salt will head out for its own headlining tour in May.

• 4/7 - Richmond, VA @ Robins Center (w/Filter)
• 4/8 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Trump Marina (w/Filter)
• 4/9 - Lock Haven, PA @ Lock Haven University (w/Filter)
• 4/11 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club (w/Filter)
• 4/13 - Slippery Rock, PA @ Slippery Rock University (w/Filter)
• 4/14 - Bethlehem, PA @ Moravian College (w/Filter)
• 4/15 - Berea, OH @ Baldwin Wallace (w/Filter)
• 4/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Saint Joseph's University (w/Filter)
• 4/18 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium (w/Filter)
• 4/20 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom (w/Filter)
• 4/22 - Scranton, PA @ Scranton Cultural Center (w/Filter)
• 5/2 - Indianapolis, IN @ The Patio
• 5/4 - Detroit, MI @ Shelter
• 5/5 - Cleveland, OH @ The Odeon
• 5/6 - Pittsburgh, OH @ Club Laga
• 5/9 - Toronto, ON @ Lee's Palace
• 5/11 - Providence, RI @ The Met Café
• 5/12 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre of the Living Arts
• 5/13 - Washington, DC @ Black Cat
• 5/17 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
• 5/19 - Portland, ME @ Asylum
• 5/25 - Boston, MA @ Middle East Downstairs

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

After playing a few low-profile shows here and there, the revamped Veruca Salt will roll out its latest incarnation on a string of dates with Filter.

• 4/3 - Blacksburg, VA @ Virginia Tech. University
• 4/5 - Norfolk, VA @ Boathouse
• 4/7 - Richmond, VA @ Robins Center
• 4/8 - Atlantic City, NJ @ Trump Marina
• 4/9 - Lock Haven, PA @ Lock Haven University
• 4/11 - Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
• 4/13 - Slippery Rock, PA @ Slippery Rock University
• 4/14 - Bethlehem, PA @ Moravian College
• 4/15 - Berea, OH @ Baldwin Wallace
• 4/17 - Philadelphia, PA @ Saint Joseph's University
• 4/18 - Worcester, MA @ Palladium
• 4/20 - New York, NY @ Hammerstein Ballroom
• 4/22 - Scranton, PA @ Scranton Cultural Center

• Filter
• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

Louise Post's Veruca Salt has a title and a release date for its new album. The record is scheduled for release April 4 with the title "Resolver." The first single is expected to be a song called "Born Entertainer."

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

Louise Post, a.k.a. Veruca Salt, has signed to the Beyond label (home to the likes of Mötley Crüe, Blondie, Yes, and Sponge), which will be releasing the group's next album early next year.

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

Veruca Salt's Louise Post will be returning this fall with a new band, a new label, and a new look: the dark-haired singer has gone platinum blonde.

Post, the last remaining original member of the group, is continuing on under the Veruca Salt banner following the departure of co-star Nina Gordon in 1998 (see "Nina Gordon Leaves Veruca Salt").

The singer told MTV News on Tuesday that the third Veruca Salt LP is now finished (with the exception of a few minor overdubs) and it should be out at the end of the year.

According to Post, the group's new songs include "Officially Dead," "Yeah Man," "Bombshells And Pin-Ups," "Pretty Boys," "Wet Suit," "Used To Know Her," "Imperfectly," "The Same Person," "Hellraiser," "Best You Can Get," "Disconnected," and "Born Entertainer." She declined to reveal the title of the upcoming album.

The bulk of the recording was done at Gravity Studios in Chicago with partner Brian Liesegang (Ashtar Command, ex-Filter), who also co-wrote several of the new tracks, at the controls. Other tracks were recorded in Liesegang's home studio.

Musicians on the album include drummer Jimmy Madla (a.k.a. Tasty Jimmy or Tasty J) as well as guitarist Steve Fitzpatrick, who played with Post on a song cut for the soundtrack to "The Avengers." Matt Walker (ex-Filter, Smashing Pumpkins, currently in the Cupcakes) makes guest appearances on three songs, and Eric Remschneider (who has played with the Pumpkins and Hole) provides some cello. Former Triple Fast Action bassist Kevin Tihista also helped out, as did former Failure drummer Kelly Scott.

Post is also currently putting together a new set of back-up musicians at home in Chicago. According to her co-manager, Pete Riedling, Post's live band will most likely include Madla, Fitzpatrick, and a female back-up vocalist.

Meanwhile, Post is temporarily without a label, but she told MTV News she is being courted by several and expects to sign a new deal in the very near future. She takes exception to reports that say she had been dropped by her old label, Outpost, and sets the record straight in a message on a Veruca Salt fan site called "The Saltshaker."

"The fact is, my management advised me to request departure from this new corporate conglomerate with my most recent masters in hand -- a request that was, thankfully, granted," Post explained in her message. She added that none of the Geffen personnel who previously represented her had survived the label's merger with Interscope. "They all either jumped ship before it hit the iceberg, or were unceremoniously canned via video," wrote Post, adding that she is now a free agent and the owner of "the best music I have ever made."

In her message to "The Saltshaker," Post also revealed that the new album will include "a collection of songs coming straight from my life and my heart, undiluted by the unavoidable clutter and complications of collaboration." She added that she is "carrying the V.S. torch in the spirit for which it was originally intended." The departed Gordon, meanwhile, is set to release her solo album, "Tonight And The Rest Of My Life," on Outpost in August.

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt

With Veruca Salt in transition, Letters to Cleo on a bit of a breather and Fig Dish on what may be a permanent hiatus, various grouping of those three somewhat incestuous bands are working on new projects.

• Nina Gordon
• Letters To Cleo
• Veruca Salt

Following up on a story that we first reported Monday morning, a spokesperson for Geffen Records confirms newspaper reports that guitarist/vocalist Nina Gordon has left Veruca Salt, the band that she helped to found six years ago.

Geffen says there's no official reason for the split, and that the band's future is uncertain right now.

As we previously reported (see "Nina Gordon Leaves Veruca Salt"), daily newspapers in the band's hometown of Chicago both ran with reports of Gordon's departure last weekend.

The "Chicago Tribune" also reported that Gordon and Veruca co-founder Louise Post had been discussing the idea of recording solo albums before working on a new Veruca Salt record.

• Nina Gordon
• Veruca Salt