they had written, and the reaction was positive. It quickly became a hit on college and alternative stations. The album was not complete, and the band rushed to finish it before "Seether" lost its radio momentum. The song ended up peaking at #8 on the Modern Rock charts and became a hit on MTV. Veruca Salt's debut studio album American Thighs was released through Minty Fresh on September 27, 1994 and re-released on November 8, 1994 by the major label Geffen Records after the label signed the band following an intense bidding war. The album peaked at #69 on the Billboard Top 200 and was eventually certified gold. The second single, "Number One Blind", written by Gordon and Shapiro, peaked at #20 on the Modern Rock charts, but did not do as well as "Seether". Gordon and Post were unhappy with the song's video, and it was pulled after airing fewer than five times on MTV's 120 Minutes. To support the album, Veruca Salt toured, opening for acts such as Hole, Live and PJ Harvey. They also headlined a club tour, after which they entered the studio with Bob Rock to record their second album. The band was inspired to work with Rock after hearing Metallica's "Enter Sandman" over the house PA system before a Veruca Salt concert at an outdoor music festival. The band released an EP in 1996 titled Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt to tide fans over until their next album. It was produced by Steve Albini and contains the Gordon-penned "Shimmer Like a Girl" and "New York Mining Disaster 1996". During this time, Gordon also collaborated with other musicians on side projects. With Scott Miller, she co-wrote the song "The Softest Tip of Her Baby Tongue", which appeared on The Loud Family's 1996 album Interbabe Concern. She worked with James Iha on the Smashing Pumpkins song "...Said Sadly" (the b-side to their 1995 single "Bullet with Butterfly Wings"), and also recorded duets with Fig Dish and Triple Fast Action. 1997–1998: Eight Arms to Hold You and departure from Veruca Salt Veruca Salt's second album Eight Arms to Hold You, which was released February 11, 1997 on Geffen Records, proved to be a difficult and dividing album. Some fans of American Thighs were disappointed by the polished, hard-rock and distinctively Bob Rock production, in comparison to the laid back, indie buzz-bin vibe of American