Singer-songwriter Nina Gordon has left the building that was Veruca Salt, leaving the future of the band up in the air. "At this point, the future of the group remains uncertain," read a statement from DGC Records. The Chicago-based band seemed to be on the upswing following its last release, Eight Arms to Hold You, and after landing an opening spot on the Foo Fighters' tour(*They opened for Bush, not the Foos*). Gordon's departure seems to have caught everyone off guard. "It came as quite a shock," a label spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune. "We're all still trying to figure out what happened."

Gordon and her Veruca partner, Louise Post, tapped a power-pop vein that pulsed somewhere between the Breeders and Hole with their debut album, American Thighs, released on Chicago indie Minty Fresh Records in 1994. DGC picked them up and re-released the album, and two years later they dropped the Steve Albini-produced EP Blow It Out Your Ass It's Veruca Salt. Although last year's Eight Arms, wasn't as commercially successful as industry insiders had predicted, the group's future never appeared in doubt.