The Veronicas 'Hook Me Up' album

The Veronicas are back and MusicRemedy had the chance to sit back with them and do an interview. The 23-year-old twin sisters from down under have a new album and a new twist to their sound.

The Veronicas are gearing up to release their sophomore album, Hook Me Up, in the US on August 26th! Hook Me Up represents a stylistic leap from the girls’ 2006 debut The Secret Life Of… by swapping the latter’s pop-punk leanings for Hook Me Up’s dance friendly, beat-driven feel. The album features a host of top notch hitmakers, including Shelly Peiken (Christina Aguilera), Greg Wells (Mika), John Feldmann (The Used, Good Charlotte), Billy Steinberg (Madonna), and their Secret Life collaborator Toby Gad, who also wrote Fergie’s 2007 hit “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Hook Me Up has already achieved double-platinum status in the girls’ native Australia.

The Veronicas are back! The 23-year-old twin sisters from down under have a new album and a new twist to their sound. The pop-punk influences on their award-winning debut album have been updated to an electro-dance sound that is bound to get you on your feet. Already named a "Breaker Artist" by AOL and called "Australia's rockingest twins" by Blender, The Veronicas have proven to be at the top of their game. Hook Me Up, the girls' sophomore release, has already sold over 130,000 albums in Australia and secured them their first # 1 single.

Lisa and Jessica's vocal chemistry, funky style, and killer hooks make a perfect recipe for success. The Veronicas are set to unleash their single "Untouched" in the US!

interview
MusicRemedy (=MR): For people who may not have heard some music from you yet... what can someone who's never heard of you expect from your music?
Veronicas (=V): It's like eating a chocolate covered strawberry pinkberry vegan nacho cupcake...

MR: Your new CD, "Hook Me Up" is your first digital release which will be released track-by-track. Tell us about it.
V: It's a very personal album to us.. we co- wrote every song with amazing producers and it's more of a electro pop dirty rock kind of sound for this record!

MR: Which song on "Hook Me Up" took the longest to complete? Why?
V: Almost every song only took a day and a bit to write and record.. ummm.. maybe "I Can't Stay Away".. because it's very challenging vocally

MR: What is the meaning behind the title, "Hook Me Up"?
V: It's a saying that is used a lot. We wrote it with the meaning of hook me up and take me away from here, from reality and the stress of life.. an escape. just for a minute.
What that is.. is up to the listener.

MR: When creating a track, do you have a set theme and pre-written lyrics, or do you start with an idea or the music first?
V: It's done differently every single time.. whatever we're feeling inspired by. Although we do tend to go in with an idea of what we wanna write about, and we do write lyrics and melody-top line at the same time.

MR: What made you choose the producers for "Hook Me Up"?
V: We had worked with a lot of them on the last record.. and it really came down to who we had the best chemistry with for this sound.

MR: The last few years you have been living in USA. Why was the new album first released in Australia?
V: Well obviously we still call Australia home. But we are signed through the U.S. so it makes sense for us to be living there a lot of the time.. We have had amazing success in Australia, and its important for us to be able to focus on one country at a time.. and give it the attention and time it needs. Australia was waiting for our new album for a while.. so it made sense to release there first!

MR: Living in the USA has changed your music-style to electro-dance. What other things have changed musically (on the album)? And on a personal level?
V: Yes we were very influenced by some electro bands in L.A. that are a bit more underground. It's been a natural progression for us.. having lived away from home and becoming more independent, and more opinionated and wise to the way the industry works. Having to make two lives in some ways.. one back in Oz, and one in L.A. It's kind of crazy.. you're always saying goodbye to someone.. and hello to another. But we thrive on the adventure and have the best time doing what we do. We are very lucky.

MR: In the last 2 years your music-style changed. In what way did this reflect your cooperation with Toby Gad?
V: Yes Toby definitely helped create the sound and direction we went with for this record. We told him what kind of Bands/ artists/ sounds and beats that were inspiring us.. and we all camped out in our living room in L.A for two weeks and wrote song after song after song with him. We all went pretty crazy after it.. but it was the best experience.

MR: As a band you have grown and further developed. What does this exactly mean for the current album in comparison with your former album?
V: They are both a good indication of who we are at the time.. and what's inspiring us. Obviously as artists.. we aren't going to be inspired by the same stuff as 2 years ago.. so I think it was just a natural progression.

MR: In your experience, what are the main differences between Australia and USA?
V: hahaha where do we start? The toilets, the shops, the life styles are completely different. Australia's attitude is a little more laid back and L.A is a bit more in your face.

We don't take ourselves too seriously either way.. they are both amazing places to live!!!!

MR: What artists are you listening to at the moment?
V: We love Dallas Green, CSS, Paramore, The Follow, Under the Influence of Giants..

MR: Recently, what is a typical day like for you?
V: It will involve interviews, promo, playing shows, styling, vegan nachos and pinkberry

MR: Final words?
V: ... go visit our website and friend us!!
www.myspace.com/theveronicas
Also find our music on iTunes!

About 'Hook Me Up'
Jess and Lisa Origliasso have America doing a double take. The 20-year-old twin sisters from Brisbane, Australia have made a huge splash on the music scene thanks to their single "4ever" and a lucrative new contract with Sire Records/Warner Music.

Far from an overnight sensation, the dynamic duo has been performing in shopping centers and local theaters since age five. More recently, the twins made regular appearances on the popular Australian show Cybergirl. It was that exposure, along with an impressive demo, that helped Jess and Lisa land a production deal with Engine Room, the brains behind The Vines. With Engine Room guiding their career, the girls traveled the globe, compiling a massive catalog of over 50 songs and eventually catching the attention of Warner.

The Veronicas' lifelong commitment to their craft translates to their debut album, The Secret Life of The Veronicas. Showcasing influences as varied as AC/DC and Roy Orbison, the album was produced by the hit makers behind Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne and hit stores everywhere in October 2005.

The group was featured prominently in an issue of their namesake Veronica's comic book as a result of their cross-promotion deal with Archie Comics. The issue (#167) featured a card with a code allowing a free download of their single 4ever in MP3 form.

A few months later, Archie and Friends (#100) featured The Archies meeting The Veronicas. Then the next issue of Archie and Friends (#101) also featured The Veronicas, with Archie as their biggest fan.

'The Secret Life of...' spent a year in the ARIA album charts without ever leaving the top 40. In September 2006, the album was nominated for 3 ARIA awards including; "Best Pop Release", "Highest Selling Album" and "Best Breakthrough Album". The Veronicas won "Best Pop Release" but lost the other two to other nominees, the girls also performed their 2nd single "Everything I'm Not" on the night.

The duo's lead single "Hook Me Up" from their second album was added to Australian radio on August 27, 2007. "Hook Me Up" was produced by Greg Wells (Timbaland, Mika, OneRepublic). The Veronicas second album, also titled Hook Me Up, was released on November 3, 2007, containing 12 tracks. The album in its entirety was leaked on the internet 8 days before its initial release.

"Untouched" is the second single off the album, and was made available in stores and online on December 8, 2007.

According to their site, they are planning on releasing Hook Me Up in the US this month.

The twins spoke to The Bulletin in 2007 about what they had learned from being in the spotlight, with Jess saying, "We've learned that our opinions matter as much as anyone else's. We should stand up and express ourselves at all times."

"Untouched" is now impacting Top 40.

tour dates
Aug 22 Cuyahoga Falls, OH Blossom Music Center
Aug 23 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena
Aug 24 Chicago, IL First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre
Aug 26 Pittsburgh, PA Post-Gazette Pavilion
Aug 27 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Bank Center
Sept 2 University Park, PA Bryce Jordan Center
Sept 4 Tampa, FL Ford Amphitheatre
Sept 5 West Palm Beach, FL Cruzan Amphitheatre

biography
The Veronicas -- 23-year-old twin sisters Lisa and Jessica Origliasso -- have become one of the most popular bands in the girls' native Australia thanks to their signature harmonies, killer pop hooks, and sassy style. Now with the sophomore release of their dance friendly, beat-driven new album, Hook Me Up, The Veronicas look to do the same in the U.S.

Hook Me Up is a confident collection of electro-pop and synth-rock tunes that showcases the sisters' expert songcraft, organic vocal chemistry, and sophisticated sense of humor -- a powerful trifecta that has led The Veronicas to huge success in Australia. Hook Me Up has already sold 130,000 albums – almost reaching double platinum status – and given the band their first #1 single with the title track. Their debut album, The Secret Life Of … has sold more than 300,000 copies Down Under, racked up three of their five Top 10 singles and won a slew of awards (including a coveted ARIA), making the girls international stars.

While The Veronicas showed their talent for writing bright-sounding pop-rock tunes on Secret Life Of…(which Teen Vogue called "both sweet and vicious"), the girls take a stylistic leap forward on Hook Me Up by exchanging the debut's pop-punk stylings for a more sophisticated electro-beat feel.

"It's been more than two years since we wrote the first record so our musical tastes have changed a bit," Lisa says. "We've been living in Los Angeles where we got into the whole electro-pop rock scene. When it came time to write the album, we were really inspired by it musically."

"We didn't want to make a record that was the same as the first," Jess adds. "We definitely wanted to create a different sound for ourselves and reinvent The Veronicas. A lot has changed in our lives over the past two years. And we've changed a bit personally, so we had a lot to say. We wanted to spend the time creating this new sound, not just for us but for music in general."

Recorded at Lisa and Jess's home in the Hollywood Hills, Hook Me Up finds the girls collaborating with a host of top-notch hitmakers, including Shelly Peiken (Christina Aguilera), Greg Wells (Mika), John Feldmann (The Used, Good Charlotte), and the legendary Billy Steinberg (Madonna). Most of the songs, however, were written with their old friend Toby Gad, who contributed three tracks to Secret Life Of…. Each day, Gad, who also wrote Fergie's 2007 hit "Big Girls Don't Cry," would drive over to the girls' townhouse, where he'd set up a makeshift studio

"With Toby, we'd gossip and tell him all the drama in our lives," Lisa says with a laugh. Adds Jess: "That's why a lot of the songs we wrote with him come across as emotional and dramatic. I'd have to say this record is even more personal than the first one, which was hard because the first record was very much us."

Their collaboration resulted in eight tracks, from the album's dramatic first single "Untouched," to such razor-edged epics as the impassioned "This Is How It Feels" and the spiky "Revenge Is Sweeter," through to the funky "Take Me On The Floor" and "Popular." "It's a very beat-driven dance record, though there are a few ballads on there," Jess says. "It came out exactly how we wanted it to, so we're stoked."

Hook Me Up is the beginning of a new chapter in the Veronicas' stateside career. Secret Life Of… was released by Sire Records in February 2006 and debuted at Number Three on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. Named a "Breaker Artist" by AOL and called "Australia's rockingest twins" by Blender, the girls were also praised by Entertainment Weekly for making "most of their female pop-rock rivals seem like jugheads." Indeed, critics agreed that the Veronicas were "the real thing" (as the New York Post put it).

Having performed together since they were five, Lisa and Jess, who hail from Brisbane, were primed for the fuss that was to follow, including being selected to appear in a Fall 2005 promotional campaign for Choice Calvin Klein and being feted by Teen Vogue and Jane magazine. They were also chosen to sing the title song for the WB show Related and appeared as themselves in an episode that aired in February 2006. In March, the album's first single "4Ever" was featured in the Amanda Bynes comedy She's the Man, as well as on the soundtrack.

"It's definitely been a crazy ride,” Lisa says, "and it can go so quick that you often need to take a look back to see how far you've come. The new songs sound a bit different, but I think there's always room for an artist to grow and develop. We just want to keep making music for as long as we can and we hope that people keep enjoying it."

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Tracklisting

The Veronicas - Hook Me Up