Biography
Melissa Auf der Maur (born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian rock musician from Montréal, Canada, best known as the former bassist of alternative rock bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Auf der Maur became friends with Billy Corgan after apologizing for a friend who threw a beer bottle at him during one of The Smashing Pumpkins' Canadian shows. Her band, Tinker, opened for The Smashing Pumpkins in Montréal in 1993. In 1994, when Hole was in need of a new bassist following the death of Kristen Pfaff, Corgan recommended Auf der Maur to Courtney Love. Auf der Maur originally turned down the job but reconsidered on advice from her father. She joined Hole two weeks before the band's appearance at the Reading Festival, and recorded the band's third album Celebrity Skin. She left on October 20, 1999 after the band's tours in promotion of the album.
In 1999, she joined The Smashing Pumpkins after the departure of D'arcy Wretzky, and remained with the band until they disbanded in 2000. After this, she collaborated with a number of artists. In 2001, she sang on Rufus Wainwright's album, Poses. In 2002, she sang with Nicola Sirkis on the French band Indochine's song "Le Grand Secret."
In 2004, she released her debut album, Auf der Maur. The singles "Followed the Waves", "Real A Lie" and "Taste You" garnered significant airplay on modern rock radio. Six years later, she released her long-awaited follow-up, Out of Our Minds, in 2010, which featured a more obscure approach to songwriting and featured an appearance from Glenn Danzig.
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