Melissa Auf der Maur

Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian rock musician of Franco-Swiss ancestry, who currently resides in Montreal, Quebec. She is also a published photographer. The name "Maur", pronounced to rhyme with "power", is derived from the German word for wall (Mauer), thus her full surname can be literally translated as "On the Wall".

Early life

Auf der Maur was born to journalist and politician Nick Auf der Maur and literary translator Linda Gaboriau. She once observed that she had been known her whole life primarily as Nick's daughter, until she became the bassist for Hole, whereupon he became known primarily as Melissa's father.

Her primary language throughout childhood was English. She later learned French and Spanish. She spent some of her early childhood in Kenya with her mother, but soon returned to Montreal, (after getting Malaria a number of times) where she attended a performing arts high school, F.A.C.E. School, and then Concordia University as a photography major.

Musical career

Hole

Auf der Maur first became friends with Billy Corgan after apologizing for a friend who threw a beer bottle at the band during one of The Smashing Pumpkins' first Canadian concert dates at Foufounes Électriques. Her band, Tinker, opened for The Smashing Pumpkins in Montreal 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 initially turned the job down, but later reconsidered. She joined Hole two weeks before the Reading Festival, and stayed through the album Celebrity Skin, leaving on October 20, 1999.

The Smashing Pumpkins

Not too long afterward, she joined The Smashing Pumpkins line-up, just after the band had finished the recording of Machina/The Machines of God, and the departure of D'Arcy Wretzky occurred. She toured with the band in support of the Machina and remained with them until they disbanded in 2000.

Other collaborations

She also collaborated with the French group Indochine on the song "Le grand secret", jointly singing vocals and appearing in the video with Nicola Sirkis, and toured with Ric Ocasek of The Cars in 1997. Auf der Maur also contributed bass and backing vocals to childhood friend Rufus Wainwright's 2001 album Poses on the song "Evil Angel".

Hand of Doom and The Chelsea

After The Smashing Pumpkins' breakup, Auf der Maur fronted a short-lived Black Sabbath cover band called Hand of Doom in order to practice being a lead singer. In 2002, Auf der Maur, alongside drummer Samantha Maloney (Mötley Crüe, Hole, Peaches), Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle, Zwan), and Radio Sloan (Peaches, The Need, The Courtney Love Band) created a new band called The Chelsea. They performed original songs and played one show in Los Angeles, California.

Auf der Maur

In 2004, her band Auf der Maur released its self titled debut album, garnering significant airplay on modern rock radio stations for the singles "Followed the Waves", "Real A Lie" and "Taste You". The same year, she appeared on the CBC television program The Greatest Canadian, as David Suzuki's celebrity advocate. Auf der Maur was part of the November 2004 Love Metal tour also featuring HIM. She was also the opening act for Matthew Good's Put Out Your Lights Tour in 2004. She contributed backing vocals on the track "Do Miss America" which appears on Ryan Adams' "Rock N Roll" album (2003).

Currently

On February 2, 2006, MTV.com reported that Billy Corgan and Jimmy Chamberlin had signed a new management deal with the Front Line Management, with a spokesperson confirming they had signed under the name "Smashing Pumpkins".[1] In response, Auf der Maur said in a separate interview, "As long as Billy has Jimmy, he can make the essential Pumpkins record, I'm sure." When asked of her involvement, she said she was not participating in any reunion plans, but was quoted as saying, "my services are always there to play my favorite songs. If D'arcy is not available, I'm always happy to be second in line."[2] On April 20, 2006, it was officially announced on www.smashingpumpkins.com that the band was back together writing material, and the site was updated on July 28 to mention they were in the studio. To this point, Corgan and Chamberlin are the only ones verified as members of the band. Auf der Maur has not commented on her plans with the band, if any.

In 2006, Auf Der Maur was included in Blender magazine's hottest women of rock alongside Joan Jett, Liz Phair, and fellow Hole-member Courtney Love. ^[1]

Photography

Auf der Maur is also an experienced photographer. She was a photography major specializing in self-portraiture at Concordia University when she was invited to join Hole. Her photos have been published in Nylon, Bust, Mastermind, and Harper's Bazaar, among other magazines. Her photos were also in the exhibition 'The Kids are Alright' at Sotheby's in New York City along with photos by Yelena Yemchuk. A book of photos entitled 'Channels' has been in the works for a few years.

Discography

• with Hole

Celebrity Skin, 1998

• with The Smashing Pumpkins

Judas 0, 2000 Melissa plays bass on the track "Rock On"

Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, 2000 except on track "Le Deux Machina"

• with Rufus Wainwright

Poses, 2001, bass and backing vocals on "Evil Angel"

• Solo

Auf der Maur, 2004

"Someone To Love", 2007, backing vocals with Fountains Of Wayne

References

• Errico, Mike. "Hottest Women of. . .Rock", Blender Magazine Online, December 2006. Retrieved on February 8, 2007.^[2]
• Jones, Rob. "Auf der Maur, Mean Fiddler, 13 April 2004", opentomusic.com, April 2004.^[3]

See also

• List of Quebec musicians
• Music of Quebec
• Culture of Quebec
• List of bands from Canada
• List of Canadian musicians

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