Melissa's moment

Auf der Maur grabs experience, making own mark

From: MetroNews, 2004-05-28
Date added: 2005-01-29

back

Melissa Auf der Maur financed and produced her album, Auf der Maur, herself.

Melissa Auf der Maur is ready to take her place in the spotlight.

After years backing some of the biggest names in rock – the troubled Courtney Love of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins’ Billy Corgan, to be exact – the bassist and singer is setting out to make her mark on the music business on her own terms.

But the Montreal native stresses that her solo ambitions never drove her to break away from the creative dominance of Love and Corgan. On the contrary, she says her 10 years playing bass and singing backup provided her with the opportunity to learn about the music business and blossom as an artist.

"Being a musician is a very organic thing," she told Metro in an interview in Toronto yesterday. "It’s like love. I’m not wishing I one day get married, have kids and have a house. I wish I find my soul mate. It’s the same thing with music – I want to be a good musician and I want to do the right thing by music.

"So in Hole or the Pumpkins it wasn’t like I was desperately looking to get out. I was like, I’m in a band, I’m learning the skills every day and it makes me happy."

Auf der Maur says that Love and Corgan indirectly taught her some lessons that she’s now able to apply to her own solo efforts.

"I learned a lot about expressing yourself, not being too shy, standing up for what you believe in," Auf der Maur remembers of her time in Hole. " . . . I guess a lot of Courtney’s passion for putting a female presence on a male-dominated landscape.

"That became very important to me after years of being her partner in that mission."

As for Corgan’s influence, Auf der Maur was impressed by the work ethic demonstrated by the frontman of the now-defunct Pumpkins, efforts which inspired her relentless touring schedule.

Although she is now signed with a major label, Auf der Maur self-financed and self-produced her record to secure creative control – a risky step in an industry where financial returns are rarely guaranteed.

"I just wanted the foundation of it to be really pure, she said. "I was investing in my future and my music and I was protecting my creative vision so that I could have a very honest future with my music."

Auf der Maur’s self-titled disc will be released Tuesday.

back