Melissa Auf der Maur

Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian bassist who played with The Smashing Pumpkins from October 1999 through the breakup in 2000.

She was recruited as the bassist for the band Hole in the summer of 1994 and is included on several Hole releases, including the album Celebrity Skin (1998). She left Hole in 1999, joined The Smashing Pumpkins as a touring member, and began her solo career. She has also collaborated with Indochine, Rufus Wainwright, Ric Ocasek and Neverending White Lights.

Auf der Maur is a photographer and occasional actress. Her photographs have been included in National Geographic and exhibited at Sotheby's. She has acted in How to Make the Cruelest Month (1998), Beyond Borders (2003) and Collaborator (2011).

VH1 placed Auf der Maur at number 68 on its list of 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll in 2007 and her solo albums have received favorable reviews.

The Smashing Pumpkins
Original Smashing Pumpkins bassist D'arcy Wretzky left the band in September 1999 during the recording of the band's fifth studio album, Machina/The Machines of God (2000). In October 1999, Auf der Maur was recruited as her replacement by Billy Corgan, with whom she was still friends from her time in Tinker and Hole. "Courtney knew I was leaving to make my solo project," she explained. "But then, coincidentally, the week that I left Hole was the week D'Arcy left the Pumpkins. So, within a week, Billy called me and said, 'The stars have aligned: it's time for you to join my band.' I had to do it."

It's been so generous of other people to lend themselves into something that's obviously such as close-knit family. And particularly with Melissa Auf der Maur, she's really sacrificed her whole year to keep this band going, so we owe her a lot.

Auf der Maur was featured on neither Machina/The Machines of God nor Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music (2000) as Wretzky's remaining bass duties were assumed by Corgan during recording sessions. However she played with the Pumpkins during the Europe 1999-2000 and Resume the Pose tours, and final The Sacred and Profane tour before the band broke up. The tour covered North America, Japan and Europe and was described by Auf der Maur as "very ambitious". Reflecting on the tour, she said: "they would always be changing arrangements and keys of songs. The work ethic of the Pumpkins is so full-on and so demanding ... joining [the band] was just intense work, much more about work than about emotional experience". She performed at various shows, including the band's final television performance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and the band's final show at the Cabaret Metro in Chicago on December 2, 2000, as well as appearing in the band's music videos. Smashing Pumpkins broke up at the end of the year 2000.

In February 2006, MTV reported that Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin had signed a new management deal with Azoff Management, with a spokesperson confirming they had signed under The Smashing Pumpkins moniker. In response, Auf der Maur said in a separate interview that "as long as Billy has Jimmy, he can make the essential Pumpkins record, I'm sure" and when asked of her involvement said she was not planning on participating in the reunion but noted that her "services are always there to play [her] favorite songs. If D'arcy is not available, I'm always happy to be second in line". Despite her earlier interest and Wretzky's absence, The Globe and Mail reported in April 2007 that Auf Der Maur confirmed she would not be rejoining The Smashing Pumpkins.

Discography

 * 2004: Auf der Maur
 * 2010: Out of Our Minds

Other studio appearances

 * 1997: Troublizing (Ric Ocasek) – bass on several tracks that Billy Corgan performed on
 * 1998: Celebrity Skin ((Hole) – bass and co-songwriter
 * 2000: Judas O (The Smashing Pumpkins) – bass on "Rock On"

Music video appearances

 * 1999: "The Everlasting Gaze" (The Smashing Pumpkins)
 * 2000: "Stand Inside Your Love" (The Smashing Pumpkins)