Melissa Auf der Maur

Bassist Melissa Auf Der Maur was briefly a member of two of the biggest alt-rock groups of the '90s, Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins, before launching a solo career during the early 21st century. Born on March 17, 1972, in Montreal, Canada (her mother, Linda Gaboriau, was one of Montreal's first female rock radio DJs), Auf Der Maur started her music career by playing bass in local outfits, including Tinker. But the course of her musical career was inadvertently changed due to a thrown bottle. Auf Der Maur and some friends went to see The Smashing Pumpkins on one of their first Canadian tours, and when one of her friends in the audience threw a bottle on-stage, Auf Der Maur made it a point to apologize to Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan for the incident. Soon the two got to talking, and a friendship was born.



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