By Danica Ward
Staff Writer
Canadian bassist Melissa Auf der Maur, whose time in bands like Hole and Smashing Pumpkins made her one of the most rockin’ women of the ‘90s, recently released her own memoir.
der Maur has spent many years in the shadows of the music industry, backing away to focus on her many photo exhibits and solo albums.
Now, she has re-entered the rock zeitgeist to remind everyone of the impact she had on the grunge craze of the ‘90s. Her new memoir, “Even the Good Girls Will Cry,” chronicles her experiences not just in the music scene and its culture, but her own personal experiences with grief, fame and everything in between.
From her early beginnings in Montreal to touring with Hole after the deaths of both Kurt Cobain and their former bassist Kristen Pfaff, der Maur reveals it all.
der Maur joined Hole in the summer of 1994, following the destruction that were the deaths of the two most important people in the band’s, or frontwoman Courtney Love’s, lives. After initially turning the position down because of the intense mourning, as well as her own entry-level experience playing bass, she joined the band, realizing it would mean making a feminist statement.
In an interview with CBC, der Maur discussed how after meeting the band in person, she realized what her involvement would mean to the larger music community. She stated, “When I saw what we were up against, that this woman [Love] is also going to be blamed for killing her husband? No, I am going to be part of a sisterhood that represents women on a grand scale, and misunderstood women.”
der Maur began touring with Hole in August 1994, almost immediately after the release of “Live Through This.” Her studio bass work is also featured on 1998’s “Celebrity Skin,” but she left in October 1999 when her contract with the band was finished.
After departing Hole, der Maur briefly joined The Smashing Pumpkins as a touring member of the band for its 2000 tour, after the release of “Machina/The Machines of God.” Replacing D’arcy Wretzky, she toured with the band for an ambitious, year-long world tour.
After that tour, der Maur began to focus on solo projects, including music, photography and film. Up until now, der Maur has stayed in the shadows, but she is ready to get back on the road.
With a book tour spanning the UK, Canada and U.S. west coast starting April 7, der Maur is set to spread her ‘90s rock gospel to fans worldwide.
Also set to be released on Sept. 8 is her new photo book “My ‘90s Rock Photographs.”
Acting as a sort of “love letter” to what she calls “the last analog decade,” der Maur captures the emotional hardships, intensity and nostalgia that characterized her music career.
Featuring over 200 curated photographs from the height of her career, the book is described to have a “psychedelic scrapbook” type formatting and include the same deeply personal memories that she shares in her memoir.
Around the same time, her new photo exhibition will open at the Art Gallery of Ontario, and then tour the world after a year in Toronto. Previously unheard solo demos of der Maur’s will also be showcased at the exhibition.
In an interview with Louder, der Maur said, “I'm really excited about it, because I think it's the way that I'm going to ease myself back into sound. I need to come back in through the innocence place. I wrote this book, to be able to reconnect with that girl at 19 who was spending 24/7 obsessed with music, I need her to teach me how to get back there.”
With her tour having begun March 30, 2026, this seems to be the year of Melissa Auf der Maur.
