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Melissa MaurCanadian rock singer
Date of Birth: 17.03.1972
Country:  Canada |
Content:
Biography of Melissa Auf der Maur
Melissa Auf der Maur was born on March 17, 1972, in Montreal, Canada. Her father was a renowned journalist, while her mother was a translator and the first female DJ in Montreal. During her childhood, Melissa lived briefly with her mother in Kenya, but they had to return to Montreal because she fell ill with malaria multiple times.
Melissa developed a passion for photography from a young age and pursued a degree in photography at Concordia University in Montreal. To support herself, she followed in her mother's footsteps and became a rock DJ at a local bar, where she also began playing bass guitar. Music was always a major interest for Melissa, alongside photography.
In the early 1990s, Melissa joined a local band called "Tinker" and performed in Montreal clubs. Around the same time, she attended a concert by the "Smashing Pumpkins" and had the opportunity to meet their vocalist, Billy Corgan. This encounter happened because one of her friends accidentally hit Corgan with a bottle, and Melissa went backstage to apologize. Several years later, when the "Smashing Pumpkins" returned to Montreal as successful artists, Melissa reached out to Billy and asked if her band could open for them. Although Corgan agreed, the situation changed when Courtney Love, leader of the American alternative rock band "Hole" and widow of Kurt Cobain, contacted him to recommend a new bassist to replace the late Kristen Pfaff, who had died of a drug overdose. Corgan recommended Melissa for the position.
Thanks to her father's persuasion, Melissa flew to Seattle in 1994 for an audition with Courtney Love. Her first performance with "Hole" was at the "Reading Festival" in front of a crowd of sixty thousand people. Over the next five years, Melissa toured the world with the band, recorded their final album "Celebrity Skin," and became an integral part of "Hole." However, as the band faced the brink of breaking up, Melissa's five-year contract expired, and she decided to pursue her own music career. Interestingly, during this time, Billy Corgan once again played a role in her destiny and asked her to replace the bassist of the "Smashing Pumpkins" for their tour, which turned out to be their last. After another year of touring, Melissa left music behind in late 2000 to focus on understanding herself and delve into photography.
Her personal exhibitions have been held in Canada, the United States, and Japan, and her photographs have appeared in prestigious magazines. In 2004, Melissa released her first solo album, "Auf der Maur," which she recorded with her famous musician friends without joining any specific band or label. She personally financed the entire album and wrote all the songs, drawing from material accumulated over the past decade, including her time with "Tinker" in Montreal. The album was released in early 2004 and received critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase. The first single, "Followed the Waves," reached the Top 40 in the UK. Over the next three years, Melissa made multiple guest appearances on other musicians' albums.
