page_title: Melissa Auf der Maur
section_title: 1994–99: Hole
hierarchical_section_title: Melissa Auf der Maur / Music career / 1994–99: Hole
caption_attribution_description: English: Hole reunion performance at the Public Assembly in New York City, April 13, 2012.
context_page_description: Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur is a Canadian musician, singer-songwriter, photographer and actress.
  Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited as the bassist for the American alternative rock band Hole in the summer of 1994 and is included on several Hole releases, including the album Celebrity Skin. Following her departure from Hole in 1999, Auf der Maur briefly joined The Smashing Pumpkins as a touring member for its 2000 tour and began her solo career; her debut studio album, Auf der Maur, was released in 2004 on Capitol Records and her second studio album, Out of Our Minds, was released in 2010 on her own independent record label, PHI–MAdM Music. She has also collaborated with Indochine, Rufus Wainwright, Ric Ocasek and Neverending White Lights.
  Auf der Maur is also 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, Beyond Borders and Collaborator.
context_section_description: In summer 1994, Hole was in need of a new bassist after the death of Kristen Pfaff. Of her original decision to decline Love's offer to join, Auf der Maur recollected: "I said no because it seemed like a very sad scenario to be going into ... it just seemed like a very sad place", citing Pfaff's death a "red flag" and a reason to not join the band. Upon meeting Love and drummer Patty Schemel, Auf der Maur said she got "a flash of destiny in her eyes" and accepted the offer. She completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) at Concordia and was recruited as the bassist for Hole two weeks prior to its performance at the 1994 Reading Festival. "Lou Barlow and Evan Dando were watching from the side of the stage," she recalled. "I probably didn't even move. I just thought, 'As long as I get these parts right, it'll be just fine.'"
  From 1994 to 1995, Auf der Maur toured worldwide with Hole in support of its second studio album, Live Through This (1994). On the tour, Auf der Maur was described by guitarist Eric Erlandson as "bringing sunshine to the band" during the "dark and grey" atmosphere of the tour, which was problematic due to the band's recent bereavements—notably the death of Pfaff and Love's husband Kurt Cobain—as well as Love's drug addiction. Auf der Maur befriended Patty Schemel and rented a house with her following the two-year-long tour. The duo began a side project, Constant Comment, and released a split 7" single with Red Aunts on Sympathy for the Record Industry featuring the song "Firecrasher". Auf der Maur has since said her friendship and musical compatibility between her and Schemel was based on a "redhead connection"; Schemel has referred to Auf der Maur as her "anchor" during the period following the death of Pfaff and Cobain.
  Auf der Maur was featured on various Hole releases, including the 1996 non-album single "Gold Dust Woman" and on various live tracks on My Body, the Hand Grenade (1997). She was featured on the band's third studio album, Celebrity Skin (1998), performing bass and co-composing five of the 12 songs. Celebrity Skin was a major critical and commercial success; it charted at number 9 in the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart and number 3 in the Canadian Albums Chart, as well its lead single and title track peaking at number 1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It has since been certified platinum in both the U.S. and Canada. Following the tour in support of its release, Auf der Maur left Hole in October 1999 as her five-year contract with the band ended and she wished "to grow in many different directions".
  In June 2009, NME reported that Hole was reforming. Love claimed that Auf der Maur was rejoining as bassist to record on her upcoming album Nobody's Daughter—which was being rebranded as a Hole album—and performing on the supporting tour. Auf der Maur stated that she was "surprised and disappointed" by the announcement and had no intention of partaking in the reformed band. Despite several legal issues, Nobody's Daughter was released as Hole's fourth studio album in April 2010 with Shawn Dailey replacing Auf der Maur as bassist.
  Hole reunited again—with the Celebrity Skin line-up of Love, Erlandson, Auf der Maur and Schemel—for a one-off performance at Public Assembly in Brooklyn, New York on April 12, 2012 at an after-party for Schemel's film Hit So Hard (2011). Originally Auf der Maur, Erlandson and Schemel were performing as a trio until Love arrived for a spontaneous performance of "Miss World" and "Over the Edge". The Quietus reported in April 2014 that the four members had reunited although in subsequent interviews, Love downplayed talk of an imminent reunion. In April 2016, Auf der Maur stated in an interview that she no longer had time or energy for a full-fledged reunion, but would be interested in wrapping up the Hole legacy with a retrospective disc and small set of tour dates.
caption: Auf der Maur (left) performing at Hole's one-off reunion at Public Assembly in Brooklyn, New York on April 12, 2012
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