Former HOLE And SMASHING PUMPKINS Bassist MELISSA AUF DER MAUR Announces First Solo Performances in 15 Years

Montreal-born, Hudson, New York-based musician and artist Melissa Auf Der Maur (HOLE, THE SMASHING PUMPKINS) has had an incredible year — she kicked off 2026 with the publication of her highly-praised "Even The Good Girls Will Cry: A '90s Rock Memoir", opened her first solo museum exhibition "Melissa Auf Der Maur: My '90s Rock Photographs" at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO),released a 240-page photobook, "My '90s Rock Photographs", and digitally released "Bass Womb Room: My '90s 4-Track Demos x Field Recordings", her first new music in over 15 years. This all culminates in the announcement of "Bass Womb Room"'s vinyl pressing, out December 4 via Envision Records, and her triumphant return to live performance, on stage January 15 at the AGO (free with general admission) and on January 17 at Montreal's Le Gesù.

A standalone album and a soundtrack to an immersive multimedia artwork, "Bass Womb Room" features seven never-before-heard 4-track tape recorder demos written and recorded by Auf Der Maur in the '90s, as well as eight new "interludes" created for her museum exhibition, co-produced by Auf Der Maur and Alex Crow. The 4-track demos on "Bass Womb Room" were written by Auf Der Maur in her living room home studios in the 1990s, on her trusted Tascam 4-track. All seven of these demos were recorded and self-mixed right there and then at home. There is a purity and an innocence to these recordings that sits in stark contrast to the music Auf Der Maur was making in the studio with HOLE at the time.

"I wrote these songs in the context of rising pressure from the major label-driven music industry on myself and my peers to make glossy hit songs to dominate radio airwaves," says Auf Der Maur. "These songs are the sound of my internal experimentation and a way of keeping the Montreal art girl alive inside. These sounds are the quiet and private side of the girl who joined the big American major label rock band." These are the final works from that time. There has been no modern intervention for this release other than mastering.

A mirrored pyramid, featuring video and set to music written and recorded by Auf Der Maur to "Bass Womb Room" art installation is both a celebration and emotional centerpiece, a site designed to give visitors to the exhibition a taste of the transcendent experience of being on the road and performing on stage, before cell phones and digital recording.

The live interpretation of the installation will include projections from Auf Der Maur's singular video and photographic archives. Joining her for the January performances are musicians Alex Crow and Betsy Wright (EX HEX). Longtime friend, renowned artist, and fellow Montrealer Jessica Moss (THEE SILVER MT. ZION MEMORIAL ORCHESTRA) will make a very special guest appearance in Montreal.

Melissa Auf Der Maur book tour dates

Nov. 11 - London, UK @ Waterstones Gower Street
Nov. 13 - Paris, FR @ Yvon Lambert (in convo with Sophie Hackett)
Nov. 14 - Paris, FR @ Gaité Lyrique Auditorium
Nov. 17 - Berlin, DE @ Fotografiska Berlin
Nov. 19 - Berlin, DE @ Rough Trade Berlin

Melissa Auf Der Maur live tour dates

Jan. 15 - Toronto, ON @ Art Gallery of Ontario
Jan. 17 - Montreal, QC @ Le Gesù

Auf Der Maur's (born 1972) indie band TINKER had just opened for THE SMASHING PUMPKINS when Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love as the new bassist for HOLE's grief-marked "Live Through This" world tour, beginning soon after the deaths of both Kurt Cobain and Kristen Pfaff. She played on the group's Grammy-nominated album "Celebrity Skin". After leaving HOLE, Auf Der Maur joined THE SMASHING PUMPKINS as the bassist for their farewell tour from 1999 to 2000. Following the release of a few solo albums, she moved to Hudson, New York, became a mother and co-founded the multi-disciplinary art center Basilica Hudson.

Photo credit: Craig Boyko