Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard that the former bassist from Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins has released a memoir. I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy a few weeks ago and devoured it over a weekend.
Melissa Auf Der Maur’s Even The Good Girls Will Cry is not just an autobiography about the 90s grunge scene, but a deep dive into the cultural shift during the last analog decade. Masterfully written with the insight of a goddess/witch who not only saw all the signs but followed them with depth and purpose. Melissa takes you down the rabbit hole through her sharp lens, giving you a backstage pass to some of the most turbulent and exciting moments in rock history. And she does it through her beautiful and powerful feminine perspective. She is holding the pen and the camera.
A chance encounter with Billy Corgan at Les Foufounes Électrique changes the trajectory of her life. Through haunting dreams and witchy-poo premonitions, “Melissa from Montreal” ditches university and realizes that music is her calling. She becomes the grunge Cinderella and joins Hole. Not because that was her dream gig, but because she realizes that those women needed her and she needed to be there.
“I understood on some profound level that I was being asked to participate in a joint commitment to carve a place for women in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. Being the minority gender in the rock world seemed very significant to me now. I had not felt it before when I was back home, surrounded by mostly men, but in the presence of Hole, their songs and their stories, I heard my call.”
Not only is she on VH1’s list of 100 greatest women in rock ‘n’ roll, but Melissa is a prolific photographer who has taken thousands of photos over the years and thankfully has preserved them as a vital musical time capsule.
Some of these photos appear in the book, and as she announced at her reading on Monday, March 30 at SAT, there will be a book of photos coming out soon.
I have been to quite a few book launches in my life, but never have I ever seen so many people waiting outside to see an author. The line in front of SAT went down Boul St. Laurent and around the corner. Luckily, I was on the guest list (thanks Six Media) and was able to get in quickly and actually find a seat.
The venue was pitch dark as a slideshow of Melissa’s photos was projected on large screens. We were treated to some rare footage of an interview done by the late great journalist Dennis Trudeau. It was from the mid-90s, and Melissa looked like a little girl, sitting next to her dad. At that moment, he wasn’t larger than life journalist Nick Auf Der Maur, but a proud papa, who was beaming with pride at his daughter, the rock star. For some reason, that really choked me up. It was my favourite and most unexpected moment of the night. It was also cool seeing my favourite Montreal photographer Susan Moss. (She needs to write a book.)
TV/radio host Catherine Pogonat did a great job hosting the event. In typical Montreal fashion, she spoke in French, while Melissa read excerpts from the book in English and also answered some questions in French. There was a Q&A part at the very end. And it was clear that although she’s been out of the music scene for a while, Melissa has a lot of fans in Montreal. This was her last stop on the book tour. She’s been all over the US and Canada for the past few weeks, having some fascinating conversations with some brilliant artists and journalists from Drew Barrymore and Billy Corgan to Tom Power, and hopefully me soon.
My copy of Even The Good Girls Will Cry is full of sticky notes. Every single chapter has a quote or experience that I can relate to on a profound level. Not because I’m a Hole or Smashing Pumpkins fan, not because I’m a photographer or writer, and not even because I’m a Pisces/witch. As a Gen-X woman who uses her platform to elevate other women, I truly appreciate Melissa Auf Der Maur’s commitment and care in her support of women in the industry. By sharing her personal story about the decade that defined her generation, a generation that she helped shape, in her own voice from her own perspective, is not only educating, but inspiring. Not just for me, but for all the girls.
Review – Annette Aghazarian
Photos – Susan Moss and Annette Aghazarian
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