"I was in a rock band for years, and I didn't even know how a royalty cheque got into my bank account," said Melissa Auf der Maur, former bassist for Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, over the phone from somewhere in the Eastern U.S. Now on an independent journey, Canadian hard rock songstress Auf der Maur has taken hold of all artistic matters in her life, from production to management, distribution, merchandise and touring for her newest interdisciplinary project, Out Of Our Minds, which she will be promoting at Call the Office on November 2.

"I joined Hole straight out of arts school at 22 years old (and) I was raised by bohemian freelance parents. How was I supposed to know that anything like this existed? I'm making up for a lot of last time," she said with energetic conviction.

Auf der Maur's introduction to the world of rock and roll came famously when she apologized to Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan "on behalf of Montreal" after her friend threw a beer bottle at him during a Pumpkins concert in Montreal. The two kept in contact, and after the tragic loss of Hole's bassist, Kristen Pfaff, Corgan recommended Auf der Maur for the job.

She joined Hole soon thereafter and stayed with the band until its demise in 2002, at which point she became yet another replacement, this time for D'arcy Wretzky in Smashing Pumpkins.

"My music career happened overnight, A to Z," Auf der Maur asserted. "It was an unnatural Cinderella bizarro story,"

But in the past few years, she's been reclaiming those lost experiences, starting with her first independently released record, Out Of Our Minds. Self-funded, written and produced, Auf der Maur has ambitiously tackled a multi-dimensional universe, incorporating film, comic book and album into a fantasy story revolving around a Viking tale.

"I consciously wanted to experiment in showing the same feeling in different ways and having the listeners and viewers have a unique experience. I believe that the way in which you find things creates a lasting impression. The way you first discover or hear a song or see a painting, often the context is just as important as the actual piece, so I guess I was playing a lot with the two things of 'How do I change up the actual piece?' and then 'How do I change up all the different doorways at which people can arrive at that place?'"

And with a star-studded backing band featuring members of Queens of the Stone Age and Nine Inch Nails, as well as a guest appearance by former Misfits frontman Glenn Danzig, Out Of Our Minds presents a unique experience unlike anything else Auf der Maur has been a part of. But that doesn't mean her experiences with Hole and Smashing Pumpkins haven't left an indelible mark on her career.

"Courtney (Love) and Billy (Corgan) are essentially my big sister, big brother, soul-mate bizarro role models. I've learned so much from them and the thing I respect so much about both of them is their extremism. They are the most ferociously, fearlessly themselves, and … make no compromises whatsoever."

Melissa Auf der Maur may not be quite as controversy-driven as her '90s rock idol predecessors, but the zeal and ambition she exudes, especially as a musician bordering 40 years of age, is remarkable.

"I don't make a conscious effort to do anything except make the most of my life ... to evolve and change and grow and not stay the same. Could I have continued to be a bass player in big world touring acts? Probably. Would I want to? No, I've already done that. I discover something new every day about myself and about another band or another artist and that's how I want to live till I'm 99 years old."

So before Auf der Maur begins her next big project, catch her at Call the Office playing songs from Out Of Our Minds on November 2. Tickets are $12.50 in advance at ticketscene.ca