Auf Der Maur Rocks For The Womenfolk

08/17/04 4:00pm

by Sarah Kurchak (CHARTattack)

The North American rock landscape might still be a man's world, but Melissa Auf Der Maur isn't about to let that stop her and her band.

"The record's doing very, very well in Europe, because they're not relying on radio slash TV as much because people actually read magazines and research things and discover music through other forms than mass radio and mass media," Auf Der Maur says matter-of-factly. "I don't know if the scene is much different in Canada than it is in the States, but in the States, if you don't get into that mass blanket of media, then a lot of people won't hear about your music. And yes, I'm having problems getting there and basically the biggest thing I have against me is that I'm a woman. But I choose to not focus on the negative and more be inspired to try to shift it in any, any way I can through confidence, strength, hope, faith."

So, instead of focusing on the fact that she's struggling to get Auf Der Maur, the band, on radios and televisions across the continent, she's decided to put all of her energy into a more immediate and organic way of reaching people: touring. Over the course of the summer, Auf Der Maur have been traipsing across America (and briefly touching down in Canada) as part of The Cure's Curiosa Festival, and it's gained them some very successful exposure to a brand new audience.

"This has been the best tour I could be on for North America. This is the first time I'm actually getting in front of the right kind of open-minded, open-eared, open-hearted, curious listeners. This tour's been great for that. I really can sense the newcomers and the new listeners," she enthuses. " The majority of people who have bought the CD afterwards or come to talk to me afterward have never heard me or a note I've ever made. It's just brand new. And the response is... It's so different! What is this?' and that, to me, is the most exciting thing of all."

Whether Auf Der Maur can continue to break down walls for female-fronted rock once the festival season is over and they return to their own Stateside gigs remains to be seen, but Melissa remains positive about the situation.

"It doesn't get me down," she says. "I'm far from bitter or resentful. It's just life. In the same way that we're far from having a female president, we're far from having equality in our society, we're far from it. It's just par for the course, so I don't stress about it and I just aim to try to plow ahead and shift in subtle ways I can, just by being present. I'm not a victim."