An Evening with Melissa Auf der Maur

An Evening with Melissa Auf der Maur - Reading & Conversation with LD Deutsch & Jessica Hundley

AUDITORIUM

Even the Good Girls Will Cry begins with Melissa Auf der Maur’s bohemian upbringing in Montreal, where her early, deep connection to art and music gave her entry to the colorful and thriving local creative scene. Working as a cassette DJ and ticket girl, she would see (and sometimes meet) the luminaries who’d pass through town—Nirvana, Jane's Addiction, Pavement, Sonic Youth. Thanks to a thrown beer bottle and a long-shot fan letter to a PO Box, her band Tinker scored a life-changing opening slot for The Smashing Pumpkins and, sensing her natural talent on bass, Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love, just one of the many uncanny threads that weaves destiny throughout this riveting memoir.

Whisked from her local scene and thrust into the eye of a hurricane of grief on a global stage, Melissa joined Hole for the band's 1994 Live Through This world tour just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and Hole's prior bassist, Kristen Pfaff, with Courtney Love at the center of it all. It was a tour of passionate intensity, as a chaotic yet stunningly powerful band constantly threatened to spin out of control. Melissa brings the reader with raging intimacy into the action, offering a heroic portrait of the unforgettable Courtney Love as she howled into the darkness as if to keep grief at bay.

That was only the beginning of Melissa's journey through alternative rock. Part rock memoir, part travel diary, part psychedelic scrapbook, Even the Good Girls Will Cry is a behind-the-scenes rock ’n’ roll memoir with a soulful intimacy and mystic undertone that sets it apart from memoirs by her peers.

It is a vivid dispatch from the last analog decade, artistically capturing that bygone era in all its messy, angsty glory.

For this event, Melissa will be joined in conversation by LD Deutsch (writer, chronosophist and author of Time, Myth and Matter: Essays on the Natures and Narratives of Reality) and Jessica Hundley (culture journalist, as well as author and series editor of TASCHEN's multivolume series, The Library of Esoterica), to explore deeply the intentional esoteric undertones of Even the Good Girls Will Cry. Among other topics, the trio will discuss the importance of dreams and mythology in Melissa’s life journey as a multi-dimensional artist, as well as the nature of time, mysticism and the spaces and places where the metaphysical realm is felt and directly experienced. Please join us for what is sure to be a magical evening.

TICKET PRICING:

$10 Ticket Only

$40 Ticket + Book

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions

Melissa Auf der Maur, was born and raised in Montreal, Canada with a fine arts education. She is an acclaimed musician, photographer, curator and producer, best known as the former bassist of rock bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins. In 2010 she co-founded Basilica Hudson, a multidisciplinary art center in Hudson, NY, where she lives with her family and magic cats.

LD Deutsch is a writer based in Los Angeles. Her work focuses on time, consciousness, technology, mythology and the fall of the materialist paradigm. She received her MA in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara, where she concentrated on the territories between scientific and religious thinking (most particularly the science of consciousness and the discontinuity between physical-scientific models of time and the human experience of time’s linear flow). Her works have been published by Sacred Bones Books, Anthology Books, Nautilus Magazine, Cixous72, Mundus Press and more. She has presented lectures at Pioneer Works, The Philosophical Research Society, The Knockdown Center, TV Eye, 2220 Arts + Archives, Zebulon Café, Heavy Manners Library, Atlas Obscura’s Ecliptic Festival and The Sonic Art Research Unit at Oxford Brookes University. Her first book, Time, Myth & Matter: Essays on the Natures and Narratives of Reality was published by Sacred Bones Books in May 2025.

Jessica Hundley is an author and filmmaker specializing in music, counterculture, magick and psychedelia. With a background in culture journalism, Hundley has served as a masthead editor for UK magazine Dazed & Confused, music publication The Fader and continues to freelance for publications such as Vogue, Rolling Stone and The New York Times. In her filmmaking work, she has directed the feature length music doc, Such Hawks, Such Hounds as well as numerous music videos and commercials. As an author, Hundley has published over a dozen books in the last decade, inclduing an acclaimed biography on country rock icon Gram Parsons, a book on music and meditation with the director David Lynch, and an extensive overview of the photography of Dennis Hopper. Hundley is also creator, author and Series Editor for TASCHEN’s multivolume collection, The Library of Esoterica, a book series exploring the visual history of Tarot, Astrology and other esoteric traditions.

CONTENT DISCLAIMER

The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed within exhibited works are solely those of their creators and may not represent those of the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), its affiliates, or any individuals associated with PRS. Screenings are intended for educational and entertainment purposes.

ACCESSIBILITY

PRS wants all guests to be able to enjoy our events safely and comfortably. If you require any accessibility accommodation, please reach out to [email protected] before showtime and we will be happy to assist you.

REFUND POLICIES

All sales are final. There are no refunds for PRS events , except in the event of a medical emergency, including but not limited to a positive COVID-19 test. Ticket exchanges may be granted on a case by case basis, pending circumstances.

In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event.

PARKING

We encourage attendees to consider carpooling, walking or biking to events if possible, and please be considerate of our Los Feliz neighbors when parking. Nearby street parking is available, as well as limited parking onsite at PRS in the front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east).

PRS EVENT POLICIES

• We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.
• Events are subject to change without notice, including guest speakers and/or performers.
• We encourage you to arrive at least 30 min. before the scheduled event start time to find parking, enjoy the Bookstore and take your seats.
• Please turn off all mobile devices before the show. Talking and texting are not allowed during the events.
• No filming, audio recording or mobile phone recording of events, screenings, concerts or other programs by audience members is allowed without permission.
• There is no smoking permitted on PRS grounds.
• We strongly encourage guests to wear masks to PRS events to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
• PRS allows Service Animals into the facility under ADA and state guidelines. For further details please visit www.ADA.gov. No animals permitted whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support, under ADA guidelines and CA Health Code.
• Please do not bring outside food or drink into PRS events.
• Weapons are strictly prohibited at PRS events.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher The Philosophical Research Society