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Know Where you Are by Tim Risser
The widespread use of GPS, MapQuest and our precious smartphones has enabled clueless, wayward travelers such as myself to become Ferdinand Magellan (minus the getting killed part!). I feel that technology has allowed us to travel without hitches, roadblocks and especially- large flappy, ridiculously oversized maps! And of course, the analogy here is that most of our musical journey is more than just a straight shot as well. The geography is infinite! A musician’s path starts at the moment you hold that beautiful 4 string in your hands (or 5 or 6 string- damn you’re ambitious!!). Ahead of you is an expanse wider than the North American Midwest and those early wide eyed emigrants seeking routes to California and sweet, sweet gold! Among the trails are passable routes and shortcuts, but beware of Donner Pass (unless you enjoy freezing and dining on your love ones!), because there is technically no perfect route to get to your destination; and you will stumble! Let me explain the best way to not get eaten (I mean frustrated).
I learned from a great teacher at a local college; because that was part of the deal when my parents plunked down $299 for my Squier Jazz Bass. I was 16 and eager to learn. The majority of your own beginnings ring similar but there is a fork in the road almost immediately! While my teacher stressed rhythm and sight reading, I was convinced she should teach me “Distant Early Warning” by Rush. Hey, I had the “authorized” tablature book from Hal Leonard! Keep in mind; I was in possession of my new bass for about a month at this point! Youthful ambition will crush logic every time. So after a few more months of lessons and a solid foundation (?), I decided it was time to pack up the wagon and head out west. I could read tablature, so I was well prepared- right?? Can you imagine Magellan getting out in a row boat, somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, because he was tired of that slow ass clipper ship? And I can also see the Old Plains settlers staring each other down at the campfire; all wily and cut-throat- wondering who was really leading and who’d get there first? If only there was enough gold?!
Tablature has obviously made the budding musicians life very accessible and allowed many bass players to cruise along at a manic pace. That’s all well and good, I’m not going anywhere without my MapQuest app either (I even use it for walking when I’m in a major city- looking like a righteous tourist!). Tab allows riffs to flow easy when you begin but there are a few things that escape us when we utilize this application. First off, pick up your bass (yes, right now!) and play the third fret on the second string. Are you lost yet?? Sure you are! What about my directions even sound musical? I am basically applying a coarse # system and blowing off any musicality that might be present; even as an afterthought. And it’s also cool if you know you’ve landed on C natural on you’re A string. That’s what I’m looking for!
My point being is that a rudimentary (I mean-very basic) knowledge is a helpful starting point, no matter where you’re headed. Don’t just rely on “Are we there yet?”, but think of it more as road sign or route that gets you in the right direction (you know, the one that says: California 1,000 miles!). Ultimately it will guide you from destination to destination. And when you become lost along the way, refer back to your Map (Quest) and get back on track. “Grace Under Pressure” is just a bunch of zeros, fives, sevens and octaves (whoa, slow down there fella!) and me pleading with my P-bass to magically sound like a Steinberger with Geddy’s adept timing! Know where you are dammit!
And for the record, I am no teacher or music theorist- I just noticed that all the shortcuts I had used hindered me, instead of enabling me. Over the years, you can become very complacent! It doesn’t have to be this way, so you adjust along your route.
Music is for everyone; and even though that sounds like a cop out from someone whose personalized his bass technique to suit his musical journey, it’s really no different than the hapless explorers or expeditions that shaped our advanced world we live in. I look silly walking around New York City because I have no clue where I am and don’t even ask a New Yorker for directions! Give me a P-bass though and I feel good, like I’m home. I know exactly where I am.
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Photo: Self-portrait by Melissa Auf Der Maur
Melissa Auf Der Maur is a Canadian bassist who played with Tinker, Hole, and The Smashing Pumpkins. She released her own work and is a photographer with photos published in Nylon, Bust, and National Geographic. She released her ‘90s Rock Memoir “Even The Good Girls Will Cry” on 17 March 2026.
KB: Did you always want to be a singer-musician growing up?
I’ve played music my whole life. In school, I played trumpet and sang in a children’s choir, so music was always within me. My mother was the first female disc jockey on the Montreal airwaves; her record collection played a huge role in my inspiration and love of music.
KB: When did you start playing bass, and why this instrument?
When I was 19, the early 90s music explosion began to percolate in tiny clubs around the world. I was lucky to be a ticket girl at Montreal’s underground music club. In one year, I saw Hole, Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins, White Zombie, and The Breeders – all had female bass players. That’s when the seed was planted. By the age of 22, I was the bass player of Hole.
KB: Which brands of basses have you used in your career, and which one are you using now?
The first bass that I learned on was a vintage Squier Precision. Hole was sponsored by Fender guitars, so I upgraded to Fender Custom Shop Precisions. That is all I play, but I have a cool vintage 8-string Greco that I use on recordings to thicken up guitar parts.
KB: What equipment do you use or have you used with your basses?
Ampeg SVT amps and cabinets, a couple of Sans-Amp pedals, and that is it.
KB: How did you become a member of Hole, and what is your fondest memory of that time?
Billy Corgan of the Smashing Pumpkins was helping scout a replacement for (RIP) Kristen Pfaff, Hole’s bass player. My band, Tinker, opened for them on the Siamese Dream tour, so Billy had seen me play and could vouch for me. Courtney trusted her talented friend, and that was it. I initially said “no thank you” due to my commitment to my photographic studies and the drama and chaos surrounding the band during the “Live Through This” album release. Courtney took it as a good sign that I said no, so convinced me to reconsider, and soon after, I accepted their invitation, in the name of helping put females in the male-dominated landscape of rock music. My fondest memory is every show we played as a mostly female band, symbolizing what a woman could do in a rock band. Every show had a purpose: get more women to play music.
KB: You are a photographer as well. What makes a great picture? Do you shoot in color or b/w?
I started shooting photographs at age 15. Initially only shot black & white and worked in the art school darkroom. In university, I took a color photography course, and shifted mostly and forever to that, because it was easier to process film on the road when I joined a rock band. I experimented with many cameras, point and shoots, manual, polaroids, medium format, and vintage finds. The trick to a good photograph is to shoot many and all the time – the magic is in the edit and selection process.
KB: Are there artists you would love to collaborate with or wish you had?
??I’ve been lucky to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians in my career. I would still love to collaborate with a new generation heavy electronic artist on an analog bass, heavy electronic drums, and synths collaboration project. Take me out of my usual zone, merging the past and future: my love of 80s dark new wave and new artists exploring that genre. It was very futuristic back then, and we are now, after all, living in the future. I am in the mood to play bass to heavy beats I want to dance to.
KB: What are your 7 favorite bass lines in music across all genres? And why these 7?
“Mountain Song” – Jane’s Addiction (love a rambling, rolling bass line – feels like the ocean waves)
“Black Top – Helmet” (was the first bass line I taught myself)
“Gold Dust Woman” – Hole from “The Crow 2” Soundtrack (it was my first bass line contribution to the band)
“Get Ready” – The Temptations (Motown just feels so good, because of the bass)
“Lucretia My Reflection” – Sisters of Mercy (makes me want to hit the dance floor and play bass simultaneously)
“Be My Druidess” – Type O Negative (full chord bass playing at its best by iconic, demonic, Peter Steele, RIP)
“Romantic Rights” – Death from Above (1979 – unique distorted overdriven tone, combined dance rhythm and melodic intelligence, all in one shot – also! Shout out to a bass & drum only band, which is awesome, and we should have more of, but the bass player needs to be a killer to fill that role.
KB: What are you currently up to?
Releasing my ‘90s Rock Memoir “EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY”. Visceral healing process, it was to get it out of me and write it, but I suspect the real magic will begin by putting it into the world and reflecting with others on what the magic of the ‘90s was all about. Powerful music decade that carried us into what is now a brave new world of digital corporate weirdness – may the past shed a light on our future. That’s my hope for this book release and tour.
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