Tinker was a Canadian alternative rock band, formed in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

in 1993 by

Melissa Auf der Maur Melissa Gaboriau Auf der Maur (; born March 17, 1972) is a Canadian musician. Auf der Maur began performing in 1993 after forming the indie rock band Tinker while she was a student at Concordia University. She was recruited as the bassist ...

and Steve Durand. The band reached limited success, before Auf der Maur left and became bassist for

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

. Durand and Zadorozny joined Auf der Maur's solo band in 2002 and worked on both of Auf der Maur's studio albums, ''

Auf der Maur Auf der Maur is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Melissa Auf der Maur (born 1972), Canadian rock musician ** ''Auf der Maur'' (album), debut album of Melissa Auf der Maur *Nick Auf der Maur Nick Erik Auf der Maur (April 10, ...

'' and '' Out of Our Minds.''

History

Formation, local reputation, and break-up (1993-1994)

While Auf der Maur was majoring in photography at

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

, she worked as a DJ at a bar on Montréal's Boulevard Saint-Laurent. The bar was a spot for many local musicians, and after the bar closed at night, musicians would often go to a rehearsal space and

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

. During this time, Melissa met guitarist Steve Durand, a fellow student at Concordia. Melissa, Steve, and drummer

Jordon Zadorozny Jordon Zadorozny (born c.1974 Pembroke, Ontario) is a Canadian rock musician and producer. He is the singer and songwriter for indie rock band Blinker the Star. He is best known for cowriting songs with Courtney Love in the late 1990s. Zadorozny ...

formed Tinker in 1993.MAdM , Melissa Auf der Maur , Archive , Biography
melissaaufdermaur.org 2009-11-09 http://melissaaufdermaur.org/content/page/5/biography Retrieved on 03-29-2010. As the band were gaining reputation in the local music scene,

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Chamb ...

returned to Montréal in 1993 for one date. The band initially planned on having an American band open for their shows, but Auf der Maur decided to ask frontman

Billy Corgan William Patrick Corgan Jr. (born March 17, 1967) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and professional wrestling promoter. He is best known as the lead singer, primary songwriter, guitarist, and only permanent member of the rock band the ...

whether Tinker could open for them in one of her letters. Corgan agreed and Tinker performed their largest show, to an audience of 2500, at Metropolis on November 30, 1993.spfc.org : tour history - dates: 1993/11/30
spfc.org 2010 http://www.spfc.org/tours/date.html?tour_id=280 Retrieved on 03-29-2010.The Smashing Pumpkins, live 1993/11/30 @ SPLRA.org
SPLRA.org 03-09-2010. http://www.splra.org/wiki/index.php?title=Tsp1993-11-30 Retrieved on 03-29-2010. The band released two singles, "

Real a Lie "Real a Lie" (also known as "Real, a Lie") is the second single from Melissa Auf der Maur, Auf der Maur's self-titled Auf der Maur (album), solo debut. The song failed to chart in the United States, however, due to a successful tour of the United ...

" and "Green Machine" during their career.

Auf der Maur joins ''Hole'' (1994-1999)

Auf der Maur left Tinker in late 1994 to join

. Hole were looking for a bass player after

Kristen Pfaff Kristen Marie Pfaff (née Parco; May 26, 1967 – June 16, 1994) was an American musician, best known as the bassist for alternative rock band Hole from 1993 to 1994. Prior to Hole, Pfaff was the bassist and backing vocalist for Minneapolis-base ...

died after a drug overdose on June 16, 1994. Frontwoman,

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...

, was organizing auditions and Billy Corgan recommended Auf der Maur. Auf der Maur initially refused the audition. However, she reconsidered after a conversation with her father,

Nick Auf der Maur Nick Erik Auf der Maur (April 10, 1942 – April 7, 1998)Downey, Donn. ''Montreal columnist chronicled cancer fight'', A1. ''The Globe and Mail'', April 9, 1998. was a Canadian journalist, politician and "man about town" boulevardier in Montreal ...

''Hole'' breakup and involvement in ''Auf der Maur'' (1999-present)

Melissa Auf der Maur left Hole on October 20, 1999. She recruited her former Tinker bandmates to join her solo band and toured throughout 2002-03 before hitting the studio. The result was Melissa's first solo album, the eponymous ''

.'' "Real a Lie" would later be reworked and released in 2004 under Auf der Maur's solo project. Though he did not perform on the album, Zadorozny produced the album, as well as her second album, '' Out of Our Minds'' on which Durand wrote one track.

Members

- lead vocals, bass guitar * Steve Durand - guitar, backing vocals * Jordan Zadorozny - guitar, vocals, drums *Tony Labao - drums *Alexander MacSween (1992-1994)

References