Her former employer Courtney Love may be grabbing tabloid headlines for all the wrong reasons, but former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist Melissa Auf der Maur isn't hurting for press these days herself. The Montreal native is striking out on her own as she tours behind the slamming-yet-melodic power chords of her self-titled debut solo album. The disc features such provocative titles as "Overpower Thee" and "Skin Receiver," as well as appearances by some heavy friends, like Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and erstwhile Pumpkin James Iha.

Auf der Maur says her music's all about a balance between masculine and feminine energy. "It's no fun being dominant all the time," insists the rock-solid redhead. Open and engaging, Auf der Maur enjoys recounting the exploits of her free-spirited parents but suggests she's settled down a lot since her daring days down in the Hole. In a sex-centric talk with Playboy.com, she touches on everything from the awkward predicament of the male groupie to her collection of classic Playboy magazines.

1. When it came to sex, what were your parents like?

Melissa Auf der Maur: I grew up in a very sexually liberated atmosphere. My mother was a self-proclaimed single mom who wanted to have a child on her own, and had a one-night stand with my father. I grew up in [Montreal's] equivalent of the East Village, a multicultural bohemian environment. Everyone was divorced or a single parent or a gay/lesbian parent. I went to art school where the teacher smoked pot and taught us painting and music instead of religion and math. I was going to my favorite nightclub, the Thunderdome, when I was 14. I was drinking beer and dancing to Sisters of Mercy. Quite the opposite of growing up in a small town. My father was an alternative politician type who held his political campaigns out of his favorite bars. He was known for pinching people's bums -- men's and women's.

2. So did you become "experienced" at a young age? What was your first time like?

MADM: I lost my virginity on graduation night. In Canada, you graduate in grade 11, so I was 15. I think that's the average age for the late '80s/early '90s. It was with my high school boyfriend, who was a very silly, sweet, mod boy, and we were on a camping trip.... I think the music that was playing was Guns N' Roses on auto-reverse.

3. What do you find most appealing in a guy?

MADM: Really sweet, nice guys turn me on. My boyfriend is a sweet, nice guy, not like the dangerous fools all the girls in their early twenties get seduced by. I'm definitely over that phase, I can tell you that!

4. What turns you on most about yourself?

MADM: Maybe my independence, which I got from my mother. I'm not someone who feels a lot of envy or jealousy or craving of things I don't have. I feel very lucky that I was born with the perspective that I try to make the most of what I have, and that's that. I also like my red hair. I didn't like it before, but now I like it.

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Photo: Courtesy of Capitol Records