Hole / Courtney Love
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	MEMBERS: Courtney Love ~ Eric Erlandson ~ Patty Schemel ~ Melissa Auf Der Maur (left in 1999) ~ Samantha Maloney BIRTHDAYS: Courtney Love (July 9, 1964) ~ Eric Erlandson (January 9, 1963) ~ Patty Schemel (April 24, 1967) ~ Melissa Auf Der Maur (March 17, 1972) BIGGEST SINGLE: "Malibu" (1999) BIGGEST LP: Live Through This (1994) GRAMMY AWARDS: 0 "It's not my job to articulate female rage... I think it's more my job to craft songs really well because I don't see a lot of rock women doing it." - Courtney Love, Hole, 1998

Hole - Seattle-based alternative rock band - formed in 1989 in Los Angeles consisting of Courtney Love (vocals, guitar), Eric Erlandson (guitar), Patty Schemel (drums - who replaced original drummer, Caroline Rue), and Melissa Auf Der Maur (bass, backing vocals). Hole's second bassist, Kristen Pfaff died of a heroin overdose in June, 1994, at the age of 27 (Pfaff had replaced original bassist, Jill Emery, after she quit). Courtney Love was born on July 9, 1964, in California. Love's adolescent years included a lot of moving around with her mother and disdain for her father. Before breaking out as a musician, Love tried her hand at acting and stripping. Love took her struggles and translated her pain and power into music.

Hole's first LP Pretty On The Inside did create a stir in the alternative world before Love's persona took center-stage. Standout tracks on the LP included "Clouds," "Starbelly," and "Teenage Whore." Q magazine called the LP, "...loud, ugly and deliberately shocking."

Love married Nirvana's Kurt Cobain - the couple had one child together. It has taken a few years for Hole to be noticed as a superior alternative band. Foes of the band often claim the band's publicity and notoriety surrounded Love's marriage to Cobain, the deaths of Cobain and Pfaff, or the outrageous on-stage and off-stage antics of Courtney Love, as the cause of their success. Yet, when listening to the raw-edge sound and lyrics of Hole, the surrounding controversies disappear.

April 12: It was the release of Live Through This (released a week after Cobain's suicide) that brought Hole into the spotlight. Coverage of Love as the grieving widow and videos on MTV resulted in increase record sales. As the impact of Cobain's suicide lessened, the actual music and message of Hole's music continued to bring in new fans. The haunting "Doll Parts" with accompanying video became an instant alternative classic. Press coverage of Hole continued throughout the year , with the death of bassist Kristen Pfaff and the concert controversies involving Love.

Live Through This was certified gold.

Hole hit the Top 40 with "Doll Parts."
Rolling Stone and Spin proclaimed Live Through This as the Record of the Year.

Live Through This was certified platinum.

Hole released the EP, Ask For It containing tracks from 1991 and 1992 recorded live at the Whiskey in Hollywood, CA.
Hole was seen on MTV Unplugged.
The video for "Doll Parts" was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video.
September 25: Courtney Love was sentenced to 1 year in prison for assaulting Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill. The sentence was suspended for 2 years and included a fine and anger management.

Hole covered Fleetwood Mac's "Gold Dust Woman" for the film, The Crow: The City Of Angels.

Love returned to a fledging acting career, and began to receive parts worthy of her challenge. Love co-starred in The People Vs. Larry Flynt and received universal praise for her acting. She was nominated for a Golden Globe award and received numerous Critic Awards. When the Academy Award nominations were announced, most reporters talked about which actresses were not nominated (i.e. Love, Madonna) than the ones who did receive a nomination. By this point, Love had traded her grunge-rock image for Hollywood's princess, and as a result gained new fans, and alienated other fans.

"New" music from Hole hit the stores - My Body The Hand Grenade contained 14 tracks of b-sides and live material spanning the band's career. One track, "Turpentine," was recorded in a basement in 1990. Additional tracks include "Retard Girl," "Dicknail," "Phonebill Song," "Burn Black," and "Beautiful Son," and previously unreleased live versions of "Asking For It," "Drown Soda," "He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss)," and "Season Of The Witch."

It was announced that Love would be lending her name and voice to an anti-drug campaign. Love was the featured speaker at a press conference for the campaign which will concentrate their efforts on youth. The ad campaigns will be a joint effort of the Partnership for a Drug-Free American and the Musicians' Assistance Program. Speakers on the anti-drug ads will include former substance abusing musicians and relatives of deceased musicians, including Troy Nowell (wife of the late Brad Nowell of Sublime), Lauryn Hill of the Fugees, Everclear, Kiss, and Chuck D of Public Enemy. Love referred to drugs in her speech as "dumb and self-indulgent."

# 198 Singles Artist of the Year

A documentary called Kurt And Courtney was pulled from the Sundance Film Festival after Hole reportedly was threatening a lawsuit for defamation of character. The documentary is said to portray Hole in an unflattering manner in regards to her husband's suicide.

Love had a lawsuit filed against her by a columnist who claims Love assaulted her at a fashion show in Los Angeles. The suit alleges that Love grabbed the woman's hair (after she photographed Love), yelled "don't be taking pictures of me - do you think I'm not still punk rock?," and struck her in the face and groin. A spokesperson for Love said Love will "vigorously" fight the charges in court: "...this is another out-of-control paparazzi targeting a celebrity."

Love issued a statement regarding Hole's next LP and how much (or how little) credit Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) should receive for his effort with the LP. In April, Corgan had told SonicNet, "I thought the album was a smash and I still think that... it's gonna be a fantastic album." But after Corgan referred to himself as the "Svengali" of the the LP and told Select, "there would not be a new Hole album without me," Love sent out a statement to USA Today. Love's statement read: "Eric (Erlandson) and I co-wrote 5 songs of the 12 on Celebrity Skin with Billy Corgan. Billy does not have a majority of publishing percentage on any 1 of those songs... Billy did, however, spend quality time mentoring and teaching me a craft that I really needed to learn in order to make the record I wanted to make, much like a brilliant music teacher, and that was what was so invaluable to me... I feel it's silly and somewhat sexist to credit Billy Corgan with things Billy Corgan did not do based on the assumption that accomplished male musicians are somehow superior to accomplished female musicians..."

Hole's next LP Celebrity Skin was released - the LP featured several tracks co-written by Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins). Love told Vox magazine: "...on my list of thanks for the record, number one was Echo & The Bunnymen, because Will Sergeant taught me the strum" and describes the song, "Awful" as "...very, very compelling... it's going to end up sound even more like ABBA..." Love and Erlandson talked with SonicNet about their new LP and the years since Live Through This: "...some intense personal habits had to be dealt with that had to do with health and mental capacity... some intense stuff that happened to my life..." (Love) "...we took the time that we needed to grow and took our time writing, instead of writing on the road, hopping in the studio like a lot of bands do and releasing a sub-level record" (Erlandson).

Erlandson opted to talk to Rolling Stone a little more about the length of time it took to release a new LP and his perception of Billy Corgan's role on the LP: "I wasn't going to release it until it was right, until I felt it was done... that's all I cared about. Everyone thought I was losing my perspective, and on some things, I did. But for the most part, I think I was pretty objective. I wanted to make sure that every song fit in with the record, all sounding good together.... I was really against (Corgan producing) right away. In fact, when Courtney suggested it, I said, 'Courtney, I'll never talk to you again if Billy produces this album' I was really strong about it... but then I caved."
Celebrity Skin was certified gold.
Hole hit the Top 40 with "Celebrity Skin."
Hole topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart with "Celebrity Skin" for 4 weeks.

It was announced that Samantha Maloney would remain as Hole's drummer during touring while Schemel continues "on holiday for personal reasons."

Celebrity Skin was certified platinum.

# 108 Singles Artist of the Year

Hole hit the Top 40 with "Malibu."

Hole was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for BBest Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Celebrity Skin") and Best Rock Album (Celebrity Skin). Erlandson and Love were also nominated for Best Rock Song ("Celebrity Skin").
Love harshly disputed Fur Age magazine's claim that she is a celebrity fur wearer by issuing a letter of disdain (through PETA) for those who do wear fur. Love heard about the fur article while appearing on tour with Marilyn Manson in Australia. She stated in the letter: "I do NOT wear fur. I never have, and never will... Once I see a picture of someone in fur I am then convinced they are just really stupid, selfish and nasty."

Love announced on stage that Hole would be leaving the tour that paired them with Marilyn Manson and said Manson's performance is "evil".

Other awards during the year included a California Music Award for Outstanding Album (Celebrity Skin) and Orville H. Gibson Guitar Awards for Melissa Auf Der Maur (Best Bassist - Female) and Courtney Love (Best Rock Guitarist - Female).

Hole is ranked # 68 on VH1: 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll.

Hole was nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography ("Malibu").
Love was nominated for a VH1 Fashion Award for the Most Fashionable Artist (Female).
Reports surfaced that Melissa Auf Der Maur quit the band to pursue a solo career. But her label stated that news of her departure is untrue.

It became official that Melissa Auf Der Maur had left the band to pursue other interests.

Love could be seen in the Andy Kaufman biopic, Man On The Moon opposite Jim Carey.

Hole's record company Geffen Records filed a breach of contract suit against the band for only releasing 2 of the 7 expected LPs.

Hole was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group ("Malibu").

Love vented her frustrations about music piracy but she wasn't complaining about computer downloading (i.e. Napster) just yet, she choose to attack record companies: "What is piracy? Piracy is the act of stealing an artist's work without any intention of paying for it. I'm not talking about Napster-type software. I'm talking about major label recording contracts... At this point the "record collector" geniuses who use Napster don't have the coolest most arcane selection anyway, unless you're into techno...Since I've basically been giving my music away for free under the old system, I'm not afraid of wireless, MP3 files or any of the other threats to my copyrights. Anything that makes my music more available to more people is great..."
When Mötley Crüe headed out to tour in the summer, Maloney filled in as drummer for Randy Castillo who had stomach surgery. She said of the chance: "Playing with Mötley Crüe has been a lifelong dream for me... it's like winning the lotto."

Love had to give up a role in John Carpenter's Ghost Of Mars after hurting her ankle while preparing for the physical role.

Hole came in at # 77 on VH1: 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.

Love filed a lawuit against Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic for the rights pertaining to Nirvana (an eventual agreement was reached months later).

Hole officially broke up with a statement by Love ("I will always treasure the time we played together.") and Erlandson ("We're incredibly proud of the music we've made together, but it seems like time for both of us to move on.").

Courtney ranked # 67 on VH1: 100 Sexiest Artists.

Rolling Stone: 50 Essential 'Woman In Rock' Albums includes Live Through This at # 20.

Courtney was arrested at Heathrow Airport in London after she reportedly was unruly and non-compliant during a flight from Los Angeles.

Courtney was arrested and charged with "being under the influence of a controlled substance" and was hospitalized after being freed on bail, when she was found in Beverly Hills with "an unexplained medical emergency" that other reports are calling a drug overdose. She later admitted to People magazine that she took an overdose of the painkiller Oxycontin. By the end of the month, Courtney was in court attempting to regain custody of her 11 year old daughter who had been placed with Kurt Cobain's mother. Courtney also turned herself in to face 2 felony charges of drug possession at the end of the month.

Courtney appeared in court to answer to drug possession charges and plead not guilty, as well as requesting treatment instead of jail time. By the end of the month she was in rehab.

Rolling Stone: The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time: # 466: Live Through This.

Courtney's LP, America's Sweetheart was released with the first single "Mono."

Courntey was arrested in New York after allegedly striking an audience member with a microphone stand at her concert. The incident occured after Love appeared on the Late Show With David Letterman on which Love bared her breast to Letterman.

Courtney was confronted with another arrest warrant in California for assault charges from an incident in April when she reportedly assaulted a woman with a flash light and bottle.
Courtney postponed her concert tour 2 days before it was to begin due to recent legal issues.

Courtney was ordered into an in-patient substance abuse faciity after she admitted to violating the terms of her probabation and had used drugs.

Courtney was orded to serve 6 months in a rehabilitation facility for violating her probation.

Entertainment Weekly: 100 Best Albums of the Last 25 Years included Live Through This at # 99.

Hole released Nobody's Daughter.

	Pretty On The Inside Released: July, 1991 Tracks: "Teenage Whore" - "Babydoll" - "Garbage Man" - "Sassy" - "Goodsister / Badsister" - "Mrs. Jones" - "Berry" - "Loaded" - "Star Belly" - "Pretty On The Inside"
	Live Through This Released: April 12, 1994 US: Platinum Billboard peak: # 52 Rolling Stone review: Tracks: "Violet" - "Miss World" - "Plump" - "Asking For It" - "Jennifer's Body" - "Doll Parts" - "Credit In The Straight World" - "Softer, Softest" - "She Walks On Me" - "I Think That I Would Die" - "Gutless" - "Rock Star"
	Ask For It (EP) Released: September, 1995 Billboard peak: # 172 Live Tracks: "Over The Edge" - "Pale Blue Eyes" - "Drown Soda" - "Doll Parts" - "Violet" - "Forming / Hot Chocolate Boy"
	My Body The Hand Grenade Released: September, 1997 Tracks: "Turpentine" - "Phonebill Song" - "Retard Girl" - "Burn Black" - "Dicknail" - "Beautiful Son" - "20 Years in The Dakota" - "Miss World" (Demo Version) - "Old Age" (live) - "Softer, Softest" (unplugged) - "He Hit Me (It Felt Like A Kiss)" (unplugged) - "Season Of The Witch" (unplugged) - "Drown Soda" (live) - "Asking For It" (live)
	Celebrity Skin Released: September, 1998 US: Platinum Billboard peak: # 9 Rolling Stone review: Tracks: "Celebrity Skin" - "Awful" - "Hit So Hard" - "Malibu" - "Reasons To Be Beautiful" - "Dying" - "Use Once And Destroy" - "Northern Star" - "Boys On The Radio" - "Heaven Tonight" - "Playing Your Song" - "Petals"
	Courtney Love: America's Sweetheart Released: February, 2004 Billboard peak: # 53 Rolling Stone review: Tracks: "Mono" - "But Julian, I'm A Little Older Than You" - "Hold On To Me" - "Sunset Strip" - "All The Drugs" - "Almost Golden" - "I'll Do Anything" - "Uncool" - "Life Despite God" - "Hello" - "Zeplin Song" - "Never Gonna Be The Same"
	Nobody's Daughter Released: April, 2010 Tracks: "Nobody's Daughter" - "Skinny Little Bitch" - "Honey" - "Pacific Coast Highway" - "Samantha" - "Someone Else's Bed" - "For Once In My Life" - "Letter To God" - "Loser Dust" - "How Dirty Girls Get Clean"