Melissa Auf der Maur Discusses Film, Danzig at New York Book Store

A car driven by a woman crashes into a truck carrying a bleeding log. A sorceress confronts a Viking in a wooded area. And a group of loggers cuts down several trees that ooze with blood. Those are the seemingly disparate and fantasy-influenced situations depicted in the short movie co-conceived by and starring Melissa Auf der Maur.

The former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins bassist showcased her latest film project, 'Out of Our Minds' (aka 'OOOM'), in front of an audience at New York City's Housing Works Bookstore Café on Monday night. The movie, which was directed Tony Stone, was just one part of Auf der Maur's current multimedia project, which includes an album, also called 'Out of Our Minds,' and a comic book by artist Jack Forbes.

The event kicked off with the screening of the 28-minute movie in which Auf der Maur plays both roles as the woman in the car and the sorceress. In her previous filmmaker's statement, Auf der Maur has said that theme of the film is "the hunt for the heart": "return to the heart," "follow your heart" and "the heart of the matter."

After the screening, Auf der Maur and her collaborator Stone fielded questions from the audience about the concept and production of 'OOOM.' One person asked why there was no spoken dialogue in the film, but only a musical score by Auf der Maur and the Entrance Band.

"Music is the international universal language," the singer explained. "The message is resting on that power, which is you really don't need words. Music has allowed me to travel around the world. There's one thing I know is that even if they don't speak the same language as me, we're totally connecting."

Also during the discussion, Auf der Maur mentioned Glenn Danzig, who sang with her on the song 'Father's Grave' from the album. Auf der Maur cited the former Misfits frontman as a hero since she was a teenager.

"I went to meet Glenn Danzig face to face after writing him a song and a letter explaining what he has meant to me as an artist," she recalled. "I went to the San Diego Comic-Con to find him at his booth. A lot of people don't know that he has the greatest collection of comic book panels. I walked up to his [booth] and said 'Excuse me, will you be my gravedigger?' [Hence,] the song is on the record."

The ambiguous conclusion of the film prompted Spinner to ask Auf der Maur if she plans to work on a follow-up. "Actually, we are," she said. "Tony and I have been meditating on it."

Following the discussion, Auf der Maur, on electric bass, and a keyboardist performed a short musical set. Although she said she had a sore throat, Auf der Maur played and sang four songs: 'Out of Our Minds,' '22 Below' and 'Isis Speaks' from 'OOOM,' and 'Follow the Waves' from her 2004 self-titled solo album.

Check out the video for 'Out of Our Minds' here.