Taylor Momsen launched her muscial career at 17 with the release of "Light Me Up," the Pretty Reckless' debut. But she was famous long before that, having taken on the role of Jenny Humphrey in the pilot for the popular teen drama "Gossip Girl" at 12.
If the chronology of her career suggests an actress doing music, though, she nipped that preconception in the bud last summer, revealing to Elle that she'd given up acting for music. And hearing her snarl and sneer her way through "Light Me Up," it's clear that Momsen's heart is more in being rock's new bad girl than in following directors' orders.
We caught up with Momsen as she packing for her first Australian tour, to talk about the Pretty Reckless, "Gossip Girl" and how the Beatles put her on the road to this year's Marilyn Manson tour.
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Question: I guess you're pretty excited about the Manson tour?
Answer: Super excited. It'll be awesome to have the opportunity to play with him and watch his show every night.
Q: You did some dates with Guns N' Roses last year. What was that like?
A: That was awesome. I mean, Guns N' Roses, duh (laughs). What else do you have to say, right?
Q: I hear you may be playing new songs on the tour you're bringing here?
A: We've got a lot of good stuff coming out. We've got a video that just came out for "You," and another video out in a couple of weeks, which I'm really excited about. (yey!) I actually got my first directing credit, which is cool. And then, we've got a new EP coming out with new songs and some live tracks, to kind of give people a taste of what is to come and where the next record's going, because when we get off of tour with Manson, we're going straight into the studio to do the second record.
Q: You said "where the next record's going." Is it going somewhere different?
A: I think it's constantly evolving. But the biggest thing that's grown or evolved is my opinion of what good is and the bar that I set for myself. It's definitely been raised since "Light Me Up." And I think that's reflected in the new songs. Hopefully (laughs).
Q: Do you have favorite songs on that first record?
A: It's too hard to pick a favorite song. They're all my children. It would be like picking a favorite kid. You can't do that. I mean, I'm sure some parents do, but it's probably not a good thing (laughs).
Q: Right. They're not supposed to talk about it.
A: Yeah. You're not supposed to talk about it (laughs).
Q: You've gotten some criticism for the way you dress and whether it's age-appropriate or not. How does it feel to have that be the topic of so many people's conversation while you're doing what you do?
A: I don't even notice it, man. I'm busy making this (expletive). Whatever people are saying about it, I'm so in my own bubble, it's kind of amazing (laughs). Not everyone is gonna like you. And I'm not expecting everyone to like me. I'm certainly not for everyone. I'm living for myself. I dress for myself. I play music for myself and wherever that takes me, that's fine. I'm not listening to what people are saying. (get it gurl!!!)
Q: You told Elle last summer that you quit acting. Is that a permanent thing?
A: I never know what the rest of my life is going to hold. But right now, it's certainly not something I'm thinking about pursuing at all. I'm really happy finally being able to only have one job and have my focus be 100 percent music all the time. That's what I want to do for the rest of my life. Whether I do a film again at some point, who knows? But it's certainly not what I'm doing at the moment.
Q: Are you glad to be done with "Gossip Girl" then?
A: Yeah. I mean, it was an amazing experience. I did the pilot when I was 12 years old. So it was a big part of my childhood and my early teenage years. It was a great life, but I'm very happy and very fortunate to be able to be doing what I'm doing now, which is what I've wanted to do my whole life.
Q: I was wondering if music was your original goal.
A: Oh yeah. I mean, people thought that it came out of the blue, as though I made a record just because I can. It's not like that. I've been writing for as long as I can remember. It's always been something that I've been pursuing. But you know (laughs), it took all that time for me to write a record's worth of material that I wanted people to hear. And to find the right people to work with and have the same vision, the same goals, the same taste in music, it's weirdly hard to find people who have the same vision as you in an industry with so many people in it.
Q: Was there a particular artist that really got you into music?
A: The Beatles were the first band I heard, and they're my favorite band of all time. They're the reason I started writing songs in the first place, the reason I wanted to start making music. They're the greatest. So music came into my life at a very early age. And it stuck, you know?
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If the chronology of her career suggests an actress doing music, though, she nipped that preconception in the bud last summer, revealing to Elle that she'd given up acting for music. And hearing her snarl and sneer her way through "Light Me Up," it's clear that Momsen's heart is more in being rock's new bad girl than in following directors' orders.
We caught up with Momsen as she packing for her first Australian tour, to talk about the Pretty Reckless, "Gossip Girl" and how the Beatles put her on the road to this year's Marilyn Manson tour.
Question: I guess you're pretty excited about the Manson tour?
Answer: Super excited. It'll be awesome to have the opportunity to play with him and watch his show every night.
Q: You did some dates with Guns N' Roses last year. What was that like?
A: That was awesome. I mean, Guns N' Roses, duh (laughs). What else do you have to say, right?
Q: I hear you may be playing new songs on the tour you're bringing here?
A: We've got a lot of good stuff coming out. We've got a video that just came out for "You," and another video out in a couple of weeks, which I'm really excited about. (yey!) I actually got my first directing credit, which is cool. And then, we've got a new EP coming out with new songs and some live tracks, to kind of give people a taste of what is to come and where the next record's going, because when we get off of tour with Manson, we're going straight into the studio to do the second record.
Q: You said "where the next record's going." Is it going somewhere different?
A: I think it's constantly evolving. But the biggest thing that's grown or evolved is my opinion of what good is and the bar that I set for myself. It's definitely been raised since "Light Me Up." And I think that's reflected in the new songs. Hopefully (laughs).
Q: Do you have favorite songs on that first record?
A: It's too hard to pick a favorite song. They're all my children. It would be like picking a favorite kid. You can't do that. I mean, I'm sure some parents do, but it's probably not a good thing (laughs).
Q: Right. They're not supposed to talk about it.
A: Yeah. You're not supposed to talk about it (laughs).
Q: You've gotten some criticism for the way you dress and whether it's age-appropriate or not. How does it feel to have that be the topic of so many people's conversation while you're doing what you do?
A: I don't even notice it, man. I'm busy making this (expletive). Whatever people are saying about it, I'm so in my own bubble, it's kind of amazing (laughs). Not everyone is gonna like you. And I'm not expecting everyone to like me. I'm certainly not for everyone. I'm living for myself. I dress for myself. I play music for myself and wherever that takes me, that's fine. I'm not listening to what people are saying. (get it gurl!!!)
Q: You told Elle last summer that you quit acting. Is that a permanent thing?
A: I never know what the rest of my life is going to hold. But right now, it's certainly not something I'm thinking about pursuing at all. I'm really happy finally being able to only have one job and have my focus be 100 percent music all the time. That's what I want to do for the rest of my life. Whether I do a film again at some point, who knows? But it's certainly not what I'm doing at the moment.
Q: Are you glad to be done with "Gossip Girl" then?
A: Yeah. I mean, it was an amazing experience. I did the pilot when I was 12 years old. So it was a big part of my childhood and my early teenage years. It was a great life, but I'm very happy and very fortunate to be able to be doing what I'm doing now, which is what I've wanted to do my whole life.
Q: I was wondering if music was your original goal.
A: Oh yeah. I mean, people thought that it came out of the blue, as though I made a record just because I can. It's not like that. I've been writing for as long as I can remember. It's always been something that I've been pursuing. But you know (laughs), it took all that time for me to write a record's worth of material that I wanted people to hear. And to find the right people to work with and have the same vision, the same goals, the same taste in music, it's weirdly hard to find people who have the same vision as you in an industry with so many people in it.
Q: Was there a particular artist that really got you into music?
A: The Beatles were the first band I heard, and they're my favorite band of all time. They're the reason I started writing songs in the first place, the reason I wanted to start making music. They're the greatest. So music came into my life at a very early age. And it stuck, you know?
Source
The Pretty Reckless - You (Explicit) from tmomfan1214 on Vimeo.
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