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“Alter The Press” interviews Taylor and Ben
Posted on May 17, 2010 by Courtney
While in the UK for a short promotional tour, Alter The Press managed to sit down with Taylor Momsen and Ben Phillips of The Pretty Reckless.
The guys spoke to ATP about how the band got together, their forthcoming debut album, signing to Interscope records, playing this year’s Warped Tour, Taylor juggling around the band with her acting career and more.
How did the band come together?
Ben: My song-writing partner and I (Kato Khandwala,) met Taylor about a year and a half ago; we then started working on writing songs together. He produced the record and my musicians play on the record; it became the band. Taylor has been writing and playing since she was a kid, and was getting to the point where she wanted to release a record; luckily we caught her on her “upswing” of artistic movements.
Taylor: It was a good fit.
How did the two of you meet?
Taylor: Through Kato. I was looking for producers to work with and I got hooked up with him, who was also Ben’s partner. I met with Kato, we were working together; then met Ben, ended up writing the whole record together, and here we are now.
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Taylor: ‘Hate me if you want’
Posted on May 17, 2010 by Courtney
There are many faces of Taylor Momsen.
There’s Taylor the fashion icon: The gum-chewing, torn-stockings wearing Maryland-born 16-year-old splashed over the British and Americian glossies.
There’s Taylor the actress: Playing the squeaky-clean-gone-bad-girl Jenny Humphrey in American drama Gossip Girl alongside heart-throbs Chace Crawford and Ed Westwick.
And finally there’s Taylor the rock star: The Courtney Love-esque sneering frontwoman of metal-pop band The Pretty Reckless.
Music priority
In her mind, she’s pretty sure on which of the above she prefers.
I love acting and I’m doing it forever but music is my heart,” she says.
“It’s what I live for, to say the least – it’s kept me alive. Music is who I am. It’s the priority at the moment – it’s the focus.
“It’s not a pop record – I’m sure people were expecting one.”
Indeed, producers of the LA-based glamour series have given Momsen time off to concentrate on her new band The Pretty Reckless. Their single Make Me Wanna Die has already featured in blockbuster Kick-Ass, and they’re readying their debut album.
Taylor Says Pretty Reckless Album Is ‘Sex, Drugs And Religion’
Posted on May 4, 2010 by Courtney
‘It’s not a concept record, unless you consider life a concept,’ she tells MTV News of yet-untitled LP.
EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey — Taylor Momsen is quickly learning that making the transition from TV star to snarling rock princess isn’t as easy as she’d imagined.
In addition to having to win over fickle audiences on this summer’s Warped Tour — the type of crowds that don’t exactly take kindly to “actor-slash-musicians” — and make it clear to “Gossip Girl” fans that her band, the Pretty Reckless, isn’t just another cookie-cutter pop project, she’s already having to undo the damage from a quote she gave last month to Entertainment Weekly, in which she stated: “I don’t wanna be Courtney Love — I wanna be Kurt Cobain.” It hasn’t exactly been smooth sailing, to be honest.
So really, at this point, all she wants to do is get the Pretty Reckless’ debut album in stores — and then, well, she’ll just let the chips fall where they may.
“I want the record out so people can hear it. I’m not a pop artist. It’s absolutely a rock record, and I get that people probably aren’t expecting that, but, buy the record and check it out,” Momsen told MTV News on Saturday at the Bamboozle festival. “If you like loud music, you’ll like it. Hopefully. It’s very loud. If you’re not scared of guitars screaming at you and a 16-year-old girl yelling at you, then you’ll like the record.”
According to Momsen, the yet-untitled album (which she co-wrote with Pretty Reckless guitarist Ben Phillips) will finally see the light of day “sometime this summer.” And, to be quite honest, that date can’t come soon enough — because she really wants to stop talking about what it will sound like and let the songs speak for themselves.
Taylor Talks New Album & ‘Gossip Girl’ Departure
Posted on May 4, 2010 by Courtney
“Gossip Girl” teen Taylor Momsen is gearing up to release her debut album with her band, The Pretty Reckless, but doesn’t want to be compared to the likes of other female rockers, such as Courntey Love.
“All of my influences are male influences,” Taylor told Access Hollywood on Monday in New York. “So to translate that into a female vocal and to have a female rock singer that isn’t someone like Joan Jett or Courtney Love… They’re great, but it’s not based on melody and range as much as it is attitude and cool and well written songs.
“Our record is based on the melodies and the lyrics and the detail to it, so to translate to you, it’s more like Robert Plant with a chick,” Taylor added.
The actress will be departing The CW show that made her a household name for a number of episodes of the show’s fourth season, due to what has been described as creative reasons.
However, Taylor chalked it up to more of a scheduling conflict, as she will instead be promoting her album in place of filming, including on the Warped Tour.
“The show’s been really great and I’m going to be missing from a little bit of it because I am finishing the Warped Tour,” Taylor explained. “I’m on tour this summer and the show starts back up during the middle of the tour.”
Taylor wears Piaget in her music video
Posted on April 30, 2010 by Courtney
Piaget, one of the world’s most prestigious watchmaker and jeweler, provided various pieces for ‘The Pretty Reckless’ debut music video “Make Me Wanna Die” from their upcoming debut album.
“Make Me Wanna Die” introduces The Pretty Reckless to the world. In the video, lead singer Taylor Momsen finds herself in the middle of a chaotic, cold and mysterious New York City after leaving a performance. The 18-carat yellow gold Piaget Polo watch and new Possession Celebration rings adorn Momsen during the video. Multiple other Possession rings and necklaces as well as the Piaget Polo watch, one of Piaget’s iconic timepiece, accentuate Momsen’s rock-star look and help define her glamorous yet edgy appeal.
“Make Me Wanna Die” will be available on broadcast and on-line outlets in early May. The Pretty Reckless will be joining US rock music festivals– The Warp Tour in 2010– and plans to release their debut album in Summer 2010.
All pieces featured in the new video are available at Piaget boutiques and select retailers nationwide. The Possession Celebration rings were specifically launched this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the line.
Piaget, one of the world’s most prestigious watchmaker and jeweler, provided various pieces for ‘The Pretty Reckless’ debut music video “Make Me Wanna Die” from their upcoming debut album.
“Make Me Wanna Die” introduces The Pretty Reckless to the world. In the video, lead singer Taylor Momsen finds herself in the middle of a chaotic, cold and mysterious New York City after leaving a performance. The 18-carat yellow gold Piaget Polo watch and new Possession Celebration rings adorn Momsen during the video. Multiple other Possession rings and necklaces as well as the Piaget Polo watch, one of Piaget’s iconic timepiece, accentuate Momsen’s rock-star look and help define her glamorous yet edgy appeal.
“Make Me Wanna Die” will be available on broadcast and on-line outlets in early May. The Pretty Reckless will be joining US rock music festivals– The Warp Tour in 2010– and plans to release their debut album in Summer 2010.
All pieces featured in the new video are available at Piaget boutiques and select retailers nationwide. The Possession Celebration rings were specifically launched this year to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the line.
Source: events.piaget.com
Gossip Girl’s Taylor Momsen Rocks Out
Posted on April 29, 2010 by Courtney
Having made a name for himself back in the ’90s in U.S. teen drama My So Called Life, Jared Leto is now ranked among the most iconic rock stars of our era. So while you may not have heard of The Pretty Reckless yet, the band’s 16-year-old singer Taylor Momsen could well be set to follow in the 30 Seconds To Mars frontman’s footsteps.
In case you’ve been living on another plane for the past three years, Taylor is one of the stars of hit U.S. TV show Gossip Girl. However,like Jared, her true passion has always been music.
“Making a record is more than a dream of mine, it’s a need and necessity” she states with disarming sincerity. “I’ve been writing songs since I was five, and no matter how big our record becomes, I just want to play and sing and write.”
Listing their influences as Courtney Love, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin, The Pretty Reckless completed by guitarist Ben Phillips, bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins – recorded their forthcoming debut album last year with producer Kato Khandwala, who has previously worked with All Time Low, Paramore and Madina Lake. With the prontwoman’s filming commitments taking up a lot of her time, the record became a true labour of love.
“I’d be shooting all day and the going to work on the record starting at midnight until five in the morning,” says Taylor. “It was spread out over a year, and when we finished it really was a case of ‘Wow, the record’s done, finally!’.”
The World’s first taster of The Pretty Reckless takes the form of their gritty, snarling new single Make Me Wanna Die, taken from the recent Kick-Ass soundtrack.
Having racked up an impressive number of plays on big name radio stations around the globe, the band are determined to make their dream of rock stardom a reality.
“We’re playing the whole of the Warped Tour, and I’m going to work around my filming schedule so we can tour as much as is physically possible”, Taylor enthuses. “We want to play to the UK so badly, I cannot tell you! Our favourite bands are English so we can’t wait to come over!”
Having made a name for himself back in the ’90s in U.S. teen drama My So Called Life, Jared Leto is now ranked among the most iconic rock stars of our era. So while you may not have heard of The Pretty Reckless yet, the band’s 16-year-old singer Taylor Momsen could well be set to follow in the 30 Seconds To Mars frontman’s footsteps.
In case you’ve been living on another plane for the past three years, Taylor is one of the stars of hit U.S. TV show Gossip Girl. However,like Jared, her true passion has always been music.
“Making a record is more than a dream of mine, it’s a need and necessity” she states with disarming sincerity. “I’ve been writing songs since I was five, and no matter how big our record becomes, I just want to play and sing and write.”
Listing their influences as Courtney Love, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin, The Pretty Reckless completed by guitarist Ben Phillips, bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins – recorded their forthcoming debut album last year with producer Kato Khandwala, who has previously worked with All Time Low, Paramore and Madina Lake. With the prontwoman’s filming commitments taking up a lot of her time, the record became a true labour of love.
“I’d be shooting all day and the going to work on the record starting at midnight until five in the morning,” says Taylor. “It was spread out over a year, and when we finished it really was a case of ‘Wow, the record’s done, finally!’.”
The World’s first taster of The Pretty Reckless takes the form of their gritty, snarling new single Make Me Wanna Die, taken from the recent Kick-Ass soundtrack.
Having racked up an impressive number of plays on big name radio stations around the globe, the band are determined to make their dream of rock stardom a reality.
“We’re playing the whole of the Warped Tour, and I’m going to work around my filming schedule so we can tour as much as is physically possible”, Taylor enthuses. “We want to play to the UK so badly, I cannot tell you! Our favourite bands are English so we can’t wait to come over!”
Thank so much to Ray for the magazine scan :)
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Magazine Scans » Kerrang Magazine – May 2010