Taylor Momsen and The Pretty Reckless have catapulted into the musical spotlight thanks to major tours with Evanescence, Guns n’ Roses and Marilyn Manson. The band is currently promoting its new EP, “Hit Me Like A Man,” and is hard at work in the studio recording the upcoming full length album. Momsen recently phoned in to talk about the band’s EP, musical guilty pleasures, and what her three favorite moments in music are thus far.
The Pretty Reckless was a part of three major tours with Evanescence, Guns n’ Roses and Marilyn Manson. What did you learn, personally, from touring with these three big names?
That you have to kick ass live (laughs). We’re so fortunate to tour with three great bands like that. I’m a fan of all of them. If you go up against Manson and his audience you definitely have to prove something and compete because he’s so amazing at it. All of them were great experiences and very awesome.
I had the chance to see you live with Evanescence and then again with Marilyn Manson, both in Milwaukee (WI). Even in the short time between tours you could see the band coming into its own. At what point during the touring did you realize that you guys were huge rock stars?
(laughs) I don’t think anyone thinks of us that way; we’ve been consistently on the road touring since Warped Tour 2010. Just playing every night definitely helps. Hopefully we’re getting better. Otherwise, what are we doing? (laughs)
The band’s new EP, “Hit Me Like A Man,” came out recently. The sound is more of a bluesy rock than the pop rock one found on “Light Me Up.” How would you describe the difference between albums?
That’s one of my favorite things about songwriting; there are no limitations to it. I don’t like to define our music or put limitations on it - it’s rock. Every song has its own thing, even on the first record. With “Hit Me Like A Man,” we put out an EP to give fans a taste of the new record and how it’s evolving. And even for us, we had been touring for so long with “Light Me Up” so the songs were like new songs… I think… I’m sorry, I’m kind of scatterbrained right now. I’m currently in the process of working on the new record; I’m actually at the studio right now. It’s definitely moving along; it’s evolving right now but I’m not sure in what direction. I think the goal is to constantly be adventurous of what you’re doing. And that’s going to show in the new material that we’re working on - it’s very adventurous.
When will the full length album come out?
That is a good question. (laughs) We’re aiming for some time early next year but you know how some things go.
How is being famous in music different than being famous on television?
I don’t really look at it that way. I try not to focus on fame; I don’t even really know what it means exactly because it’s so fleeting. The goal is to never be famous. The goal is to be successful and have longevity in what you do. Switching the public’s perception and view of me was, and still is, kind of a challenge to get them to see me outside of a character that I played on TV for so long. Seeing me as something different and not that character… I’m actually not that character and am a very different person. For me, music is so much of an honest art form. It hasn’t really changed much; rather it’s more just my schedule and my life are different.
Did you always want to go into music?
It wasn’t even about going into music; I’ve always wanted to play in different bands. I’ve always wanted to make a record. It took a while to make a record with material that I wanted people to hear. When I finally got to the point where I wanted people to hear what I was doing I knew that it was the right time. Now I can’t imagine stopping.
Do you have any plans to go back to acting?
Not at the moment. It’s really not something I’m focusing on right now. I really don’t want to go back to two jobs. I’m working so hard at this and to split time and do multiple things again seem crazy to me. I did that once and it was horrible (laughs). I am working so hard at this; we’re going to South America, the Philippines, Japan and China and Korea. We’re currently making a record so it’s kind of a never ending process and already a 24-hour a day job so I can’t imagine focusing my time on anything other than that.
So, everything you’ve done, what are your top three favorite music moments so far?
Favorite moments? (laughs) I guess one of them is, ok, recently we played the House of Blues in Los Angeles and John Dolmayan, the drummer of System of a Down, came on and played with us - played “Aerials” with us. That kind of became the tour cover and that was just great. I’m a massive System fan. So that was one.
Singing with Manson, touring with Manson, particularly playing with him on the Golden Gods and doing the Dope Show with him was incredible… was awesome (laughs), he was awesome. That was definitely a top moment.
Three? I don’t know; there are so many. Just touring in general, and playing every night is awesome. We’ve had so many great shows and experiences; the first time we played in London was amazing. We did a pull up show in a truck in the middle of a Paris street; it was insane. It’s hard to pick just three.
You mentioned being a fan of System and Manson. If I were to turn on your iPod, what guilty pleasure would be on there that fans would be surprised to hear?
I don’t know about guilty pleasures. My iPod is pretty standard - Beatles, (Led) Zeppelin, Soundgarden, System - but I think the strangest thing is Die Antwoord. I’m a big fan of Die Antwoord, which is a different style than I normally listen to. Uh, Joss Whedon, the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer Soundtrack,” (laughs) which I think Joss Whedon is a genius. That’s probably the strangest thing I listen to but other than that, it’s pretty straightforward.
I appreciate you taking the time and I’ll let you get back to the studio. I look forward to the new album.
Thank you so much. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me. Have a good day.
