30 june 2009

'Gossip Girl' Star Taylor Momsen Talks The Pretty Reckless

'Music feeds my soul,' the actress says about her band.

If Taylor Momsen's band, the Pretty Reckless, somehow found themselves playing one of Jenny Humphrey's school dances on "Gossip Girl," does Momsen think that her fictional alter-ego would be into her music?

"I think she'd like it," Momsen told MTV News. "Her dad's a rocker. We're trying to bring rock back with the Pretty Reckless here, so I think she'd like it. She put the Ramones in her fashion, so [yes]."

It's fairly obvious that Momsen loves to show her rock side. Whether she's name-checking Nirvana, Joan Jett and Hole or hitting a red carpet in leather, bleached-blond hair and red lipstick, it's clear that Momsen and the Pretty Reckless aren't softies. "In everything I do, I'm influenced by music. Music feeds my soul," she said. "As far as style, I'm influenced by eras that had music [I] liked. Music 

became a persona to me."

That persona started when Momsen was a kid. If Jenny Humphrey's dad is a rocker, Taylor Momsen's dad is a rock fan. He used to play music for the "Gossip Girl" star, music that prepared her for her future job as a rock star. "I grew up listening to the Beatles on vinyl with my dad," she explained, citing "Strawberry Fields Forever" as one of her favorite songs. "So I grew up kind of lis

tening to good records. I worked my way into Joan Jett and the Runaways records and Blondie and Garbage. Garbage became a huge influence on me."

Source: MTV

'Gossip Girl' Star Taylor Momsen Rocks Her Sweet 16 Birthday Party With Pretty Reckless

Ed Westwick, Chace Crawford, Jessica Szhor, others cheer their castmate on.

NEW YORK — OK, not everyone has a sweet-16 birthday party that was sponsored by MySpace, was held at one of Manhattan's hottest venues and was DJed by MisShapes — and doubled as your new band's homecoming show after a stint opening for the Veronicas' North American tour.
But then again, not everyone is "Gossip Girl" star/ Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen.
Momsen accomplished a lot in the first 15 years of her life, and, judging by the crowd at Tuesday night's party/concert, she's made a lot of friends too. Holding it down in the Hiro Ballroom's VIP section was the majority of the "Gossip Girl" cast — notably Ed Westwick (who was very close with Jessica Szhor) and Chace Crawford. The crew made their way to the front of the stage for one song to show support for their castmate before being whisked away from the screaming fans.
Arriving just in time for the concert was "NYC Prep" star Sebastian, who made sure to get front and center before sneaking away to the VIP lounge. Cheering Taylor on from downstairs included her onscreen best friend/ stepbrother, Connor Paolo and Matthew Settle, who sported a pair of glow-in-the-dark shades.
But this party was about the music, and Momsen and Pretty Reckless took the stage with authority. Backstage, Momsen warmed up by singing Britney Spears' "... Baby One More Time," and then the curtain rose to the sounds of thunder and lightning. The band thrashed through a loud, grunge-inspired and guitar-driven set; the boys wore eyeliner and Momsen channelled Hole-era Courtney Love in messy, peroxide-blonde hair and a hot pink slip dress. Her raspy singing voice sounded years beyond 16.
Momsen broke out her guitar for "Zombie," and the band closed its set with the catchy "Good Girls Go to Heaven" (a line that is followed by "bad girls go everywhere"). Not long after, Momsen's mother and sister surprised her onstage with a birthday cake (the audience got cupcakes!) and the band played one last song.

Source: MTV

Taylor Momsen Says She's A 'Vampire'

'I like Kurt Cobain, but I'm not trying to emulate everything about him,' the 'Gossip Girl' star says of heroin rumors.

Taylor Momsen might want to consider auditioning for a role in an upcoming "Twilight" flick. The "Gossip Girl" star-turned-punk rocker has been keeping some late hours moonlighting as a rock star in her band, the Pretty Reckless.
"I'm nocturnal," Momsen told MTV News. "I'm a vampire, I decided. I write at night. I don't write a song; I write in a stream of consciousness. I never edit everything. I have books of lyrics. You can write a hundred songs from it, but I try to pick one stream."
Momsen said she had been hard at work on her music long before she formed a band and got a record deal. "I wrote the whole record first before I looked for a band, really," she said.
The debut Pretty Reckless album, which drops in the fall, will cover a wide range of topics, none of which you should analyze as direct comments about Momsen's life.
"A lot of the songs aren't specific," she said. "I write about how I feel and what I think and what's influencing me at that moment in time. It's not necessarily about a boyfriend, even though it might sound like it. Every lyric has at least four different undertones. There's a light version ... and then a really, really demented version. There's different ways to see it. That's the way I like it, 'cause I don't want you to know everything about me."
But there is one thing about her she wants to clear up. Thanks to her life on "Gossip Girl," Momsen knows how powerful rumors can be. And there's one particularly crazy rumor she insists just isn't true.
"I don't really Google myself," she said. "I try not to. I read somewhere there was this whole blog about how I shoot heroin. I was like, 'Guys, I don't shoot heroin.' Sorry to burst your bubble, but that's really obscene. I like Kurt Cobain, but I'm not trying to emulate everything about him."

Source: MTV