Wednesday, January 12, 2011

EXCLUSIVE: Scan and Interview from 'Kerrang' Magazine (January 15, 2011 Issue)

This scan is from this week Issue of 'Kerrang' Magazine (thanks to Jimbo for the info and the scans :D )
I have already posted the previous Issue in which appeared The Pretty Reckless as well HERE

Taylor is gorgeous as usual!

via ninjarawr

SCANS FROM THE MAGAZINE + INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTION
(if copy somewhere please credit Jimbo for the scans and taylormomsenblog.blogspot.com for the article transcription)

Taylor Momsen: WILD CHILD
Since she decided to swap the screen for the stage, Taylor Momsen’s outrageous behavior has made her a tabloid fixture but is The Pretty Reckless’ 17-year-old front woman as crazy as she seems?

Diva. Brat. Pyromaniac. Poseur. These are just some of the accusations that have been levelled at Taylor Momsen by the tabloid press since she left hit U.S. TV show Gossip Girl just under a year ago to front New York rockers The Pretty Reckless full-time. If it’s not what she’s wearing (or rather not wearing) it’s the outrageous things that come out of her mouth that have made gossip columnists the world over frantically blog in mock outrage about her antics.

But, to quote the old adage, all press is good press, and claims that Taylor “dressed like a prostitute”, “carries a flick knife” or once “set her neutered dog’s testicles on fire” haven’t damaged her band’s career in the slightest. On the contrary, when The Pretty Reckless’ debut album Light Me Up was released last August it entered the British album chart at number six, the album’s lead single Make Me Wanna Die featured on the soundtrack to Hollywood blockbuster Kick-Ass, and The Pretty Reckless’ recent UK headline tour was completely sold out.
But if you’re still left wondering if the 5’ 8’’, smokey eyed, peroxide blonde 17-year-old leading this band is as OTT as the tabloids would have you believe, then think again.

“I’ll admit that I’m a little crazy”, Taylor says with a grin. “But let’s put it this way, I have a female dog named Petal and she does not have, nor has ever had, any balls!”

What’s the best rumour you’ve heard about yourself?
“There have been some fairly repetitive ones like ‘Her eyes are as black as her soul’ and ‘She worships the Devil’. One gossip magazine even interviewed a girl who claimed to have gone to school with me and she was like, ‘I saw her house and she has an altar to Satan in her closet’ (laughs). A lot of people try and make out like I’m this crazy psycho, but I’m, like, ‘Where are you getting this from? I have never met you’,”

How do you cope with being in the spotlight and all the negativity that can come with that?
“Well, I don’t own a computer, so the most I see is when people tell me about it. I just ignore it and try to live my own life. If you think about it like high school or college then you’ve got your circle of friends – my band [guitarist Ben Phillips, bassist Mark Damon and drummer Jamie Perkins] are my friends – then outside of that there’s going to be people that don’t like you, there’s going to be people that talk about you, and there’s going to be people that go, ‘Wow! Look how big her shoes are!’ no matter where you are. This is just high school on a massive, massive scale. So I ignore what people say and focus on my music and doing what I do.”

There are quotes floating around the internet where you slam your parents for forcing you into show business at a very young age. Were they taken out of context?
“Yeah, [the magazine] changed the question when they wrote it up. I was asked why I started doing this, and I said, ‘Well, I didn’t chose to do this’ because I didn’t. I was put into it at two years old, and you don’t know what you’re doing when you’re that age. When I signed on to do Gossip Girl I was 12, and I had no idea how it would impact my life and change it. And when I realized what everything was I kind went, ‘I don’t like this. I wanna do what I wanna do’. I wanted to make music and play in a band. I was trying to explain the difference between music and acting to [the magazine] and why live music is so much more important to me, but they were like, ‘You’ve been doing it forever’ and I was like, ‘Yeah, but I didn’t pick it’,”

How did your parents feel when they read the article?
“Horrible! I love my mom and dad. Maybe I didn’t have the childhood people think you should have, but I still went though the ages, I was still a child. Maybe it wasn’t a conventional one, but you know, whatever… I like where I am now so it’s okay. I think my parents have learned by this point that none of [what they read] is probably true, and words can be put in your mouth.”
Where does the darkness in your lyrics come from it it’s not a reaction against your upbringing?
“I don’t know. The one thing that has to be said about my family is, yeah, I was put into this industry incredibly young, and I saw a lot of shit; it wasn’t a normal childhood in terms of going to school everyday. I was in and out [of school] all the time. When I did [2000 film] How The Grinch Stole Christmas I was in first grade, and I missed most of the year. And then I came back the next year for six months, and then I was gone again. I guess I didn’t have a ‘normal’ childhood, but it was what it was. I write about what I know from experiences and from things I’ve learned and things I’ve seen. Let’s just say I’m not one for advice, I’m one for mistakes.”

Seeing as you’re 17, do your parents have to go on tour with you?
“No, I’m a legal adult. Whatever that means! (Laughs) I graduated high school two years early, so I’m responsible for myself under some weird New York state law.”

Who were your musical heroes when you were growing up?
“The Beatles and a lot of the classics. I played a lot of old records growing up. Stuff like Bob Dylan… I grew up listening to a lot of old vinyl and then my dad would record them onto cassette tapes for me, I was about 10 when I got my first CD player.”

Now that you’ve left acting behind, what are your ambitions?
“I want to make great records. I want to write great songs. I want to do this for the rest of my life. I want to make records for the rest of my life and have each one better than the last, and making myself better at what I do. I’m my own harshest critic, I’m always telling myself I’m shit, it’s the only way to get better and better. I’m a perfectionist and so is Ben and our producer Kato [Khandwala] who I wrote the record with.”

What do you have to say to Kerrang! Readers who think you’re an actress playing at being in a rock band?
“If people know me from the show or don’t like me because of the show, or don’t like the way I look or the way I dress, then all I ask is don’t left that affect you listening to the record. At least give it a chance. And then feel free to hate it. I hate a lot of shit, believe me, but don’t hate it before you’ve heard it because that’s not fair. You never know, you might be surprised.”

5 comments :

Jimbo said...

That's from the current issue of Kerrang, which also has a one page interview with Taylor in it as well.

Claire said...

Thanks so much for telling! :):)
I previously posted the other page here: http://taylormomsenblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/pretty-reckless-in-kerrang-magazine.html

Jimbo said...

That's no problem, happy to help out!

Sorry to split hairs but the picture and the live review are from two different issues - the picture's from the newest one which was out yesterday.

Jimbo said...

Just taken a few pictures of the interview itself, will email them to you shortly.

Claire said...

Thank you so much!! :D
I'm going to edit the post right now ;)

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