TAYLOR MOMSEN INTERVIEW

It was a sunny day in NYC when I met Taylor Momsen. Security escorted me to her trailer for where she's shooting the third season of the CW show, Gossip Girl. I knocked on the door, she opened it and greeted me with a hug. 'I heard you're a huge fan,' she says. I told her it's true. Okay, so I'm going off here. lol I know you don't wanna hear that, so here comes the interview:


Q: Hey Taylor! How's it going?
A: I'm fine, thank you! A bit overworked but fine. (laughs)

Q: You've got a busy schedule.
A: Yeah. I'm shooting Gossip Girl right now and recording in my trailer. Before that, I was performing on The Veronicas tour.

Q: Who are your band members? Introduce us to The Pretty Reckless.
A: Well, let's see... There's John Sicolo on guitar. He's also in a band called End The Stars. They're pretty cool. There's Nick Carbone on drums. Oh, and Matt Chiareli, who's also in End The Stars, on percussion.

Q: How was performing on The Veronicas tour like for you?
A: It was very surreal. It was the first time I performed in front of so many people. Performing's something I wanted to do since I was 5 years old.

Q: Wow, that far out?
A: Yeah. I've been writing since I was 12. I've kept every single song I wrote in a book, so it's basically filled with 4 years of material. I had, like, other people look at it, and I'm giving them ideas and we're just going through it again, just updating it.

Q: What inspires you to write songs? Because your lyrics are very interesting.
A: I write from everyday experience. Everything I feel, I write. I don't hold back. I really think it's therapuetic for me to get it out on paper. People go to therapy, I write music. (laughs)

Q: So you know how to play the guitar?
A: Kinda. I'm still learning. (laughs)

Q: Out of all the songs I heard you perform, "Zombie" was the one that caught my attention the most. It goes 'To all of you who wronged me, I am a zombie' How did that come about? What inspired you to write that?
A: It's basically - I'm saying, like, I'm just devoid of emotion. I've put up this wall. I can't and don't want to feel anymore, like a zombie. Alot of people used to hate on me. Back in school, on the internet. I'm not a well liked person, I know that. I give off that vibe. But the thing is, even if I acted like it didn't affect me, it did, and the song is basically dealing with it, it's like, I don't want this anymore. I'm clamming up.

Q: I know how you feel. I'm basically the same. People used to think I was vain, and stayed away from me, so I had trust issues in my childhood.
A: Exactly! Trust issues. I've only got a small group of friends who I can trust, you know? Who I can let go with. Who I can be myself with.

Q: "Blender" was up on the official Pretty Reckless site. Is it the first single?
A: I don't know yet. I'm still recording. Honestly, I really want "Good Girls" to be a single. That song's special for me.


Q: So nothing's for sure yet?
A: Not yet. I wanna be free to promote and tour when we launch. I wanna say after we finish filming Gossip, probably.


Q: How's that coming about?
A: It's coming about quite nicely. We're having fun.


Q: What's gonna happen with Jenny?
A: You see this whole new side of Jenny that isn't necessarily her. That's one of the main differences between me and her. I know who I am, I won't change for anyone. She's a bit more influencable. (laughs) But at the beginning of the season, she kinda gets like an identity crisis. At the end of season 2, she gets crowned the new queen. It's very different for her to get that kind of power. In season 1, she was kinda like Blair's lacky, and with this newfound power, she doesn't really know what to do with it. You're gonna have to watch and see.


Q: You've been in Underdog and The Grinch. How is it different being on a movie set than a TV show set?
A: On a movie set, you know there's only a certain timeframe where you get to shoot, like a couple of months probably. So you know not to get too attached. On a TV show set, you're practically living with these people. They're your home away from home.


Q: Leighton Meester, who plays Blair, is also launching a music career. Do you talk about it with her? Would you wanna duet with her?
A: Yeah, we talk about the transition. But dueting? I don't think so. I mean, she's going for more of a Pop/Electronica kinda sound. I'm going for a Rock sound. Her new song, "Good Girls Go Bad", is a favorite of mine. I played her a couple of my songs, and she played me some of hers. She's got some strong material.
Q: What, or who, influences you muiscally?
A: It's funny you should phrase it like that, because you just answered the question. (laughs) I'm basically influenced by music. Any kind of music. There isn't a certain type of music I listen to. I listen to anything. One of my favorite songs is "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles, but my favorite band is Garbage. I'm also influenced by Hole, Courtney Love. I think it shows when I perform, people point that out. (laughs) Joan Jett just influences my look, my style, but I put my own twist on it.


Q: Is there a title or a release date for the album yet?
A: I can't say just yet. Again, nothing's set in stone. The album's not complete yet.


Q: What's your favorite song you recorded?
A: I have alot. "Good Girls" is one of them. "Heart", too. It's very personal. "ADD" is the story of my life. (laughs) There's this song I just wrote. It's called "You Make Me". I really like it. It's about what you'd be willing to do for someone you love.


Q: 'Good girls go to heaven, but the bad girls go everywhere else' What influenced that?
A: (laughs) That was a pinpoint in my life. Alot of stuff used to happen, and I'd never say anything about it. Alot of crazy stuff. I was like 'Taylor, are you gonna keep being a good girl (quotation marks) and just sit and take it, or are you gonna stand up for yourself?' I've been through alot. I didn't wanna just shut up and keep letting those things happen, I stood up for myself. I followed my dreams. The song was actually written in a subtone where, it depends on what you think a 'bad girl' is. Not necessarily what people usually associate with bad girls, it's very tongue-in-cheek.


Q: Thanks for your time, Taylor!
A: Don't mention it.


Q: Happy late birthday!
A: Aww... Thank you!

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There you have it! SuperDanceElectroPopMagic's first interview! If used anywhere, credit us! Stay tuned for our interviews with Wynter Gordon and Jordan McCoy as well!

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TAYLOR-MOMSEN.NET