Psychedelic Rock

Welcome to our “Psychedelic Lunch Series,”where we find out how deep the rabbit hole really goes and explore music from the 60’s to today. Weekdays At Noon EST. Enjoy the trip!

The Pretty Reckless is a New York rock band that was formed and is fronted by Gossip Girl actress Taylor Momsen.

On starting Pretty Reckless, Taylor Monsen told Sebastiano Mereu of From Hero To Zero: “For me, music is – I say a ‘passion,’ but it’s more than a passion, it’s my identity. I’ve been writing songs and singing and playing guitar since my birth. I’ve been humming melodies since I was a child, so it was something I always did. I was in different bands. When I met this band, when I met Ben [Phillips] first and we started writing together, there was a magic ‘click’ there. It wasn’t really a choice. It was out of desperation, the need to play music.”

Their debut single, “Make Me Wanna Die,” featured in the end credits of the movie Kick-Ass.

On October 29, 2012 Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey. The storm ravaged Water Music Recording Studios in Hoboken, where The Pretty Reckless had been recording their second album and wiped out the majority of the band’s gear as well as a batch of demos and near-completed recordings. As a result they had to re-record a lot of songs they had been working on.

Taylor Momsen’s first acting job was at the age of three when she appeared in a 1997 national commercial for Shake ‘n Bake.

When Taylor Momsen is not touring, she likes to just relax at home. Asked by Loudwire what her interests are, she replied:

“I love comedy. I watch a lot of late-night. Larry David is like my go to. He’s the Beatles of comedy. Louis CK is great. Katt Williams, Marc Maron. I watch television and comedians. I paint, I sculpt and play music. Playing music isn’t a job. Touring is a job but playing music is a pleasure and a privilege.”