The Pretty Reckless Biography

news-detailsThe Pretty Reckless is a rock band consisting of Taylor Momsen (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ben Phillips (lead guitar, backing vocals), Mark Damon (bass), and Jamie Perkins (drums). The original members of the band before line-up changes are Momsen and Phillips.

Momsen, an actress, found her passion for rock music after she was taken by her father to The White Stripes concert when she was just nine. "Before that, the only concert I'd been to was Britney Spears," she said. "But once I saw Jack White onstage, that was it. I grew up as a dancer and I thought you had to dance to be a girl in the music industry. Then I saw the White Stripes and I was like, 'No, you don't. I can do that.' "

She met Phillips through producer Kato Khandwala, and then they started writing songs together. They played in a band under the moniker The Reckless but had to change name due to trademark issue. The band underwent a couple of changes in line-up before they settle with Damon and Perkins.

After countless of live performances, the foursome was finally signed to Interscope Records and debuted their first album "Light Me Up" in 2010. Preceded by a self-titled mini album, "Light Me Up" peaked at No. 1 on U.K. Rock Albums chart and No. 6 on the list that ranked albums from all genre of music.

"The record is about life," Momsen explained. "It covers everything: love, death, and music itself. It's rock and roll. It's sex. It's drugs. It's religion. It's politics. Each song tells a story about the trials and tribulations and emotional struggles that I've experienced or observed. It's not a happy pop record, but it's not Satan-worshiping either. The lyrics aren't meant to be taken literally, they are open to interpretation."

Following the end of Momsen's recurring role on TV series "Gossip Girls", The Pretty Reckless went on a worldwide tour with Evanescence. Before that, they already headlined their own tours and took part in the famous Warped Tour. They also hit the road with Guns N' Roses and Marilyn Manson.

During their hectic schedule on the road, Momsen and her bandmates wrote songs for their new album. Their work finally came together and was ready to get launched in 2014. Titled "Going to Hell", the album got a pre-cursor from a mini album called "Hit Me Like a Man" and lengthy tour in 2013. The sophomore set was released March 12, 2014.