Continued from page 26
the world – I question everything on a daily basis. I doubt everything all the time. But I think that’ s just part of being human,” she adds.“ I think everyone feels that way at times, if not all the time. And I think it’ s part of what makes an artist. If you’ re not questioning yourself and you’ re just blindly going forward and going,“ I’ m great,’ then you ' re never going to grow. So you’ re constantly pushing yourself to be better, and doubting yourself makes you grow as a human, and as an artist. In the band, the amount of times that we tell each other – and ourselves – that we suck is by the minute. Because it pushes you. It pushes you to be better.”
Ask Momsen about society’ s current ills, and she’ ll run down a daunting list, starting with the surprise election of Donald Trump. She fears that women’ s rights will soon be under attack from his pending cabinet and Supreme Court choice, and she( jokingly?) mentions the possibility of relocating to a more forwardthinking country. She loves London. Paris is always nice, and Canada isn’ t so bad, despite its frigid winters, she sighs. So we’ re all‘ living in the storm,’ as the eerily prescient Mike Judge film Idiocracy comes true, minute by alarming minute. She thinks that“ South Park” also taps into that angst, especially the xenophobic“ They took our jobs!” episode and the hilarious“ Guitar Hero” send-up, when a dad plays Kansas on a real guitar for his video-gameobsessed kids and they just blankly stare at the device, with no concept of how to make real music.
What will The Pretty Reckless sound like on their next album, after two theoretical years of President Trump?“ Oh, God,” Momsen shudders, trying not to imagine it.“ But we already have a lot of material, so we’ re trying to do it a little differently this time.” That’ s probably the most important lesson she’ s learned so far, actually.“ Going so long without recording any new music starts to wear on us, so we’ re going to try and not do it that way this time around. We’ ll maybe record a little bit, tour a little bit, record a little bit. Instead of that constant brutal tour cycle for two straight years, without creating anything new.”
But – as much as this still beau-less lone wolf enjoys being left to her own devices out in New England – she’ s begun to realize that she does have a new family around her, one that backs her to the hilt and also needs her support. That’ s right, she laughs, it’ s her own band, The Pretty Reckless. She always swears she’ s going to disappear, right after every tour or recording session.“ But then two days later, I’ m calling our drummer, going,‘ Hey, Jamie – you wanna hang out?’,” she says.“ So it is very lucky and rare to find people that you get on with that well – people who are that musically compatible and personally compatible. We joke that we hate each other. But really, at the end of the day? We’ d die for each other.”
stimulate your senses play an American guitar.
• Illinois ' Top Taylor Dealer
• Chicago-area Premium Electric Dealer
• " Build to Order " Experts
• America ' s Guitar
• 30 year Martin Dealer
• Great Selection
• Hand-built Acoustic Guitars
• American Made- World Class
• High Quality and Affordable
• American Designed and Expertise
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Tobias Music Fine Guitars
( 630) 960-2455 • www. TobiasMusic. com 5013 Fairview Ave • Downers Grove IL 60515
★ ★ ★ ★
Like Us on Facebook
december 2016 illinoisentertainer. com 41