The Pretty Reckless frontwoman Taylor Momsen answered several questions in a conversation with Interview Magazine she recently joined. Momsen shared that she got the news of Chris Cornell‘s death in the middle of the tour.
Chris Cornell had struggled with depression for a long time before being found dead after the Soundgarden’s show at the Fox Theatre in 2017. The successful musician committed suicide at the age of 52.
In the show at the Fox Theatre, The Pretty Reckless was the opening act for Soundgarden. While she was spending time with the members, Momsen hugged Cornell just before he went to the hotel. After she learned about Cornell’s committing suicide, the frontwoman could not get over this shock for a long time.
In the previous years, Taylor Momsen shared during a conversation with Cornell’s daughter Lily how hard it was for her to lose him. She expressed her respect and love for the late rocker. Momsen stated that it was very tragic to lose him after joining a performance for Soundgarden.
Taylor Momsen recalled when she heard of Cornell’s sudden death while they were on tour with his band in a recent interview. According to her, this was a massive event for them to be the open act for Soundgarden, mentioning that she is a fan of the band. The singer explained how she was affected by the death of Cornell in the middle of their tour, stating that she could not find the strength to continue upcoming performances.
During the interview, Taylor Momsen explained in her words:
“I don’t want to get too heavy, but there’s no way to talk about it without going into the losses that we experienced. We lost a lot of people very close to us. We were on tour with Soundgarden, which was such a peak for me. I’m the biggest Soundgarden fan in the world.
Chris Cornell passed away on the night of our last show. That was crushing to me. I was not mentally prepared to handle that, and it really took me down. We were in the middle of a tour, and I very quickly realized that I couldn’t get on stage every night and be okay. I couldn’t fake it. So I canceled the tour and went home.”
The frontwoman continued telling about the sudden death of her producer and best friend Suketo ‘Kato’ Khandwala. She was depressed for a long time because these losses came at once. Momsen mentioned that music helped her to overcome depression.
She added in the same interview:
“Then, I learned that our producer Kato, my best friend in the whole world and practically a member of the band, died in a motorcycle accident. That was the nail in the coffin for me. I spiraled real fast: depression, substance abuse.
I fell into this hole that I couldn’t get out of. I didn’t even know if I wanted to. I finally got to a place where I felt like I really needed music again. I was depriving myself of it during that time, and I’d never done that.”
As she mentioned in the interview, Taylor Momsen had a hard time when she lost two important people who impacted her life. She was depressed and could not find the enthusiasm to create music at that period. However, music brought her back to life at the end of the day.
