15 Questions with Girl Talk
Nothing adds sparkle to an event quite like throwing in a notorious rage artist and a sick playlist. The College Events Board seems to have tapped into this empirical fact, as they’ve snagged Gregg M. Gilles, also known as Girl Talk, to energize this year’s Pep Rally. Fifteen questions were clearly in order with this sampler extraordinaire.
1. Fifteen Minutes [FM]: How did the College Events Board convince you to come to the pep rally?
Girl Talk [GT]: I’m not sure how it went down, I pretty much do everything other than booking tours. I’ve played a lot of college performances, and I enjoy it. I think playing for college audiences breaks down a lot of barriers within the show-going experience.
2. FM: You’re known for playing without a stage separating you from the audience. Does that get dangerous?
GT: I usually do play on a stage, but I often invite the audience onto it, so it can appear as if there isn’t one.
3. FM: Have you ever had injuries?
GT: Yeah, right now on this tour I have some pretty foul-looking bloody, scabby upper thighs from rubbing up against people. I’ve been wrapping my legs up trying to prepare for shows. There are always issues with the shows going on, but I play about 100 shows a year and no big injuries so far.
4. FM: Thus far the performers at Pep Rally have been the Harvard Band and a Harvard male a cappella group—quite different from your genre. Are you planning on performing the type of set you would at a normal concert?
GT: Yeah. It’d be nice to kind of improvise. This show will be at the very end of this tour. I never quite replicate a set—I have a specific idea but it depends on the night, the size of the room, or how the house goes down, you can’t have that be exactly the same every night.
5. FM: Why do you strip down at concerts?
GT: This comes from way back in the day. It originates from more of an underground experimental thing—I used to play for very small crowds who weren’t there to have a good time, and it was my job to loosen them up. It was a big effort to make it as entertaining as possible and to put an energy into it, so back then I got into taking off clothes kind of like “I’m here, you can join in” way, but by now that the shows have evolved into a party I don’t feel as inclined to put on a visual show.
6. FM: Have you ever gotten completely naked?
GT: I’ve never...yes. But I’ve never made a decision myself. If you’re going to get in your underwear on a stage full of people, you’ve got to get to the point where you’re willing to have someone yank them off.
7. FM: Well, you’ve clearly got some zealous fans. Have you had any really bizarre encounters?
GT: I think I’m the one who takes it to the bizarre end of the spectrum. I go to parties at peoples houses or bars after a lot of shows. I’ve seen some pretty crazy fan garb: T-shirts, even something bordering a shrine one time. Nothing too creepy, though.
8. FM: You quit your job as an engineer a while back. Do you ever miss it?
GT: I wouldn’t say I “miss” it. Right now I feel like I don’t have a job, I party for a living, and every once in a while someone hands me a check. I’ll probably get back to that eventually. I couldn’t imagine doing this for the rest of my life, just playing every day and partying every night. I’m sure I’ll be in a cubicle soon enough.
FM: You basically live the college student’s dream life.
GT: Yeah—It’ll actually tough to give up. I literally party for a living.
9. FM: Do you think that your approach to mixing has changed over the years?
GT: Absolutely. I think when I started I had a very different goal in mind. I was just involved in making avant garde and experimental music. I essentially wanted to make noise out of pop. Over the years I’ve grown to fully embrace more accessible music. I still want to make something challenging, but ideally it’s appealing to people.
10. FM: Would you consider your music “pop”?
GT: I think it’s a variation of pop, but a weird version. I sample music that’s pop and top 40, but it all depends on how you define “pop.” To me, Elliott Smith is pop, and Sonic Youth is pop, but there’s a lot of pop that’s not on the radio. I use a lot of radio music, but it’s not just radio music.
11. FM: What’s your favorite top 40 song out right now?
GT: I’m really into Beyoncé’s “Single ladies,” I really like the Trina ft. Killer Mike track “Look Back At Me,” I like Britney’s “Womanizer,” and basically every new Busta Rhymes song coming out has been amazing, I’m a fan of all that stuff.
12. FM: When you’re constantly touring and recording, when do you have time to listen to what’s out?
GT: I’m kind of always occupied by things, I actually haven’t listened to the radio or followed MTV while on tour. Typically I play on the weekends and then on the weekdays I check my e-mail and listen to the radio.
13. FM: A significant aspect of the narrative out there about you deals with the legality of your music, which uses samples from other artists without permission. Have you ever even been sued?
GT: We’ve had no problems. I feel that it should be legal, so I’m not totally surprised. It’s exciting, though, and I think it could be a sign of the times. I think people are becoming more used to the idea of sampling. Artists, musicians, young people, old people, are recontextualizing and appropriating the media.
14. FM: Have you ever gotten feedback from artists you’ve sampled?
GT: I’ve never had any negative reactions, but I’ve had positive ones. I’ve had Sophie B. Hawkins’ manager contact me to see if we could possibly collaborate, a member of Yo Majesty told me they liked my stuff, Big Boi from Outkast came to a show of mine and came to talk to me. He was completely down with what I was doing.
15. FM: I know you played Brown’s Spring Fest a while back, and you’re playing for this Harvard event—are you down for playing Harvard’s Spring concert, Yardfest? The acts in the past have been...quite different.
GT: Yeah I’m down for any show. I try to cram in as much as possible so I play as much as possible. I’ve done everything from proms to festivals. College shows are a blast. The heart of this project developed when I was in college, so it makes a lot of sense.