‘Do you guys mind if I continue wrapping while we talk?’ said Gregg Gillis when I walked in to interview him before his show at Alumni Hall last Friday.
He was referring to the Glad wrap he was methodically encasing his Panasonic laptop in with Scotch tape. His old-school computer and clear wrap barrier for it meshed appropriately with his flannel shirt and shaggy brown hair. A folding table set up next to him held an array of junk-food goodies like bagels, cookies and soda. Missing was the high-maintenance vibe of other musicians. For the hip-hop flavored samples he chooses from popular songs and the flashing lights, ear-shattering, club beat shows he puts on, he looks more college boy band member than electronic mashup artist.’
All of this adds to the puzzle of why a former biomedical engineer would suddenly aspire to become the next pop culture prince with a name that seems as outrageous as his on-stage antics.’
So why Girl Talk?’
‘It’s kind of using pop music and pop imagery and the idea of pop culture-kind of as a way to stir things up in the underground music scene,’ Gillis said.’
‘I felt like a lot of times in those worlds it’s very like two different worlds where you are supposed to hate the mainstream or the mainstream people are supposed to dislike the underground or whatever. I wanted to pick a name that was very flamboyant and very over the top in a way that wouldn’t sound like a guy playing a laptop.’
Gillis is more than just a random guy with a laptop and some editing software. He graduated from Case Western Reserve with a biomedical engineering degree and subsequently worked as an engineer for three years.’ He said that he never planned on making music a career; it was something that he did for fun.
‘ ‘So this project actually gaining momentum where the shows were selling out, and I could make money off of it was a huge surprise to me,’ he said. ‘Just during that last year, things started to take off and it reached a point where I was playing shows every weekend.’ It wasn’t even like I went on and it led me to quit the job.’ It was in front of me that I knew I could live off it for at least a year.’
To sum it all up, he said ‘Basically in 2006 or 2007, one of those years, I used up all my vacation days super early and that was kind of it, and I had European trips planned so I had to quit.’
That decision to quit led Girl Talk to become an internationally-recognized phenomenon.’ His laid-back attitude and rock-band vibe disappears on the stage, where he becomes a dancing, sweaty glorified DJ.’ He comprises his music solely from clips from popular songs and believes that this reflects the culture of the moment.’
‘It’s kind of like the YouTube culture, just being entertained for that second and moving onto something else,’ Gillis said.’
He did not expect his beats to catch on so quickly and with as great of a force.’ That is the defining factor for an artist that seems to embody the ‘cool-nerd’ edge with ease.
‘The fact that people are into it means a lot more than me making it.’ It definitely reflects our ability to process something on that level,’ he said.’
‘That level’ refers to the 30-second or so clips from songs that he meshes together to comprise a tune.’ Instead of taking unrecognizable beats, however, he pulls from hip-hop songs and old-school rock jams to make a lyrical collage soon to become the next dance club track.’ In ‘sampling’ from so many popular songs, however, critics of his music have started to question if he follows copyright laws.’
Gillis believes he respects the limits, however, and continues to challenge those who say he ignores fair use rules.’ ‘
‘Every piece of music is based on influence and based on previously existing model of something,’ he said.’ ‘I grew up with some hip-hop and some electronic music sampling.’ I believe you can make transformative music out of samples in a way that creates a new entity and simultaneously doesn’t negatively impact the potential sales of an artist.’
So far, Gillis has avoided any negative or angry feedback from artists. He attributes this to the way pop culture has evolved.’
‘The idea is creeping up in our culture a bit more where the idea is out there to use something in our culture to make something new,’ he said.’
Right now Gillis averages about one album every two years.’ His past albums are titled ‘Secret Diary,’ ‘Unstoppable,’ ‘Night Ripper,’ and the latest ‘Feed the Animals.” The process of compiling tracks is a ‘trial and error process,’ and one song can change daily.
‘I sample whatever I’m listening to,’ he said.’ ‘When I hear something, even if I don’t like it on a surface level, I might hear a cool snare or something.’ From there I would say about 25 percent of that makes it into the live show and maybe 10 percent onto the album.’ It’s just a drawn out process.’
Gillis tries to bring his music to life by using colorful visuals, by using his stage as a dance floor and by taking his clothes off during a performance.’
‘I think taking clothes off back in the day was kind of an excuse to challenge people- you know, like if I get naked right now, maybe people are going to have fun with this,’ he said.’
Crowds that push the limit are becoming a trademark of Girl Talk’s concerts, and they even helped inspire his current album title ‘Feed the Animals.’
‘The guy who does all my album artwork is named Andrew Strasser, and he was helping me do visuals for a show and we brought up inflatables on stage every day,’ Gillis said.’
‘When we set them up to close to the crowd, they would kind of swallow them up and tear them apart and they were just going crazy waiting for the show.’ He started referring to that as feeding the animals when we were setting them up and that kind of became an extended metaphor for the overall showincluding ourselves, like the need to just kind of loosen up on it and get off on it.’
For a musician who seems to have had luck on his side since the beginning, Gillis hopes it continues as such.’ His plans for the future appear unsteady, but Girl Talk does not see the need in ending his lucky streak prematurely.
‘I kind of work on music all year round, I never have any goals for the future-he initial ambition for this project has all been shattered,’ he said.’ ‘I’m in a very crazy place right now and I’m kind of just riding the wave.’
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