Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, will bring his pop orgy to a sold-out crowd at the 9:30 Club this Friday. Tickets on Craigslist are going for as much as $75 a pop. Expect lots of sweat and chaos. Gregg spent some time chatting with us about his favorite new records, influencing a new generation of laptop musicians (myself included) and his raucous live show.

BYT: What’s the wildest show you played recently?

Gregg: This whole past month was college shows - those get pretty insane sometimes. Bates College in Maine, where I played with the Death Set, was really over the top, even for a college show. I tried to advance at them that I would allow some people onstage and they were cool with that. And the staff and sound people were all so nice - they just let the show go buck wild. It got to the point where the legs on my table had collapsed and there were 10 kids holding it up and we were slowly pushed to the back corner of the stage.

(Laughs) So I’m in the very back corner. The show is in a gymnasium so the stage is enormous. People are standing on the ground behind the stage holding my ass up so I don’t fall off the stage. There were girls reverse stage diving, standing on people ‘s shoulders and jumping from the crowd on the floor into the crowd on the stage. It was really out of control, in a fun way. … Actually, the fire alarm went off because the sweat and the mist in the room was so intense, which I’ve never seen anywhere else.

BYT: How many laptops have you gone through this year?

Gregg: This year I’ve been cool. Last year I went through three. This year I bought one of those Panasonic tough books that are meant for military use. I haven’t been able to break that yet. But I did play one show in Tulsa where I was standing on top of a table, slipped, fell and I did a belly flop right on top of the laptop. The back panel cracked but it didn’t skip a beat - it kept going and I was able to finish the show. Panasonic was happy to fix that for me. They were impressed I was able to crack it.

BYT: You should talk to them about becoming the face of the Toughbook brand.

Gregg: (Laughs) I know man! I really think it would be perfect. Commercials with people shooting guns next to the laptop and then it would cut to me falling on top of it in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

BYT: What have you been listening to a lot lately?

Gregg: Just really preparing stuff for the tour. Somebody sent me an advance copy of the new Of Montreal album. I think its pretty amazing. It doesn’t sound like anything else out there right now. I like the new Killer Mike album a lot. All of the new Busta Rhymes songs I’ve heard have been really good. And I just started to listen to the new Metallica for the first time - I have no official opinion on it yet. But I’m looking to get into it.

BYT: Do you ever get tired or burnt out on working on Girl Talk stuff? What kind of music do you work on then?

Gregg: I always look forward to doing new Girl Talk stuff - it’s never dull for me to drop a new sample or idea to see how it will go over. The more I work on GT stuff the more exciting the shows will be. But I have enough free time at my house where I can fool around. I cut up lots of things, making weird music that I will probably never play for anyone. I have a background in experimental music. I’m always messing around with stuff like that just to keep things going. But as far as Girl Talk stuff is concerned, the more material I have, the more potential I will really love something.

BYT: So the live show is a testbed?

Gregg: Yeah! I’m always excited to keep moving forward with it - I’m almost addicted to it. I never get burnt out making it.

BYT: I only ask because after Night Ripper came out, I was inspired to make my own sample-based music. Compared to the other music I’ve worked on, it’s a much different process.

Gregg: Yeah, it’s like your tools are already shaped for you and you need to figure out how to work them to your advantage. With traditional instruments, the palette of sounds is there and you can do whatever you want with them. With samples, its very specific in the way you work. I read an interview with DJ Spooky or one of those older school sample-based guys. He mentioned how even taking instruments and recreating samples is almost like compromising or a cop out because working with the samples, its very difficult to find a place for these already formed tools. Whereas taking original instrumentation and recreating that is easier or not as authentic to him, which I thought was funny.

BYT: Yeah, I remember an interview with RJD2 where he said he got so frustrated that if a sample wasn’t in the right key or if he needed a specific chord that he just picked up his guitar. It can be such a daunting task when you’re trying to put stuff together just with preexisting music.

Gregg: Absolutely. There are so many songs out there that I love. So many times I think ‘I can’t wait to sample this.’ Then I start cutting it up and quantizing it, but its not clicking in any way I want it to. That happens more often than when it works.

BYT: What can we expect from the openers this Friday, Grand Buffet & Hearts of Darknesses?

Gregg: I’m really pumped for this whole tour, because all of the other bands are close friends of mine. HoD is primarily one guy named Frank Musarra. For the tour he has a band of four people, but he does all the music himself on a home computer… His new music I think is really interesting. He’s always been pushing progressive noisy electronic pop, but the early stuff was very abrasive. I was into it, but I don’t think it was for everyone. His new material has sounded like a quirky Nirvana or something. Just very pop, very catchy, but also very noisy and in your face.

Grand Buffet are guys that I’ve known since high school. They’re an electronic hip-hop duo. You can’t classify them - they’re in a world of their own. They’ve been living off of being a rap duo for about 10 years now. It’s just unbelievable. To me, they’re some of the best performers I’ve ever seen. Growing up in Pittsburgh, they were one of the only bands I saw that weren’t a rock group with a local following. They were always local heroes to me - people that have a national fan base and can make a living off of doing nontraditional music. I love it. They don’t fit into any niche… They just exist and make brilliant music.

BYT: In the wake of your success, a lot of mashup and collage albums came out online that were heavily influenced by your work. What’s your take on this?

Gregg: I honestly feel it’s like with any music. When Jimi Hendrix comes around - not to compare myself with Jimi Hendrix - people ask where does guitar music go from here? Then eventually something else happens and you get varied styles. Nirvana. Poison. Lightning Bolt. All these different takes on the art form. Small variations make a huge difference.

I have noticed a lot of imitators of my style. I love that. It’s cool. When I started, I was heavily imitating the style of Kid606 and John Oswald. That’s how you get going. When you pick up a guitar, you start by playing Rolling Stones songs and then you start writing your own.

I am positive that within 5 years, the way the software is progressing, someone will make something that will make Night Ripper and Feed the Animals sound like it was made 50 years ago.

Not even from the collage end, but just making electronic music or beats, I stumble upon so many myspace pages or blogs and I’m just so impressed by the production skills of people that I’ve never heard of. I think that’s the way it’s going. People have the time to fool around all day and the software is becoming easier and cheaper, everyone can use it. Eventually there will be something like the Nevermind or Sgt. Peppers of sample-based music.

I’m really looking forward for this insane pop album that completely blur the lines of originality. I don’t know if I’m capable of it, but there will be some very skilled musician that will make a bonkers album. I already see little bits of that with the Go! Team and Panda Bear. All of those people incorporate samples. Even Daft Punk. All of their stuff is heavily sampled based and completely transformative. It’s also some of the best pop music of our time.

BYT: Absolutely. Wrapping up, do you see yourself making music as Girl Talk in 10 years?

Gregg: I like the idea of a quick legacy - Nirvana and Sex Pistols. Just a handful of albums where you nailed it and that’s it. But I imagine I will be making music forever. … If I am doing it in 10 years, I imagine it will be at a much different level. I would hope I’m not smashing beer cans over my head and jumping into the crowd when I’m 36 years old.

BYT: Thanks for the taking the time out. Can’t wait for the show on Friday.

Gregg: Cool! See you there.

Some previous BYT Girl Talk coverage:
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/music/the-girl-talkdan-deacon-experience/

and
http://www.brightestyoungthings.com/live-dc/bliss-comprehensive/

 Send to a Friend