So, the interview.......
DJ Girltalk (Gregg Gillis)
An Interview with Damon Peoples
Gregg Gillis was just an ordinary guy putting in his dues, researching at a biomedical lab, on the 9 to 5 in an American rust-belt city. Working for the man… dreaming of “the cure.” Weeks upon weeks he toiled at his creative conglomeration, trying to make sense of it. It was “the cure.” That was for sure. At least elements of it. This “cure” had to be synthesized just right. Gregg Gillis knew this to be true. He released his conglomeration twice to a test population, codenaming the first, SECRET DIARY, and the second, UNSTOPPABLE. It had a jarring effect on the test groups. He noted the side effects: jittering feet, quickened heartbeat, disorientation. The test subjects grew dependent on his creation. They turned on him.
Years have come and gone and Greg Gillis has survived. He has perfected his “cure” for the common house party with his third rendition of Top 40 grandeur, NIGHT RIPPER. Going under the assumed identity of Girl Talk, come weekend, Gillis is jetted off all over the globe to deliver his masterpiece of mash-up to the masses. NIGHT RIPPER has delivered Girl Talk’s sounds into the pop-culture spectrum, obviously having perfected a breakneck style of looping, sampling, layering, and outright redefining of Top 40 hits from the past several decades. If you like music, period, you’ll get a strong kick out of this album. It’ll definitely feel a little strange at first rocking out to Sophie B. Hawkins, “Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover”, but you’ll feel it. I can almost put my 100% satisfaction guarantee on this claim.
Luckily, Music-Reviewer.com was able to sideline Girl Talk for a couple questions in between his flights of musical rescue to clubs across the nation. Get to know a little more about this man of mystery:
MR: Why Girl Talk? Why not Shinytime Station or Female Conversation? What was the reasoning for the moniker Girl Talk?
GT: It’s from poetry that is written on Jim Morrison’s grave.
MR: Do you have any plans, besides making music, under the Girl Talk banner? Any merchandising blitzes or bells and whistles to offset those impending legal expenses for your label when the Fair Use tactic falls through?
GT: I recently started a production and remix based band with my friend Frank Musarra. It’s called Trey Told ‘Em. It’s to do work that doesn’t have to be sample-based. Other than that, I plan to continue doing the Girl Talk thing.
MR: Speaking of possible lawsuits… do they get you nervous? Does the prospect of legal disputes based upon your heavy unlicensed sampling affect decisions about the course of your future in music?
GT: I would be making sample-based music regardless of whether it can be released or not. It’s what I like to do, and I plan to continue to do it.
MR: You worked with Beck and provided him with a remix on “Nausea”. You also performed at the Andy Warhol museum recently. Do either of these events lend to your clout or peace of mind that what you are doing is being popularized/venerated by the artistic community, as opposed to that feeling you get from all the emphasis in your publicity responding to assumed legal repercussions?
GT: I remixed “Cell Phone’s Dead.” It is very encouraging that people like Beck and the Warhol Museum would be down with my music. But I don’t necessarily need a popular artist to endorse my tunes for me to feel like I’m doing OK. As long as my friends are into it, I’m sure I’ll feel fine about it.
MR: Besides Beck, Grizzly Bear, and Peter, Bjorn and John, whom you’ve already worked with, are there any other artists out there that you would sell your soul to collaborate with?
GT: I’d love to collaborate with Justin Timberlake, Al Fatz, and the Boredoms on one track.
MR: Your music involves extensive layering; the kind of layering you have to have that preternatural ability to pull off smoothly. That’s a big part of what makes your work stand out amongst a wasteland of “mash-ups” that promise things like “Led Zeppelin meets Lil’ Wayne”, and turn out sounding like someone forced two elephants through a pinhole. What I mean is that this kind of music you’re making, that you’re pushing to its best extremes, has been bungled by all these “mash-up” folks out there that upload their cluster-fucked remixes and put a bad spin on your style. Granted it’s hard to compare your hundreds of layers to those simple “mash-ups”, but do you think these people should step up their game or consider not bogging Kazaa and Limewire down with all this mediocrity? However you answer this, I promise that no one will call you pretentious. Actually, I can’t promise this- but, whatever.
GT: I’m not into viewing music on a “bad” Vs. “good” level. I think there’s value in almost every music project out there. I love that anyone can mess with some pre-existing songs, put it on the internet, and be heard. I have my particular style, and everyone else has their particular style. I think it’s great that so many people are trying their hands at music, regardless of their background musical training. That’s only going to help with the general progression of music.
MR: I’ve been trying to think of musicians I’d like to get your opinion on. The first one that comes to mind is Trent Reznor. It’s obvious that both of your collective works don’t sound anything alike, but you both have made your corner in the market with the ability to layer instrumentation with precision. I’m thinking of “Closer”, for example, in its last 1:30 seconds where it keeps layering up the distortion and beats. Do you feel any connection to that kind of work? It seems like a stark contrast, but I had to ask it.
GT: I love Trent Reznor’s work. Even though it’s very rock-based, there is definitely a collage-style to much of his work. You can hear the variations of loops, just like in my music. I think his production and beats have been consistently solid. The Downward Spiral cassette is in my car right now.
MR: What do you think about the Diddy/Bad Boy school of sampling? Sometimes those guys don’t even attempt to manipulate the source material. Sure, they fatten the beats up most of the time, but they generally loop large segments of Solid Gold hits without sample modding or stretching. I only ask this because P. Diddy and Company are the kind of music industry heavy hitters that might come calling on you one day. You know, give you the DJ DangerMouse opportunity.
GT: I’m into it. I think too many people overlook that style of sampling. People always like to say how “talentless” that is or whatever. That’s ridiculous to me. That’s like taking some abstract piece of artwork and being like “Anyone can do that.” Yeah? Is that true? Did you do that it and make it work? It’s all about context. Someone could take a pop song and just hum overtop of it, release it with their name on it, and right a thesis paper on how they re-contextualized that entire piece of music. Diddy makes hit. He’s good at it. He re-contextualizes the original source material. If his fan base wanted to hear those Solid Gold hits, they could go out and buy them. They don’t. They want to hear the the new form, the new context. It doesn’t matter to me how far you manipulate the source material. What matters to me is how the final product sounds.
MR: Any hint as to what your future music is going to sound like? SECRET DIARY was real experimental, UNSTOPPABLE was a mix of forms, and NIGHT RIPPER was the crack-laced “pop” icing. What’s the next step?
GT: I really don’t know. I was thinking in terms like that a few months ago, but I may have hit my stride with the Night Ripper style of music. I’ve been making lots of new material in this style for live shows. I never try to make conscious decisions on where I’m going with music, it just happens over time.
MR: Ok, the last thing here is going to be quick draw, gut responses. I’m going to list ten things(out of 15) that you give me your immediate thoughts on. I’m sure this will be enlightening.
- Andy Warhol?
GT: He doesn’t love Pittsburgh.
- A new Guns’n’Roses album?
GT: Totally pumped.
- The “O” fries?
GT: I like “O” fries, but I’m way more into the “O” upstairs bar, which is very underrated.
- Steelers, Pirates, or Penguins?
GT: STEELERS
- Heath Ledger as Joker in new Batman?
GT: I’m feeling it.
- Play-doh?
GT: I think it smells good.
- Dr. Dreadful Food Lab?
GT: OK band name.
- Prosthetic eyes or breast implants- what’s cooler?
GT: Boobz
- UPMC?
GT: Great scientists.
- Heineken?
GT: I.C. Light
- Lindsay Lohan?
GT: Her bro came to a show of mine. He was in Cheaper by the Dozen, I think.
- Martin Scorcese?
GT: Does he like the Steelers?
- Cheese?
GT: Pepper
- Purple?
GT: I wear purple about three times a month.
The newest album is called, NIGHT RIPPER, and it kicks ass. It’s a one of a kind masterwork. It gets me excited!
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That's that,
Damonster
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