Gregg Gillis, known by his stage name Girl Talk, hits Voodoo Music and Arts Experience on Friday night. The Daily Reveille talked with Gillis about his shows and projects as well as the music industry and digital music sampling.
The Daily Reveille: You’ve played at Voodoo before. Is there any significant thing about the festival that’s bringing you back to New Orleans for Halloween weekend?
Gregg Gillis: It’s definitely a unique festival based on the time of year, and I feel like people typically associate festival season more with summer. And I do a lot of the summer festivals, and it kind of winds down around this time of year. There’s not so many of them. So it’s nice to be able to still do this sort of thing and be outdoors. And I’m a big fan of Halloween as are a lot of people, so it’s a good festival based on the atmosphere and the time of the year.
TDR: I’ve noticed with your previous shows you’ll sometimes have fans join you on stage and surprise appearances from other musicians. What kind of things can fans anticipate at this performance?
GG: I don’t think there will be any surprise appearances at this, but I am constantly working on the show and touring and playing shows. So it’s something where I just never really stop working on it. Every day I get up and start working on new material. So something like this I try to definitely acknowledge the festival to a degree and occasionally will sample some of the artists playing or definitely for the time of the year for Halloween putting some things in the mix that kind of relate to that. So I feel like at any given moment, the show that happens has kind of been introduced as a new recantation both in terms of music production, lights, all that. It’s always growing and evolving, so I’m excited to do a lot of new stuff.
TDR: Since you’ve sort of been this mascot or advocate for digital music sampling, how do you manage to sample so many songs and maintain the legality of copyright law?
GG: You know, that’s the ultimate question, I guess. There’s really no formula for it or anything. I think with my work, you’re allowed to sample without asking for permission if it’s under fair use, which is in basic copyright law. But figuring out whether it qualifies under fair use or not is something where I don’t know of any way to go about that unless you’re actually challenged by someone — so unless you’re actually sued. So with my work it’s something where both creatively what I’m trying to do goes hand in hand with what would work legally, meaning that in order for it to be published you take something that previously exists and try to make something new out of it. And in order for it to fall under fair use, your work has to be transformative and have no negative impact on the potential sales of the artists you’re sampling. So those are all goals of mine creatively, completely outside of the arena of copyrighting where that’s something that I actually want to do with my work, so you know that’s always been the goal. And the intention is to take these songs and make something new out of them, and whether that falls under fair use or not, you just can’t be 100 percent on that. It’s just if you believe in what you’re doing — like I do — then I feel confident putting that out. And if we were challenged, then I would have to go to court and have to fight that. But it’s definitely in a gray area and something we’re never 100 percent until it’s in the clear.
TDR: Have you ever felt restricted from that?
GG: I try not to think about it just because I just feel like if you believe in what you’re doing, then you should believe in it across the board. And I think that question kind of relates specifically to it definitely crosses my mind sometimes that there are certain artists who have histories with being a little bit more aggressive with how most people sampling their works, and certain artists have similar implications. And I tried to not have that impact on what I do. I don’t think it should on terms of how I feel about fair use and what I’m doing, and I think that artists and their histories shouldn’t necessarily impact that. So in a quick answer, no, it hasn’t really impacted. It has crossed my mind absolutely, but it’s something, like I said before, that if you believe in what you’re doing, then I feel like you should stay committed to that regardless of who the is artist you’re sampling and when you put out an album or anything like that.
TDR: How do you feel the electronic music industry is changing today versus when you first started being Girl Talk?
GG: There’s definitely been an explosion in the past 5 years or so of EDM and all of the subgenres of that. It’s definitely become such a major thing across the world and definitely has blown up in the United States specifically. I’ve always felt kind of like an outsider to that world back when I started doing this 15 years ago and now. Me, personally, I don’t feel like it has so much of a direct impact other than the culture of that stuff wasn’t so big then, and it is now. I feel like what I do — even though I’m a fan of that stuff and incorporate some of the elements of that into what I do — I still feel like an outsider. So I feel like that explosion has allowed me to kind of be an alternative for people who want to hear something different than a lot of that sort of world. It’s definitely become such a thing now, where a big thing is just touring and even festivals. I still do festivals. But close to ten years ago, a lot of the festivals would be just entirely rock, or entirely hip hop or entirely this or entirely that, but things are just a lot more blended together, and there’s way more of an electronic presence on every single lineup. When I used to do fests, I would be one of the very few electronic artists playing at these venues because I never played clubs like DJs. I played where bands play and stuff like that, and that just wasn’t that common 10 years ago. At the certain venues I was playing at, there would be a few but not that many, whereas now there’s so much touring EDM and electronic artists. There’s a big really standard for it, and even though I feel like I’m outside of that world, it’s still people can relate to it easier in terms of booking me or having my presence at a festival. It’s not just such an abstract concept now as it was before.
TDR: As a mashup artist who uses such varying genres and artists, is there a particular genre or influence you identify with?
GG: I’ve always felt like my work and my personal taste has always skewed heavily toward hip-hop. In general, it’s something where I, personally, when I’m listening to music, I’m listening to everything. But I guess I grew up on hip-hop, and from the start of this project — even though it’s kind of been all over the place in terms of where it’s evolved and where it came from and where it’s going — there’s really always kind of been a hip-hop base. And I always work with a lot of rap vocals, and that’s kind of the foundation of it. Especially in the earlier work, I always kind of imagined myself as producing like an imaginary hip-hop album sort of thing. I grew up in the ‘90s, so I’m always sort of skewed toward ‘90s music in general. I’m kind of all over the map, but I always felt the foundation of this is sort of hip-hop.
TDR: So tell me about your last project with Freeway.
GG: That was something where I took a little time off of shows a couple years ago and just kind of had a little more time for myself, and like I mentioned earlier, I’m always typically working on material for shows. So once I had some time away from that I was able to just make music that didn’t have to work at the live show and didn’t have to make sense in that world, so I just started kind of messing around and experimenting with no particular goal. And what kind of came out of it was more or less something that went closer to more traditional hip-hop production. So then I came up with the idea that it would be cool to do a mixtape with a rapper that was kind of somewhere in between a traditional hip-hop mixtape and one of my things — where there’s a lot of different genres and samples, and it’s quickly moving and moves continually throughout. So I had a few different MCs that were on the list of people I’d like to work with, and Freeway was definitely the top of the list. And I talked to various people, and once we got on the phone and connected, we definitely hit it off. It was something where when we officially went to go work together, I had never done that sort of thing, so I didn’t know if it was actually going to happen or not. There was a chance I would go there and we’d make something and I wouldn’t like it, or we wouldn’t see eye to eye. There’s so many variables that could go into it. But we really clicked, and it was something where I really enjoyed working with him. And we spent four days together initially in Philadelphia and then after that just sent a lot of files through the Internet and kind of kept working on it. And it was something I was really proud of, and I was excited the way it came out. And I’m a fan of Freeway, and I’m a fan of the project — like if I didn’t make it, I would’ve been enjoying that. And then from there, we did a bunch of shows last year, and he came to a lot of festivals with me. And it’s something where now I’m interested in trying to do some more work like that — some more collaborative stuff — because it was just a different experience for me and very liberating and fun and a change of pace. But even it kind of relates with what I normally do, but it’s just a different thing so I enjoyed it. And I would definitely do some more.
TDR: If you could collaborate with anyone else who would it be?
GG: That’s a good question. If it was anyone, I would love to do an EP with any of the big greats at this point, Jay Z or Kanye or something. I think I could do a great EP with Rick Ross, or I would even do a 50 Cent thing. I feel like people have been sleeping on his latest projects, and a lot of his music flies below the radar. But any of those iconic artists I would be interested in collaborating with.
TDR: Do you have any projects you’re currently working on?
GG: Yeah, but not nothing I can officially announce yet. Like I said, ideally it’s going to be something kind of related to the Freeway project, just with different artists. So there’s a few seeds planted right now, a few different people I’m talking to and sending files back and forth so with. That sort of thing you never know whether it’s going to happen, so it’s not like you’re actually there working on music with people. So I’m definitely working constantly — both on new show material but also on the next release. So I’m hoping by the end of the year, I won’t be able to put anything out, but I’ll have an idea of if it’s going to officially happen. But like I said, I think it’s going to be closer to more of me doing production work for a rapper.
TDR: Years ago in an interview, this was a long time ago, you said you’d probably going to play more proms than Coachellas, and then last year you played the main stage right before OutKast, which you’ve sampled from. How does it feel to reach that success and just continue growing?
GG: Yeah, at this point, I’ve done one prom and four Coachellas. So I guess I was a off on that statement, but the Coachella thing was definitely a high point. Like I said, I’ve done it four times, and each time was at a different stage at the festival. So each time was at a bigger stage. So being able to do than and coming back every two or three years and seeing it grow was cool, and then just being on the main stage was just really amazing for me because, like I said earlier, I came up playing in venues with bands. So I never really had goals to be in the DJ tent or be at the club DJ booth. So being on that main stage with other traditional performers as opposed to DJs, that just really meant a lot to me. And I grew up on OutKast and really love OutKast, so it was an honor. And that was when we brought out a bunch of guests. We had Busta Rhymes and Freeway and Wacka Flocka and Too $hort and E-40 and Juicy J,, so that was just a big moment for me. I had never done a festival on that scale, and I think when you go back and go to the festivals, it’s always interesting to see how it grows and how it evolves. So that show really stands out to me. It just means a lot to me, and it was one of those shows where I had to take a step back, and it was really surreal that it was happening.
TDR: When was the moment that you really felt like you made it? When did you feel the most successful?
GG: I think that’s when I quit my day job, which was 2007. I’ve been doing this project as Girl Talk since 2000, and I really never intended it to be a career, and I didn’t intend to ever make money off of it. It was just a hobby and something I loved doing. Then, I put out an album in 2006, and it kind of caught on. And that year from 2006-2007 was the first time I felt like there was something big happening here — the first time I started playing shows that were selling out. And I had a day job — a nine-to-five in a cubicle sort of thing — and every weekend, I would fly out and do shows. So that whole year there was feeling kind of crazy and surreal, and I couldn’t believe it. All those people coming out to shows, especially after six or seven years of playing shows to basically nobody and other people having very little interest in what I do. I think when I ended up quitting my job that was a big moment where, again, it was just never a dream or goal of mine because it’s just so far fetched in terms of what I do and for that to become something that you live off of. So that moment was both intimidating because I had worked my whole life to get that job, and everything was going well. So a very weird feeling to have your life seemingly going okay and then throwing that out of the window to pursue this other thing, just because it was really happening.
TDR: I know you mentioned earlier you wanting to do more projects sort of like the Freeway EP, what kind of other things do you see yourself doing in the future? Five or 10 years down the line, what do you see yourself doing with Girl Talk?
GG: I just want to keep doing it in some capacity. I think for what I’m known for now — my past few solo albums and shows — I think that continues to evolve. And I don’t want to do that necessarily forever. And I think the Freeway thing was a step in that direction in breaking out and doing related things so my background before this project got popular was leaned more toward the experimental realm, and I still follow a lot of more underground weird sort of music. I don’t really think about this in terms of a career, and I definitely don’t think in five years I should be producing this amount or making this amount or doing that. I just really take it day by day and think, ‘What is interesting to do now?’ I’m still very active in checking out new music and hearing new things, and I think it’s always about relating to, ‘What’s going on now?’ There’s always people doing music, and you take different pieces that you enjoy and be influenced by but also on your own track and stay in your own lane. So in five to 10 years I really imagine me kind of taking this in a lot weirder direction and potentially having a very small fanbase of people who are really dedicated to what I’m doing — not so concerned of maintaining some level of this amount of fans or this amount of fans but I just like to make stuff that I love and find an audience that relates to it and enjoys it.
TDR: What kind of things are you listening to right now?
GG: I’ve been listening to Yo La Tengo because it’s the fall, and that’s very good autumn music. I’ve been listening to the new Young Girl. I’m actually in my car right now. Oh, the new Tame Impala I liked. Father, the rapper from Atlanta, I just saw his show and was enjoying that. I have a lot of stuff, a lot of older music.