Margaret Butler, frontwoman of indie rock/synth pop band Ggoolldd, sat down with The Daily Reveille to talk music, parties and her position as a role model for female musicians. The band will perform at the Spanish Moon on March 19.
Ggoolldd, based out of the midwest, has toured with the likes of Blondie and Passion Pit. Later this year, they’ll play at South By Southwest in Austin, Texas.
The Daily Reveille: You grew up in Baton Rouge, so how does it feel to be coming back to Baton Rouge on tour with Ggoolldd?
Margaret Butler: “I’m really excited. I’ve been trying to get [the band] to come to LA since we started. I’m really happy to show the band my hometown and where I came from. We’re gonna take them fishing and have them eat crawfish for the first time. This is really a homecoming for me because I was a bartender at Spanish Moon for years. You could say I’ve been waiting on this day for a really long time.”
TDR: What was the initial inspiration to start Ggoolldd?
MB: Actually, boredom mostly. I was living in Milwaukee. I was designing clothing and getting ready to open a store. On Halloween, which is my favorite holiday, me and my friend wrote a song called ‘Gold’ and decided we should dress up in all gold costumes and have a Halloween party and play this music. So someone went as a golden retriever and I went as Santigold, but it was just all gold Santa. It was supposed to be a one-time thing, but it was a ton of fun. Someone that was at the party asked us to play at a venue, so we did it again. People kept asking us to play, and we kept saying yes. So, we started writing more music, and now here we are.
TDR: You’ve said before that you’re a performer before a musician, why do you think that is?
MB: I’d never even thought of playing music a day in my life before I just did. I don’t play any instruments on stage. I help write the songs, but the thing that I love is dressing up, having a party and getting people excited about the music. You see a Ggoolldd show, and it’s just a performance. It’s an experience, and that’s what I really love about being in this group.
TDR: What has been the most rewarding part of this journey for you?
MB: Just being in this band with my best friends. My job is to go to a different party every night and get people excited. And I get to hang out with my best friends while I do it. I couldn’t imagine a better job. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to live.
TDR: You’re working with Ben H. Allen, who’s produced some of the biggest acts of the last decade, like Walk the Moon and MIA. How has that experience shaped you and the band?
MB: He’s a great producer, and we’re gonna be going back to get some more songs produced. I wouldn’t say he’s really changed our writing style. He’s embraced it. He’s just so cool and awesome to work with.
TDR: Historically, female-fronted rock bands are so rare, do you feel any sort of responsibility or rather, empowerment toward other female artists or young women who might look to you for inspiration?
MB: “I think responsibility is a great way to describe it. Yeah, 100 percent I do hold myself responsible to make sure I’m making a good example for other women on how to lead. Especially younger women. I try to act in a way to let other women know that it’s absolutely 100 percent okay to be a strong woman and to be unapologetic about it. It’s more than that, I want them to know that it’s not only okay, but it’s badass to be a strong woman.”