Blogaoo: Day 18: Girl Talk

While he calls Pittsburgh home, Gregg Gillis, aka Girl Talk, got his start studying biomedical engineering at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland, Ohio. While he spent a short amount of time working as a tissue engineer (whatever that means), he quit in May of 2007 to focus entirely on music.

Gillis produces mashup-style remixes, during which he’ll often sample from many different artists to create something entirely new. While he’s become known as a “lawsuit waiting to happen,” so far Gillis has not run into any real legal ramifications. But that’s probably because he doesn’t exactly charge for his albums. Citing fair use, he asks listeners to pay what they want for his music, via his Illegal Art website.

His background is interesting, but you can’t really appreciate Gillis until you make it out to a Girl Talk show. He’s the only person I know who can mix Biggie and Elton John in a way that not only works but forces you to get up and move. Combine high energy tunes with toilet paper shooters and confetti blowers and it’s easy to see how he hooks in fans.

I first saw him at Summer Camp in 2008, a music festival in rural Illinois, and I’ve been obsessed ever since. I didn’t really know much about him, but it didn’t take long before I was downloading all of his songs, watching out for upcoming appearances and scheming about how I would be able to make it onstage during a performance. (Gillis has been known to bring anywhere between 20 and 40 people up with him during shows. Bucket list? Yeah, I think so).

Below is a clip compiling footage from the various shows Addam and I have attended. The video is pretty fun, but it can’t compare to the experience of seeing Girl Talk live. It may be a pretty bold statement, but I’d say that Gillis is probably the artist I am MOST excited to see this year…and every year.

Amazing? Yeah, but wait until you see him live. It’ll change your life, man, I swear to God. At least, it did mine. He may not be a lyrical mastermind like Bob Dylan and he may not be able to make a guitar sing like Mr. Jimmy Hendrix, but he does what he does extremely well. And, for that, no one can fault him.

I could spend hours singing his glory, but I really don’t think I have to. Everyone who knows me knows how obsessed I am with Girl Talk, and I think I’ve more than introduced most everyone who reads this to his genius.

Girl TALK! Girl TALK! GIRL TALK! I canNOT wait!

Discography:

Secret Diary (2002)
Unstoppable (2004)
Stop Cleveland Hate EP (2004)
Night Ripper (2006)
Bone Hard Zaggin’ EP (2006)
Feed the Animals (2008)
All Day (2010)

Sounds Like:

Songs to Listen For:

Times at Roo: 1

Times I’ve Seen Him: 3

“Festivals are almost a lot easier for me, since the clubs are so chaotic. At my shows a lot of people jump onstage, toss drinks around. I’m cool with that and I love it, but it also increases the level of difficulty a good bit when people are running into me and screaming in my face. At a festival the audio’s usually crystal clear. There’s tons of people, but it’s not as nuts. So it makes it so much easier for me to physically perform. And a lot of the stuff I play is obviously pop hits, which can be refreshing for the crowd. You know, all the bands playing All Points West are great, but you’re probably not going to hear “Come On Ride It (The Train)” anywhere else that day.” — Gregg Gillis aka Girl Talk (2008).

Doc Hop

Dr. A.R. Hopkins