There's no girl in Girl Talk, or even a group behind the name. Girl Talk is the stage name for Gregg Gillis, a groundbreaking mashup artist who brings his laptop - and party vibe - to his shows.
The Pittsburgh native, who appears at 10 p.m. Friday, June 17, at House of Blues, plans a "collage" of his current release, "All Day" (Illegal Art), and his previous four albums.
He carefully programs each set in advance to ensure seamless musical transitions, although he triggers his digital samples in real-time.
Before his latest appearance, Gillis talked about the art of sampling, and why his mixtapes offer the perfect soundtrack for the social media era.
Question: First, what's with your name - it sounds like a girl group.
Answer: I wanted to embrace pop music, from my performances, to my name, to what I was sampling. I wanted to pick a name that would sound like a Disney group - the opposite of a guy playing on a computer.
Q: You're known for your wild shows. How does the live vibe compare to your records?
A: The record and the show are very connected, but at the same time, the intentions are a little different. With the show, I'm focused on getting people to physically react and go crazy and go nuts. On the album, it's less about having the ultimate party songs and more about what's musically interesting.
The show is more in-your-face, with visuals. Some people prefer the live show to the album. You come back to Atlantic City a few times, you want to make it bigger and crazier every time.
Q: Why did you decide to release "All Day" as a free download?
A: I thought it would be fun to pop out of thin air and be free. That's the way we did it. We thought if it was free, and we didn't say anything about it, that in itself would generate its own buzz, as opposed to traditional marketing techniques.
Q: Which worked better - having buyers set their own price with your last record or having the new one be completely gratis?
A: I liked (the idea of having consumers determine prices) conceptually, but I think "pay what you want" is four extra words beyond free. In the Internet world, free is an easy thing to write on your tweet.
Q: You create your mashups using samples of copyrighted material by other artists under so-called fair use rules. Have you ever run into legal trouble over copyrights?
A: Thus far, it hasn't been an issue. There's always potential for someone to have an issue and take us to court. I feel good that it hasn't happened.
It's not a problem. No one's going to be downloading my album instead of someone else's.
Q: How is the sharing of content on Twitter and other social media impacting how your work is viewed?
A: The general perception of intellectual property is shifting in subtle but powerful ways.
Something I was doing in 2006 was a little bit shocking to certain people. Today, with social networking, tweeting, sharing and in music, everything is a remix.
With every Lady Gaga song that comes out, it's easy to get a cappella and instrumental tracks.
Immediately, there are hundreds of remixes, and it's all over the place. What I'm doing may have been radical, but now every kid with a computer is used to remixes.
I don't have to explain to people anymore that (by) taking something that existed in media, you can make something new out of it.
'All Day' features all-star lineup of samples
Mashup artist Girl Talk's fifth album, "All Day" (Illegal Art) offers his trademark mix of pop, rock, hip hop and alternative artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Black Sabbath, Ludacris, Dorrough and Fugazi. In all, the record samples 372 tracks.
"I love to work with the pop spectrum," says Gregg Gillis, who uses Girl Talk as his stage moniker. "For each album, I like to sample entirely different music."
For Gillis, it's been as natural for him to tap the computer to make his music as other artists would pick up a guitar.
"I would love at some point to learn to play piano or guitar just out of curiosity," he says. "I started doing bands when I was 14 and got interested in electronic music. Instead of aspiring to get a guitar and playing Alice in Chains, I was interested in getting my hands on a drum machine."
Additional artists sampled on "All Day"?include Big Boi, Miley Cyrus, Iggy Pop, Portishead, Busta Rhymes and Radiohead.
Girl Talk
WHEN: 10 p.m. Friday, June 17
WHERE: House of Blues, Showboat Casino-Hotel, Atlantic City
HOW MUCH: Tickets, priced at $30, are available at the HOB box office or www.pressofatlanticcity.com/tickets
WEBSITE: www.myspace.com/girltalk
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