Mash-Up King Girl Talk's Sweaty Party

On a balmy L.A. evnening, Gregg Gillis, better known as the mash-up maestro Girl Talk, stands admiring the Hollywood skyline from the rooftop patio of the 1,300-capacity Henry Fonda Theater. "Three years ago, I was playing to almost no people in L.A.," he says. "So selling out two nights here is a big surprise to me."

Gillis began performing as a college student in Cleveland in 2000. "At the time, it was confrontational to do a pop remix on a laptop while opening up for a rock band," he recalls. "People got upset, there were punches in the face, lots of unplugging stuff." Eight years later, Gillis has opened for Beck and released four albums of endlessly entertaining mash-ups as Girl Talk. His latest, Feed the Animals, blends snippets of more than 300 songs into densely packed party-starters — OutKast, Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead and Jay-Z all melt into a postmodern musical casserole. "I understand the juxtapositions are humorous," Gillis says, "but I never want to sacrifice what's musical just to make it funny."

Pre-show, the 27-year-old heads to Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles to chow down on butter-smothered grits and espouse Girl Talk philosophy. "There used to be a clear divide between mainstream and underground," he says. "Now that's broken down. People are unafraid of being sincere about music that you're not supposed to listen to."

After fueling up, he heads back to his bus to cover his laptop in Saran Wrap — protecting it from the sweat, drinks and other fluids it might encounter during the show. "It can definitely get pretty crazy," he says of his gigs. "There have been times I thought the stage might collapse." Tonight, Gillis has set up his gear on a small podium on the venue's floor. As masked assistants fire endless rolls of toilet paper through billowing fog, he mixes Busta Rhymes over the strings from "Bitter Sweet Symphony." Gillis berates phone-waving wallflowers: "Who came here to take pictures? Fuck, no! Break your camera and let's party!" Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" enters the mix, and the place explodes.

After 70 minutes, Gillis crowd-surfs his way to the exit. Heading toward his tour bus, he spots chick-flick actress Amber Tamblyn. Before she can congratulate him, Gillis extends his hand: "I'm a big fan of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I mean, I genuinely love it!"

[From Issue 1066 — November 27, 2008]

Related Stories:

• More from Issue 1066
• Review: Feed the Animals
• Girl Talk, New Pornographers, Mates of State Keep it Upbeat at All Points West