Girl Talk Likes to Get Down in the Campgrounds at Bonnaroo

Posted on Apr 29th 2011 8:31PM by Benjy Eisen
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Darren Hauck, Getty Images

When Girl Talk (aka Gregg Gillis) performs a show, he takes the audience on a wild ride with a rapid-fire audio mosaic of songs everyone knows by heart. And at this point, he's got that much dialed in. But given the sheer number of bands and songs he samples as part of his schtick, it comes as little surprise that at a festival such as Bonnaroo, he'd be able to custom tweak his set to include some of the other artists on the lineup.

"In the case of Bonnaroo, there are a number of artists I would sample anyway," Gillis told Spinner this week, at a press conference for the festival. "So in that case I definitely try to make some nods to those that you definitely know." Specifically, Gillis says he'll include samples of Lil Wayne and Eminem -- both of whom are going to be making their debut appearances at Bonnaroo this summer.

But as far as using the festival grounds to scout for new material, Gillis says he'll patrol the grounds strictly as a fan and as a spectator. "With what I try to sample, I try to stick within the Top 40 spectrum -- familiar material that people love and hate," he explains. "So I rarely stumble upon something where I'd find a sample." That said, Gillis still plans on checking out as much music as possible at this year's Bonnaroo, as he did the previous times he's performed there.

In fact, you might even find him stomping through your campsite on the way to a campground dance party. "A lot of times when you play these festivals, a lot of people try to squeeze into that VIP area," he says, correctly. "And that's all well and good, but I think sometimes it sounds like s--- and it's crowded and you can't see anything," he adds, also correctly. "So for a band that I really like, I definitely try to take it in from the crowd and take it in from the audience ... Last time I played, me and some friends, we wandered deep into the campgrounds and watched people do live electronic music, like, a mile away from the festival."

Yeah -- he gets it. This year's Bonnaroo takes place from June 9 - 12 in Manchester, Tenn. Check out the official web portal to peep the deets and start planning your own homespun campground set; maybe, just maybe, Girl Talk will show up.

Watch Girl Talk Perform at Bonnaroo 2009