Q & A with Girl Talk

Q: What did you think of the crowd today?

With these shows in the daylight it always takes a little bit to get people into it. I get caught up in my own world - there was actually this crazy glare for the first 15 minutes and my tour manager was standing next to me to block the sun. And then it set and then I could see the rest of the set. After that I was so relieved, so I was in my own world loving it, that it wasn't a total disaster. Audience was fired up and all the people onstage dancing were really cool, too.

Q: Do you invite dancers onstage at most of your shows?

It's kind of evolved from smaller club shows where we pull a couple people up, and then it evolved to where people would see clips on YouTube or photographs, and then it's gotten to the point where it's etiquette now. If there's not a barricade, people just jump up and it's kind of chaotic. Bigger shows like this obviously can't have that, but then we like to get a random crew who are ready to have a good time.

Q: What did you think of the openers, The Cool Kids and Jack's Mannequin?

I've played with The Cool Kids a handful of times now - I really enjoy their stuff. We fit well together; we shared a bus together today so we talked about playing shows in the future. And I've sampled their stuff before. I've played with Jack's Mannequin once before, too. Their set was killer - I was very impressed. I'm sure a lot of people don't pay attention to the details and what he does with the grand piano.

Q: Do you prefer college shows or club shows?

I think the club shows are more of a natural atmosphere. Of course, playing in the daylight is something that's not ideal. It's just different. I've spent 95 percent of shows in a cramped club, so you get used to that. The college shows are kind of like a can't-miss. For these kids, it's like the s*** today, it's the thing to do. People are really psyched on having a good time, if they weren't they'd be somewhere else. The energy and positivity at these shows are through the roof.

Q: How have your live shows changed throughout the years?

The people who do the tour with me are two close friends of mine who just jumped onboard maybe nine months ago. In the early days they were really theatrical, almost poking fun at how unsuccessful we were - like investing $300 in stage production when there were 15 people there, like really crazy, making people uncomfortable. That was like nine, 10 years ago. When things became successful I kind of cut back on all of that, and it's me and the music and we invite people onstage and that's it, since about 2006.

Q: What about the idea for those toilet-paper shooters? They were pretty cool.

Yeah, now that I have the budget we do a little more. It's all super basic bootleg stuff. It's just a leaf blower. Even the confetti blowers, we just do it ourselves with fans. Everything's really do-it-yourself. Every show I give them a budget and I don't necessarily know what they're going to do. They like pushing the envelope, and I like pushing the envelope.

Q: Do you do anything special before the show to get amp-ed up?

Not necessarily. I wrap my computer in Saran Wrap and it's a very meticulous, specific process. It takes me a half hour to do two computers, and I have a very detailed way to do it. I like to get that out of the way about two hours before the show. That kind of gets me in the zone. We kick it really low key before the show, we don't think about it, we relax, we don't really address. Onstage, we transform a little bit. The way we perform onstage is not necessarily our normal demeanor. You just snap and there's people staring at you and you do your thing.

Q: Have you ever broken your laptop at a show?

Yeah. In the early days I toured by myself all the time, and everything's more organized now, but years ago I used to break two or three laptops a year. There was a gray area when I was transitioning to bigger venues and I was hellbent on keeping it all on myself. I like the chaos and don't want to impose any rules that aren't necessary. But it got too big and there was a time in 2008 where college shows would end prematurely because of people rushing the stage.

Q: What's the wildest thing that ever happened on stage?

Everything happens on stage. I've seen people have sex on stage. Here, it's daylight - you can see your neighbor. I've seen people dive off my table. Everything that could happen has.

--staff writer Erinn Conor