D.J. Girl Talk May Perform at Annual Harvard-Yale Pep Rally

This year’s Harvard-Yale pep rally will likely feature Pittsburgh-based remix artist Girl Talk, according to individuals close to College Events Board chair John F. Pararas ’08-’09 and vice-chair Benjamin P. Schwartz ’10.

Girl Talk, the stage name of Gregg Gillis, is known for his distinctive mash-up remixes, as well as his performance style. The former biomedical engineer often strips to his underwear and performs with only a laptop that he covers with saran wrap to protect it from his flying sweat as he bounces about onstage.

Schwartz declined to comment on the matter but said he would discuss the event in two weeks.

Though the artist’s popularity has been on the rise, many students at the College said they had never heard of him.

Those who had, however, said they were excited by the prospect of seeing him at Harvard.

Girl Talk performed at Brown’s Spring Weekend—the school’s multi-day equivalent of Yardfest—along with M.I.A., Lupe Fiasco, Vampire Weekend, and Umphrey’s McGee.

This spring’s Yardfest was the first in the event’s three-year history to feature two artists—the Wu Tang Clan and Gavin DeGraw. The CEB’s choice of Third Eye Blind the previous year led to a great deal of dissatisfaction among students who thought the act was out of touch with their current musical interests.

Girl Talk pieces together samples of other artists’ songs using a software package called AudioMulch, a program users can download online and operate through Windows.

His fourth and latest record, distributed by the label Illegal Arts, contained more than 200 unauthorized pieces of other artists’ work. The artist’s mash-ups earned his music the designation “a lawsuit waiting to happen” from The New York Times Magazine in June.

Until 2005, the College-wide pep rally had not been planned as an annual event for more than 10 years. It generally takes place the Thursday prior to The Game. The rally was cancelled in 2006 due to rain and moved to the pub last year for the same reason.

The pep rally has since featured Harvard spirit contests, appearances by the football team, choruses of little-known Harvard fight songs, and performances by the Harvard cheerleaders.

But the only musical acts thus far have been the Harvard Band and The Harvard Din and Tonics.

Schwartz said the CEB could not comment on specifics but that they were looking to improve the event.

When asked what was lacking in previous years’ pep rallies, Schwartz answered succinctly: “Pep.”

—Staff writer Aditi Balakrishna can be reached at balakris@fas.harvard.edu.