CJ Foeckler
GGOOLLDD’s Margaret Butler.
Partying and job security rarely go hand in hand, but in the case of Milwaukee-based electro-pop band GGOOLLDD, lead vocalist Margaret Butler says the group’s first gig at a Halloween 2013 house party set the tone for its rapid rise.
Butler describes that initial appearance in east Milwaukee as “sort of a joke or a one-off [performance]” not expecting to be asked to play more shows. Yet just a couple of years later, Butler and her bandmates find themselves among the ranks of the city’s most popular new acts.
In the wake of an action-packed 2015 — with appearances at South by Southwest, Summerfest and Summer Set, as well as vinyl and EP releases — the takeaway for GGOOLLDD seems to be to never underestimate the power of a good party.
The group treats each show like a celebration, and its music reflects that spirit. With singles “Gold” and “Boyz” and a new EP, For the Night, GGOOLLDD has bared genre-bending tendencies by favoring live musicians over synths and production. Bassist Nick Ziemann, drummer Mark Stewart and guitarist Tony Hunt help to keep the band’s infectiously raucous sound a little rough around the edges.
“We’re never going to be super organic. We’re an electro-pop band,” Butler says. “But we’re always looking to do something a little bit different. We’re really lucky that we chose to be this type of band, because our possibilities are really endless when it comes to writing new music.”
Coming off a halftime performance at a Milwaukee Bucks game on Jan. 4 and their first headlining show at Turner Hall on Jan. 9, GGOOLLDD will take the party on the road for a Thursday, Jan. 14, appearance at the Majestic Theatre for the Isthmus Wisconsin Pop Fest. The all-ages night also features Dairy State acts the Living Statues, Oh My Love, Modern Mod and Tarpaulin.
GGOOLLDD visited Madison in the fall for Freakfest, where Butler, like any self-respecting rabble-rouser, donned multiple capes, crooned repeatedly in the ear of an unamused bouncer and completely biffed it trying to climb back on stage after leaping the barricades. While Butler concedes her antics might have “bit her in the ass,” she says it didn’t mar the band’s opinion that Madison is “one of (GGOOLLDD’s) favorite places to play.”
