Pam, you have quite an extensive history in the local music scene…do share.

PAM: I started going to Harcore shows when I just turned 13, back in 1981. I tried to see as much Punk rock as I could. I used to promote and put on shows. I brought some pretty good bands to Denver back in the day. The Dayglo Abortions and Coffin Break. I brought GWAR the first time. I really tried to support the “all ages” crowd, before there was a lot of that going on.

What was the local scene like back then?

PAM: Back then there were local ring leaders. My friends were in a band called Happy World. They put on a lot of shows with Tom Headbanger and Jill Razor. Happy World is defunct, but they did a lot for the scene. A lot of our friends worked at Wax Trax (a legendary, local record store) as well. Bob Mcdonald was one of them. He was in a band called Bum Kon, but now he works for Revolver Records out in San Francisco. They’ve agreed to distribute our new album. At any rate, he was a part of the scene back then. Nancy Kennedy was a part of it too. She eventually owned 7 South. At the time, she ran a place called Kennedy’s Warehouse. Tom had a place called The Packing House. It was in a meat packing warehouse, out in the middle of nowhere. We’d be hanging out, standing around a kerosine heater, trying to stay warm and taking acid. We were all just a bunch of little kids just trying to have a good time, watching bands like TSOL and .45 Grave.

What’s the history of the rest of the band?

J.D: I have lived in Denver my whole life. I started in the scene back when it was Metallica and Slayer. My friend and I would jam in my basement. After I graduated from High School, I moved to Sweden for two years. I joined a Metal band out there called Infestation. A couple of members ended up forming their own band called At The Gates.

Wow!

J.D: Yeah, I was a part of all that. At The Gates are now broken up. Everyone stayed friends and two of the members went on to form The Hunted. Two of the twins that were in my band are in that band.

With such an impressive past connection with Death Metal, why is it you are not in a similar project now?

J.D: I just burned out on that scene. It started becoming too commercialized. When I moved back here, everybody was into Obituary. Everybody just wanted that same sound and it just got too repetitive to me. I ended up listening to stuff more like Cannibal Corpse. Eventually, it just died out. There was no more original music in that scene. It got boring to me.

What about you, Matt?

MATT: I came to Denver from Iowa.

God damn! Let me guess, you were one of the founding members of Slipknot? (Laughter)

MATT: (Laughter). Nope, I have no history as far as being in other scenes or in any other bands. In Iowa, there was no cool music except for what was on the radio. I grew up listening to radio music, in the early ’90’s. When I came to Denver six years ago, I was turned on to Punk rock. The Slingshots are the first real band that I’ve ever been in.

Would you agree with the popular held belief that every time a drummer blinks, it’s a new day?

MATT: (Laughter) I’ve been told that drummers are the last member of the band and not really considered full members. But in this band I’m an equal. Other bands are very jealous that I am treated as an equal.

Tell me something about your wee wee that would surprise the average person.

MATT: Well…(Laughter) My girlfriend says it looks like a stormtrooper in Star Wars (laughs). I”m not gonna boast. I think it’s average.

Amy, can you top that?

AMY: Um…I used to play with Jefferson Airplane (everybody laughs). No, I started playing bass about seven years ago, in Florida. I tried out for 100’s of bands before I actually learned how to play. I thought I was a better bassist when I first started than I do now, just because of the balls I had back then. I never knew why I was turned down. I thought they would be lucky to have me as their bass player (laughs). I had know idea of how to play a song, much less write one. After I moved to Colorado, I joined a band called Pin Cushion. Maybe the singer was a little influenced by Nirvana, but other than that, the band was pretty much just a Rock band. It wasn’t really what I was looking for, so I quit, moved back to Florida, remembered that Florida sucked and then moved back to Denver (Laughs). Florida is really behind the times. It’s a really big tourist draw, but it’s kind of like Mickey Mouse land all over the place.

Yeah, but what about the Death Metal scene?

AMY: There is a good Death Metal scene and that’s what we did for fun – we went to Death Metal shows. I enjoyed myself, but I was never really into the music. I only saw it live, but never collected it. But we saw Incantation, Morbid Angel – a lot of those bands. I was more into the Punk rock thing.

How did you meet Pam?

AMY: While I was here in Denver, I tried to join my friend’s band, Super Buick. But the lead singer, Dwane said, “no girls allowed.” But knowing the guys in the band is how I met Pam. I heard she was saying some really nasty things about me. My friend and I kind of confronted her, we exchanged words for like, 30 seconds and then, we were like, “let’s start a band” (Laugher).

How did the name of the band come about?

PAM: I took a drive out to Vegas with my Mom and my little boy. I had a list of about 30 possible band names written on a piece of paper. Double Barrelled Slingshots was one of the names. My Aunt came up with it. She got it from the Beverly Hillbillies. There was an episode where Elly May’s finds her bra in the drawer. She says, “Gee Pa, look what they got me? I’m gonna go out and fetch me some kritters.” (Laughter).

Was the original intent to make the band all female?

PAM: No, I’ve been in nearly all female bands before. The intent was to never do it again (laughter). We just wanted to find anyone that would be happy to play with us. We had some other players at first. We had a different lead player and drummer. We did a demo and put it on the Internet for everyone to check out. People would say, “that drummer is as tight as a Saigon hooker” (Laugher) So we had to let him go, but Amy met Matt at a Black Halos show. We were fortunate enough to get him to come try out.

In the beginning, every band has an idea, a sound in their head, that they try to create with the other members. How does the original idea of Double Barrelled Slingshots differ from what you do now?

AMY: I remember pretty clearly one of Pam and my mutual friends saying that Pam wanted to be the female version of The Mentors (laughs). That kind of scared me a little bit. I didn’t know if I could write songs about going though my boyfriends purse and frucking people while they were on their periods (more laughter).

PAM: Now we know you can!

AMY: I was just interested in more basic Rock. I wasn’t trying to do anything new. I think when people try too hard to be innovative, it ends up sounding like shit. We basically just wanted to play Rock and Roll and have a good time. We just wanted to write fast, catchy songs. I think it pretty much worked out that way.

PAM: The intent was to be balls out, and rock with the big boys, that’s for sure. We don’t want anyone calling us a “chick band” or angry females. Everyone knows we’re angry females! (Laughs). Amy has a really good habit of correcting my sentimental ways. Some times I’ll write a song that says, “Oh, poor me.” She’ll say, “Poor you? Poor them, you’re gonna kick their ass!” That’s how it goes. I’ll write something and then she’ll say, “no, it goes like this.” We go back and forth. J.D. will remind me how it goes and ultimately, that’s how we do it.

Why are there not more girls in heavy music?

AMY: Most people will say they started playing in order to get laid. But other than that, I think guys are less interested in being looked at as a star than women are. For guys, it’s enough to want to get up there and rock. Girls want to get up there and be cute and have everyone think they’re so beautiful. It’s not as much about the music. So while I think their are a lot of female musicians, there are less girl rock and rollers because of that.

What are the pros and cons to being in a co-ed band?

J.D: It’s more of true balance between the masculine and feminine side of things. You get the best of both worlds. For me, it works out really well.

MATT: The best quality about this band is like Pam said, we are not a girl band. We’re not a guy band. We are a band, plain and simple. Even though we have two girls out front, we can play with anybody.

I’ve noticed women are more prone to emotional dramas then men are, though. That has to suck. Tell me about female emotion drama in the band.

MATT: I’m not sure if I’m the best person to ask about this.

Why?

MATT: Because I’m one of those people that doesn’t see things.

Basically then, it IS a new day every time you blink your eyes? (Laughter)

MATT: Yeah, I guess I DO fall into that “drummer” kind of realm (Laughs).

PAM: It’s all, duck and cover when it comes to emotional drama in our band. The boys just hide when we’re fighting (Laughs)

AMY: I think having two guys in the band does balance us out though. If it was all girls, the other members would be trying to pit us against each other.

OK then, but if their was a wrestling match between the four of you, who would win?

MATT: I would win (everybody laughs).

PAM: That’s because you look like such a nice guy, the police would think you’re innocent. They’d cart all of us away and leave you be.(More laughter)

MATT: Exactly! (Laughs).

Pam told me, prior to this interview, that you were a little cutie – and you are!

MATT: Thank you.

Women don’t appreciate guys like gay men appreciate guys. Does it ever piss you off that you’re straight? Do you ever think, “Man if I were gay, I’d be getting all sorts of dick?”

MATT: I’ve never thought about it that way. I don’t know. I think I’m quite happy where I am. My girlfriend tells me that other girls hit on me all the time, but being a drummer, I don’t notice (laughs)

J.D., you look like the kind of dark, brooding type of guy that can treat women like shit and they keep coming back. Am I right or am I right?

J.D: Well, yeah, you’re right. In my past experiences, I’ve treated a few women like shit and they’ve come back. I think they deserved it though. They weren’t really up to par to begin with. They probably shouldn’t have been with me in the first place.

What do girls do wrong when giving head?

MATT: Teeth are the worst part.

J.D: I agree. Some women don’t know that raking their teeth against the shaft just doesn’t feel very good.

AMY: I remember reading a book about sex when I was like, 13 years old. It said not to use your teeth, so I think that’s common knowledge.

What do men need to learn about eating better pussy?

AMY: Focus on the clit. When you stray, it’s not very effective.

Isn’t there a specific technique?

AMY: It really doesn’t matter. If it’s on the clit, it’s good. If it’s off, it’s not (Laughs).

PAM: I once had a whole summer of ass-lickers. I don’t mind a little bit here and there, but when guys are on the ass, all the time, it gets a little bit old. But, I’d like you to ask my boyfriend, Duce, about my head-giving skills.

Where is he?

PAM: (Points across the bar and yells) Duce, come over here! (Her boyfriend, Deuce, gets up and comes over).

We’re talking about head-giving skills. How does Pam rate?

DEUCE: She has teeth! (Laughs)

That’s not a very good review, Pam!

DEUCE: (Laughs) No, it’s good just the way it is.

How do other male musicians react to you being female and fronting a band?

PAM: I have a lot of guys come up to me after a show and say, “God, I wish I could sing like you!”

How DO you sing like you?

PAM: I guess when you get kicked in the gut for about 20 years and have your heart stomped on enough, you end up sounding like this.

Tell me about the band’s discography

PAM: We have a five-song demo, that I already mentioned. Other than that, we have our brand new album, “Destroy Rock City.”

Where did that name come from?

PAM: My little boy is obsessed with KISS. He was Gene Simmons last year for Halloween. He used to watch the movie, “Detroit Rock City” all the time, but he couldn’t pronounce it. So, he’d say, “Mom, I wanna watch “Destroy Rock City.” (Laughs). We just thought it kind of sounded cool.

Tell me about some of the technical stuff behind the album.

PAM: We recorded 17 songs in 20 hours. I was sick at the time. Some shit came out of my throat that nobody expected, including me (laughs). From what I understand, the guys were in the other room going, “God Damn!” (More laughter). We did really well on time. We recorded the first time at The Alley Studios. We took one of their guys to Bedlem Hell Studios, before they closed down. He gave us a really good price on time. Haroldo Mardones is the sound engineer. He’s in Catheter, Forced Instinct, Reform Control and Black Lung. He’s more from the Grind scene, but he has a good ear for Punk rock. He respects what I do. We have some mutual friends that made him want to do a good job for us. We ended up choosing 14 songs for the record. We wanted it to be a straight, 30 -35 minutes. We did it on two inch tape, reel to reel. We wanted a real big, giant, 70’s sound. We wanted it to sound like The Dead Boys and New York Dolls – a lot of 70’s punk. It came out great!

What is it about the 70’s that’s so cool?

MATT: The late 70’s had such different offshoots of rock and roll. I think it had the biggest selection of rock and roll for its time. The four of us all have different tastes and musical likes, but somehow, they always go back to that time period. For myself, I’ve always been more into rock than Punk. I’m not a Punk. I just happen to play in a Punk band.

So, what was the shit you grew up to listening to?

MATT: I was always a big fan of Cheap Trick. I love those guys. I also love The Cars.

AMY: My music comes form more from inspiration than influence. Again, I’m from Florida. I pretty much had to choose from what was available. I listened to the radio a lot, but really, it was inspiration that had more to do with my musical development rather than just one band I might have liked- though that had something to do with it as well. I mean, I listened to Motley Crue, David Lee Roth and Def Leppard. I liked those kind of bands, but I wouldn’t say my sound necessarily came from that.

J.D: My biggest influences, as far as my guitar style goes, probably comes from bands like AC/DC. I like hard-hitting bands with strong rhythms. I listen to a lot of Zeke and Speed Dealer as well. Jimmy Page is a huge influence on my solo playing. I don’t really think about my solos a lot. I’m a very, free flowing type of player. I honestly don’t think I do any solo the same way twice. I improvise most of my leads.

MATT: They are in the same vein though. Even if you aren’t playing the same notes, they definitely have the same feel.

J.D: I think I pretty much shoot for the same vibe, but I pretty much just jump on how I’m feeling at the time and let that come through what I play.

PAM: I lived in England when I was in the 5th grade. At the time, I was listening to things like Blondie’s “Sunday Girl? and Pretenders “Brass in Pocket.” My mom was hangin’ in New York back in the day with cool people like Richard Helms and the Void Doys. I used to cry when they would put on Punk rock. Some how, it must have sunk in though cuz’ later on, I was like, “yeah!” Today, I’m compared with a lot of women I respect, like…I don’t know, bands I like, such as The Avengers. People used to say, I sound like Penelope Houston. I don’t think that’s true though. The most valid revue I’ve received is that I sound like Patsy Cline if she were a punk-fueled lunatic. (Laughs) I appreciate that. It’s a little more accurate.

What’s the master plan for Double Barrelled Slingshots?

PAM: We’re hoping someone is gonna take notice and pay for our next record, so we don’t have to. Touring is a huge obstacle for us. It’s mostly my fault because I have a child. We’ve sort of been offered deals with record companies that might have worked out, but they said we’d have to be on the road for like, 11 months out of the year, with no road support. We have lives, we have businesses, we have homes and we just can’t pick up and leave for that long. We want to know who the fuck can? We would like to tour three times a year, playing six or seven cities every time we go out. It takes a lot of planning and money, but we are working on it.

Does the band have any other plans in the works?

PAM: We have some tentative projects with some of our friends. We might do a 10 inch split with The Hacks. The Emmas and The Swanks have asked us to do splits as well. We’ll also be putting out a couple of singles from the album – just a little bit of collectable vinyl. The CD is only coming out on a CD format.

Why is Vinyl so popular in the Punk community?

PAM: There is a certain level of status certain people believe they can attain by collecting vinyl. Those that have a lot of it think they are Punk aficionados. If you can back it up with something physical, it’s like, “hey, look what I have.”

Some of you have extra curricular activities. You, J.D. are a tattoo artist. Tell me about that.

J.D: I’m a tattooist by trade. It’s my career right now. I’ve been doing tattoos professionally for about nine years. My shop is called Remi’s Body Art Studio. We’re located in Littleton. I’ve been with Remi pretty much for the whole nine years. I pride myself on doing the best work I can do. Right now, it’s probably the best time to come in if you’re looking for a tattoo. Typically, the winter is the slowest time in the tattoo industry.

Pam, tell me about your writing.

PAM: Starting this last summer, this girl named Kimberly Joy Dollhouse, who is in a Brooklyn New York band called Dollhouse Salon took notice of us. She wrote to me and said, “Hey, maybe you have something to say. Why don’t you write for my magazine, “Pink”, the hottest pussy in Punk rock.” I thought it was a great idea. I wrote a couple articles for her that you can read on www.dollhousesalon.com. under the pink link.

Was this your first time writing?

PAM: Actually, I got my start Sal Canzionerri from Electric Frankenstein. He asked me to write a little comment for a book on women in rock. I spoke on that and about taking girls under my wing and help develop their talent. Currently, I have a couple of articles coming up. I just broke with my debut on www.candyforbadchildren.com. It’s called “Hard Candy” where I’m reviewing anything I deem hard enough. I’ve been interviewing anyone I like. I have some really good interviews coming up with The Lazy Cowgirls, The Detroit Cobras, The Stitches and The Trashbrats. We just played with them and they are our friends. I also have a new column on Bad Girl City, on www.sleazegrinder.com. where I’m reviewing vintage porn. I’ve got a lot of things going on right now and eventually, I’ll maybe have my own thing.

Speaking of porn, if each of you had the chance, would you be in a porn movie?

PAM: Actually, I wrote to Doris Wishman this last summer. She had put out a note on her site saying she was looking for new stars. Well, I wrote her, but I couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t writing back. It turns out, it was because she was dead. She had passed away a few months earlier.

JD: I was in a home made porn film once. That was with an ex girlfriend. It never got released, thank God. That tape has been destroyed since.

MATT: I haven’t been in any porn films nor do I plan on being in any.

Why not?

MATT: I’ve been told that I’m not very photogenic.

What about your wee wee?

MATT: I don’t think so. Since the rest of me isn’t photogenic, I wouldn’t think anything else would be either.

AMY: I’d be in a porn film if I could have a body double with no, “girl on girl” action allowed.