Do you think Murray and I would make good lovers?

GIL: I don’t know. Are you into the violence thing? He is a Marine.

I know! It gets me hot just thinking about it.

DAWN: I think you would be good together for as long as it would take for him to kill you again (Laughter)

OFFERING74 has been together a long time. How did it all start?

DAWN: OFFERING74, as it is now, which is really the only important thing, started in ’98. Gil and I went to college at the School of Mines. He begged me forever to come sing for his band. So I joined his band. We were Miscreation and then we were called Naked Sunday.

Was this in Denver?

DAWN: No, our first show was in Golden. It was a friend’s birthday party, which Keith Spargo from Silencer attended actually. We moved to Pueblo and changed our name from Naked Sunday to Saturation. We used that name for quite some time – for a year or two.

Was it Metal from the beginning?

DAWN: No. It was more like Alternative/Rock. It wasn’t my intent for it to become Metal, but Gil and the other guitar player wanted to move in that direction, so we moved here to Denver and decided to change our name. We found out another band in Australia had the name Saturation. We changed our name to OFFERING74 because the first four members were all born in 1974.

How did it come down to the three of you now?

DAWN: Well, we went through a million drummers. I fired the guitarist. I’ve even fired Gil a few times but it never sticks (Laughs) Then in ’97, Garry played with us part time. The drummer we had didn’t want to take all the shows we had, so Garry filled in. At one point, I realized I didn’t want to play with the other guy. I wanted to play with Garry.

So, have you ever played with Garry, if you know what I mean?

DAWN: Uh, not to his knowledge (Laughter)

Gil, give me your side of the band forming.

GIL: Well, I like to drink beer (Laughs) There was a guitar, then I met Dawn and magic happened.

I’ve always thought you guys shine when you do pop songs on stage, such as with your Pat Benetar cover.

DAWN: We do it as a joke. Or at least it started as that. “Hey wouldn’t it be funny if we did this cheesy ‘80’s song.” We kind of knew (Pat Benetar’s) “We Belong,” so we made sure we knew all of the words and we played it as a joke. Bill Terrell of Rogue is one of the first people who came up to us and said, “Oh my God, when you guys play that song, I get chills.” (Laughter) We just take it with the attitude of it’s just for fun. But maybe that’s why it so cool to you. We’re not trying to be too serious and not trying too hard. It just happens.

What if the positive reaction you’ve got about your doing pop songs is a hint that maybe you guys should be a pop band.

DAWN: We’ve definitely discussed it, but all of our friends are in the Metal scene. The Metal scene embraced us immediately.

Why do you think that is?

DAWN: I have no idea. We have a heavier edge, so we don’t quite fit with the regular rock bands. We’re not Pop. The Metal guys are like, “Yeah, you guys are pretty cool.” Boyd from Anomy thinks we play all slow songs (Laughs) We seem to have the best shows and the best response from the Metal people.

Do you think the local scene is up to snuff?

GIL: I think there’s a really good scene in Denver. It’s been enjoyable being a part of it. I’d like to see more people getting out to the clubs.

GARRY: I’m a bit disappointed in it. There could be more people that are more musically motivated. They are more sports motivated in this town. It is growing slowly, but I’m impatient.

DAWN: I’ve had a great time being involved in the scene here, but I want more. If Denver’s not gonna give it to me, I’m gonna go somewhere else.

Garry, you have a mighty fine motorcycle. Have you ever had sex on it?

GARRY: No I haven’t.

Why not?

GARRY: I don’t want to get anything on it. You know, like splooge or anything like that.

You haven’t even masturbated on it?

GARRY: Not as of yet. Maybe in the future.

Don’t you think motorcycles are sexual?

GARRY: I do believe they are sexual, yes.

Do you ever get a woody when you drive it?

GARRY: Uh…. No.

OK, let’s talk about the first CD, Get out.

DAWN: The album came out two years ago. We talked about calling it many different names. I was in Cricket on the Hill (a live rock club in Denver) one night, and I said, “Hey guys, we should call it Get Out. Garry is a big fan of naming the album from one of the song titles. I absolutely hate that.

What were you considering calling it at first?

GARRY: After, Over &Over. What we ended up doing was using “get out” which are from the lyrics of that song.

How do you see Get Out now?

DAWN: Too much reverb. Other than that, I liked the production. I think we recorded it well. We could have taken more time with it. It was our first record and we learned SO much. We didn’t know how to record an album, really. Garry had done it before in his previous band, but basically, we started from scratch ‘cuz we didn’t know. Fortunately we got in a great studio with a great engineer. Kirby Orrick, great guy. He didn’t necessarily intentionally teach us, but we learned so much from him.

You had a hit of sorts with Inside of Me. How did you come up with the idea of having a song with only drums and vocals?

DAWN: I wrote that song from a painful experience I had. I tried to get Gil to write music for it forever. He just wouldn’t. He’s like that. He writes when he writes. You can’t make him do it. I told the drummer we had at the time, “Hey, why don’t we just do a drum/vocal song.” I told him what kind of beat I was hearing in my head. He mimicked it and added to it. That’s how it happened. When we got Garry, he didn’t necessarily change it, but he added his own little thing to it. So it’s definitely Garry’s song now.

It seems like one of the showstoppers.

GARRY: I hated the song the first time I heard it (Laughs). I didn’t start appreciating it until I played it and saw that people actually enjoyed it. I took a different look on it and thought, “Hey, this is pretty cool.” Not only that, but I get to sit out there by myself and play. Unfortunately, sometimes they shine the lights on me when they should be shining them on Dawn. I think it’s a good tune. It’s also a good song to go into when Gil breaks a string, which he does often (Laughter).

If each of you was stranded along on an island and you could only have one album, which one would it be?

GIL: Boy, that’s a tough one…Pope On A Stick’s Tales Of Love And Other Tragedies. They are a big influence on me. They were this band we met in Pueblo. We were playing out there. They were just about to die. We were coming alive on the scene. They were really cool. They had a really cool style. Very much ahead of their time.

What type of music?

GIL: A mixture of Metal and Grunge. They did the whole down-tuning thing before it became popular. Jim’s songwriting is so incredible. We were in an acoustic project with each other for awhile, until he had to devote time to other things, but it’s a pretty big influence on me.

GARRY: I probably would say, MEGADETH’s Youthanasia. That would keep me going for a great deal of time.

DAWN: Undertow, by Tool or Pretty Hate Machine by Nine Inch Nails.

Are those your personal influences?

GARRY: Well, for me, as a drummer, it would be Neal Peart and Nicko McBrain. More recently, it would be Simon Phillips. He’s a drum god. He’s an independent. He played with The Who for awhile. The last I heard, he’s with Toto.

GIL: As much as it pains me to admit it, because I get a lot of shit for this, but I was influenced by Winger (Laughter).

GARRY: You’ve got to be a real man to admit that (Laughs)

GIL: I also always liked Prince for his musicality. I also really got into Pearl Jam. They opened my eyes a lot to taking music in different directions.

DAWN: I like Indigo Girls. They write good songs.

GIL: Ick!

DAWN: I love Trent Reznor because he has this ability to pour his soul into his songs. His soul and his anger. Nine Inch Nails was the first angry music I listened to. Tool get a little too creative for me sometimes, but I love them. Patrick Dalheimer, from Live – he’s the bassist. When someone asks me who I like bass-wise I tell them him. He’s the guy that made me listen to bass. I didn’t try to copy him but he did definitely influence how I play. I love Santana. They are SO good and spiritual. I didn’t start listening to them until I met Gil.

If all the planets in our solar system were habitable, which planet would you live on?

GARRY: Mars, because it’s red.

DAWN: It wouldn’t be red.

GARRY: No?

DAWN: If it were habitable, it would have an atmosphere. It wouldn’t be red if it had an atmosphere.

GARRY: Well, it would have to be red for me to live there. (Laughs)

GIL: I would pick Jupiter ‘cuz it looks really exciting.

DAWN: Umm…

GIL: Ur anus (Laughs)

DAWN: No, that would be Maris’ (Much laughter) Um… Mercury, cuz it’s closest to the thing that gives you life.

OK. Let’s talk about the new CD, Detonate. How would you compare it to the first one?

GIL: It’s a little heavier. We went with more Metal influences. It’s what I felt like writing.

Were you angrier?

GIL: I think it’s because I was drunker (Laughs)

Let me talk to Garry again. Garry, when you’ve had sex in the past, have you ever had anything inserted into your anus, such as a finger?

GARRY: Uh, no. Somebody attempted it, but I’m not into the “into the outdoor thing.” (Laughs) I believe in strictly outdoor activity.

Did you do anything different with your drums on Detonate?

GARRY: Actually, I used all the same tunings…

Were you happy with your drum sound on Get Out?

GARRY: Yeah, I was pretty happy. We tried this time to go for more punch on the bass drums but ended up muffling the bass drums, which I’m totally against. But it has a better recording quality if we muffle it and bring it out in the mix. So we muffled it with a pad and also a rock from outside. It turned out pretty well.

Dawn, how did you approach your vocals this time?

DAWN: I was happy with my vocals last time. I hit all the right notes and everything, but it lacked the amount of emotion I have live. This time I decided my vocal goal was to get the passion and the intensity I have when I sing live. I think we did it too. Some things we did…I was amazed when I heard it. I’m really happy.

Gil, tell me about your approach guitar-wise.

GIL: I didn’t really approach it differently. I did use a trick on the recording. When we went in the studio, I took another amp with me. I had my normal Crate and then I set up another Marshal next to it. I recorded both of them and blended the tones. It gives it a little bigger sound. We also had a guest guitarist come in and do some parts too. Our old lead guitarist, Ben Price came in and did some parts. We’ve been friends since we were like, 6 years old. We learned how to play guitar together. I’ve always wanted to do a recording project with him so we had him come in and play some of the songs. It was really fun. It gives a nice, big, fat sound when you have two guitars.

I have another question for Garry. Garry, if your tongue was long enough would you give yourself head?

GARRY: You know, if I could actually, I might not admit it to everybody, but I think I would.

What about you Dawn, if you could, would you eat your own pussy?

DAWN: Absolutely.

What do you think is gonna surprise people the most about the Detonate?

DAWN: I think we’ve grown. I don’t think I have a pulse on people, so I don’t know what they are gonna say. I would say the biggest difference is the passion.

Are there any ballads?

DAWN: Uh, there’s kind of two. I hate that word. I don’t know what it really means.

Soft songs.

GIL: Not really. They all get kind of heavy anyway. There’s nothing like a true, little wimpy ballad.

DAWN: There are two songs. Consumed and Black and White and Blue. Angelique Vance, the woman who took our photos last weekend writes poetry. She wrote the lyrics for the lyrics for Black and White and Blue. She’s like my kindred spirit. We’ve been writing poetry forever.

Have you had sex with her?

DAWN: No. I worked with her. That’s how we met.

GARRY: She also wrote a song on our last song. Dry Complacency. That’s our favorite song to open with, live.

Are you vocally trained Dawn?

DAWN: I sang in choirs, but I never had voice lessons. I sang in choirs since I was a little kid.

When you play on stage you come across very orgasmic (Laughs) Do a lot of guys hit on you at shows?

DAWN: I get hit on often. Sometimes it’s from the strangest people. People you’d never think. I had a gentleman who just loved me at the Cricket’. He would buy me drink after drink. He never asked for anything, he never hinted at anything, he was never inappropriate in his behavior, but he loved me. Also, lesbians love me.

Have you ever had sex with another woman?

DAWN: Yes.

When was the last time?

DAWN: Um…

GARRY: Two years ago at “Naked Camping.”

Ooh. This is hot.

DAWN: We thought we were enclosed in a tent, but apparently not. So there was some viewing pleasure going on apparently.

Were they jerking off while they were watching?

DAWN: Ask Garry.

GARRY: I was too intoxicated. I think I was passed out by that time.

DAWN: You were not passed out, ‘cuz you obviously saw something.

GARRY: I didn’t see any of it.

Did you get to see Garry do anything hot at “Naked Camping?”

GIL: The rest of us were rather intoxicated. Somebody said “Hey, let’s get naked.” We all thought that was a good idea. All of a sudden, nobody had any clothes on. Garry still had his boxers on. Dawn snuck up on him and yanked them down from behind. (Laughs) He was so drunk that it took him a moment to look down and realize, “Hey, I’m not wearing anything” (Laughs).

What do you remember seeing? What was his ass and wee wee like?

DAWN: I was behind him, so I never saw the front, but his ass was…not hairy. He doesn’t have a hairy ass.

If you each were a serial killer, how do you think you’d kill each of your victims?

GARRY: I don’t know. I guess by a hatchet so that it could be close and personal, you know, gory. But now that I think of it, gory kind of freaks me out. Maybe a sickle so that I could kind of hack ‘em in half from ten feet away (Laughs).

GIL: I’m a big fan of bludgeoning, so I think I would use a baseball bat or something like that.

DAWN: I would eat my victims…. ‘cuz it’s “serial” (get it, “cereal” Ed.)

(Everybody groans and laughs)

What’s the most amount of blood you’ve lost in one incident?

GIL: Uh… I guess that would have to be Raven Ramirez, that vampire from Malignari bit me. (Laughs)

GARRY: I got knocked out once. I got ran into by a ten speed and it knocked me out into the street. I lost a pretty good amount of blood with a head wound.

DAWN: I donate blood regularly, every two months I give pints at a time. (Laughter)

Do you want to give a public service plug for donating blood?

DAWN: Absolutely. I actually get paid for giving blood so I’m not donating (Laughs) However, there’s a program…you can email me dawn@offering74.com and I can give you more information. I give blood every two months and I get paid $50.00.

What’s your opinion on the recent change in all age’s shows?

DAWN: It’s just stupid. They didn’t change the law it was just reinterpreted. We had special privileges and they provoked them. No longer can a venue have a separate barrier for 21 and over drinking for fewer than 2000 people. What makes me angry with this first and foremost is that kids aren’t gonna have a place to go. Secondly, it’s a double standard for small venues verses larger venues. This whole thing came about not because of drinking but because of an incident involving “ecstasy”. The two had nothing to do with each other.

Describe your dream porno film that you get to star in.

GIL: A big tub of Jell-O and 5 or 6 women (Laughs)

What kind of music?

GIL: Oh Prince, of course.

GARRY: I think, if I starring in this movie, Heather Locklear would have to be in it. It would have to be somewhere really nice, like the Caribbean. I would go for the ultra-cheesy porno tune. (He imitates porno music and everybody laughs) And I also like it when you hear the Director yell “Bend her over and tell her you love her” (Laughs).

DAWN: I think it would be one of those “artsy” porno films. Yes Garry, artsy. (Laughs). I’ve actually had this dream before. You know kind of like a harem kind of a situation. There’s one guy involved and everybody else are woman, like, hundreds.

GIL: I want to be in her porno movie! (Laughs)

GARRY: I want to direct!