Tell me about the band - and the radio CD sampler you made when you first formed...

Doug: Well, there was a local radio station called The Point. In late 1994 they were putting together a local compilation of bands - they were going to press a couple thousand copies and sell for a charity... at the time we’d slap something together. We didn’t have a singer so we called Jeff literally a couple days before it was due - we turned it in... and it was "Guilty", which turned out to be a big radio hit for us. That was the first song that we all wrote together.

Tell me about the new album coming out. What’s the first single going to be?

Jeff: "One Thing".

Why that one?

Jeff: Why that? Because the powers that be - decided that was the song.

Doug: We went to independent radio promoters - they listened to it and said "One Thing" was a really strong track, and worked really well. We had a short list of songs that we all liked, our producer really liked that song too. It’s turned out for the best so far.

Jeff: It’s really hard to figure out what’s the best song - sometimes you have to ask an outside opinion.

Doug: Because everyone has a personal favorite... or you’ve heard it so many times that it’s really hard to tell.

Jeff: And it’s not always the best track on the record - just what people think will work on the radio.

Why did you guys decide to cover "Personal Jesus" on the new record?

Jeff: Because we’ve been doing it for almost six years.

Doug: It’s not like we pulled "Personal Jesus" out of a hat, we’ve been doing it live forever...

Jeff: Yeah, so we just decided to record it... and it turned out cool enough to put on the record.

Doug: ‘Cause true Gravity Kills fans that come to a lot of concerts - they know that they’re going to get "Personal Jesus"...

So you’re singing it tonight?

Doug: No, we don’t have time tonight actually.

When are you going to headline your own tour?

Jeff: Probably be late summer early fall... ‘cause we want to go out and open with as many bands as we can for a while.

Why’d you wait four years to make a new album?

Doug: Wasn’t our choice.

Label dump you?

Jeff: No, we asked to leave. Then they held on to us for about a year... then we were fifteen months between record labels.

Doug: At Sanctuary, they were ready - I mean, they wanted to send us something, but were just so new that... they were still hiring people... getting their company off the ground...

Jeff: Yeah, it was about nine months between... when Sanctuary told us that they were going to send us something... and TVT. So yeah, you go through that...

Doug: And we’d send it around to other people and they’d be like... "well, we like the songs... but we need a hit single..."

Jeff: So yeah... it was the matter of going through all of that. We switched drummers in the meanwhile... so it was really for the best because Brad’s been in the band for about a year and the record really reflects having someone like Brad in the band. We had to wait, but at least we put out the record that we wanted to put out.

What are some of your favorite groups to tour with?

Jeff: We’ve played with so many bands - it’s tough to say. We’ve played with everybody from Korn to Kid Rock to...

Doug: No Doubt... The Nixons... everybody.

Jeff: Bush... we even played a show with DC Talk.

Brad: When was that?

Jeff: It was December of ‘96...

How did the audience treat you?

Jeff: The DC Talk people actually got up and left. Well, I started sodomizing the stuffed Santa Clause on stage.

Doug: It was a Christmas show. It had big over-sized presents on stage... we were the last band going on stage so we thought we go out there and tear the whole thing up....

Jeff: (laughs)

Doug: So we got to "Enough"...

Jeff: No, this was during "Guilty"... it was that early in the set.

Doug: So we’re kicking big boxes into the audience... and Jeff’s fucking around with Santa Clause. I saw people just stand up and storm right out... (laughs) we wrecked the entire stage.

Jeff: There was a Mrs. Clause up there too... with the next song she was gone - someone ran up there and grabbed her before I could get to her....

What are some of your favorite songs to play live?

Jeff: "One Thing" is fun... doing "Guilty" is great. We get a great response. By the time we get to "Enough" - because we always close with it....

Doug: Yeah, by that time you’d always had such a great show... you can kind of end on a high note. "Take It All Away" is fun. That’s a new one - the fourth song in.

Jeff: I look forward to playing "One Thing" the most - it’s not necessarily because of the song... it’s because of where it is in the set.

Doug: ‘Cause you can take a breather....

Jeff: (laughs)

Doug: I do the same thing... I can stand and not move... and totally get away with it.

Jeff: Yeah, it’s kind of a rest in the set... ‘cause I’m playing guitar in that song as well... so it’s...

Doug: So he has to stand in front of his microphone...

Jeff: Yeah, so I’m not running around... running a race...

Which album are you most proud of?

Jeff: Proud of all of them. I think this record might be the most honest. Perversion was a battle, and I’m proud of making it through that record. Just having the chance to release this record was a victory for us. So, yeah... this is the most special record. At least for me.

Doug: Well, the first one was great... they gave us so much freedom and we had a great time doing it. The second one was different... they kind of put screws on us more... they micro manage us... if you hear it... it’s very angry and abrasive... claustrophobic. That’s because we were extremely angry with TVT, and just having a very tough time getting that record out. Having getting out of that deal... and now with Sanctuary... it was more like the first record. We got so much freedom... they just gave us money to do a record.