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Dwarves (band)
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
punk band formed in Chicago, Illinois, as The Suburban Nightmare, in the mid-1980s. They are currently based in San Francisco, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Formed as a garage punk
Garage punk
Garage punk is a fusion of garage rock and punk rock. It is fast-paced lo-fi music characterized by a dirty, choppy guitar sound—usually played by bands who are on independent record labels or who are unsigned...
band, their career subsequently saw them move in a hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
direction before settling into an eclectic punk rock sound. They have been described as "one of the last true bastions of punk rock ideology in the contemporary musical age".
History
The original members of the Dwarves began making music together in the mid-1980s as teenagers in the Chicago garage rock outfit, Suburban Nightmare, which was compared to The SonicsThe Sonics
The Sonics are an American garage rock band from Tacoma, Washington, originating from the early and mid-1960s. Among The Sonics' contemporaries were The Kingsmen, The Wailers, The Dynamics, The Regents, and Paul Revere & the Raiders...
, and which has been described as part of the Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground
Paisley Underground is an early genre of alternative rock, based primarily in Los Angeles, California, which was at its most popular in the mid-1980s.- History :...
scene.
The band became notorious for self-mutilation, on-stage sex, and taking hard drugs, and their live shows would often only last around fifteen minutes, occasionally cut short due to injury caused by spectators. The band's sound began to evolve beyond its early garage roots with their second (nine minute long) LP, Toolin' For A Warm Teabag, which saw the band drifting towards a more truculent punk rock sound, influenced by GG Allin
GG Allin
Kevin Michael "GG" Allin was an American punk rock singer-songwriter, who performed and recorded with many groups during his career. GG Allin is perhaps best remembered for his notorious live performances, which often featured transgressive acts, including coprophagia, self-mutilation, and...
. The band released Blood Guts & Pussy
Blood Guts & Pussy
Blood Guts & Pussy is a 1990 album by the Dwarves. It was their first album for Sub Pop, and the album's sleeve was the subject of controversy, receiving protests from feminists. Dwarves frontman Blag The Ripper asserts that the Blood Guts & Pussy classic "Drug Store" is one of his favourite songs...
on Sub Pop
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
in 1989. By this time the Dwarves had dropped their early psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
sensibilities and morphed into a proper hardcore punk band. The Blood Guts & Pussy LP was followed up by EP Lucifer's Crank released by No.6 Records
No.6 Records
No.6 Records was an independent record label, started in 1989 as a subsidiary of Rough Trade Records by A&R representative and booking agent Terry Tolkin...
, as well as another Sub Pop LP, the metal-punk Thank Heaven For Little Girls, both in 1991.
In 1993 the band issued a press release stating their guitarist HeWhoCannotBeNamed had been stabbed to death in Philadelphia. Though this later turned out to be a hoax, the band even went as far as to attach a tribute to the "late" guitarist on their 1993 Sub Pop-released album Sugarfix
Sugarfix
Sugarfix is an album released by rock band Dwarves in July 1993 on Sub Pop. It was reissued in February 1999 as a two-album CD along with the band's previous album, Thank Heaven for Little Girls. This was the band's last album for Sub Pop, who dropped them shortly after its release...
. Sub Pop did not respond well to the hoax and summarily dropped the band from its label. The Dwarves reformed in 1997, releasing The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking
The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking
The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking is an album released by punk rock band Dwarves in March 1997 by Epitaph Records and Theologian Records...
(described by Adam Bregman of Allmusic as "the beginning of a new Dwarves...one that plays real songs, had a set list, and left the club unbloodied"), and its 2000 followup The Dwarves Come Clean. In the film Me, Myself & Irene, Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
is seen singing along to Dwarves "Motherfucker", which Dahlia later said he got "tens of thousands of dollars" for. In 2000, the band offered the track "River City Rapist" to George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
as his presidential campaign song.
In 2004 the band released The Dwarves Must Die
The Dwarves Must Die
The Dwarves Must Die is the 2004 release by the American punk band Dwarves. It is the band's first release on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label...
, its first LP for the indie label Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
, which featured guest appearances from Dexter Holland (The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
), Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
), Nash Kato (Urge Overkill
Urge Overkill
Urge Overkill is an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, United States, consisting of Nash Kato , and Eddie "King" Roeser . Their cover of Neil Diamond's song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" appeared prominently in the movie Pulp Fiction, and became a hit in 1994...
), and voice actor Gary Owens
Gary Owens
Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
. Dahlia was assaulted by Josh Homme of QOTSA before a Dwarves show in Los Angeles in 2004, which saw Homme placed on summary probation for thirty-six months.
In 2009, Blag and HeWhoCannotBeNamed were immortalised as Bobbleheads by Aggronautix.
Band members
Singer Blag DahliaBlag Dahlia
Paul Cafaro , better known as Blag Dahlia, is an American musician, producer, and author.-Music career:Cafaro is a native of Highland Park, Illinois, and is most well known as the front-man of Dwarves, a punk rock band. With the Dwarves he has written and produced 10 full length records over a span...
(aka Julius Seizure, born Paul Cafaro), and guitarist HeWhoCannotBeNamed (aka Pete Vietnamcheque) have always been the two core members of the group. The lineup has shifted around them, and currently consists of members "Fresh Prince of Darkness" (aka Marc Diamond from the band Motochrist) on guitar, "Chip Fracture" on bass and backing vocals and returning drummer Gregory Pecker (aka Gnarlie Watts). "Rex Everything
Nick Oliveri
Nick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...
" and KMFDM
KMFDM
KMFDM is an industrial band led by German multi-instrumentalist Sascha Konietzko, who founded the group in 1984 as a performance art project...
drummer Andy Selway
Andy Selway
KMFDM drummer Andy Selway spent his early years in Luton, England, but moved to Kirton near Felixstowe in Suffolk where he remained until his early 20s...
(under the alias Dutch Ovens) are on again/off again members. Former members include "Wholley Smokes", "Dutch Ovens", "Clint Torres", "Tazzie Bushweed", "Thrusty Otis", "Crash Landon", "Wreck Tom ", and "Vadge Moore", among others.
Music style
They are known for their simple, loud, yet nuanced punk repertoire, and controversial lyrics. Since the garage punkGarage punk
Garage punk is a fusion of garage rock and punk rock. It is fast-paced lo-fi music characterized by a dirty, choppy guitar sound—usually played by bands who are on independent record labels or who are unsigned...
sound of their early days, they developed a more direct hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
sound, often identified as "scum punk" due to the intentional perversity of the lyrics. Around the turn of millennium, the Dwarves developed more of a manic pop punk
Pop punk
Pop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
influence. Bits of hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, surf rock, pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, hip-hop, and rock & roll all factor into the band's current punk rock sound.
Their shows have been notable for some aggressive fights on stage (with the audience and even a cop), and because HeWhoCannotBeNamed performs either in nothing but a jockstrap or totally nude, apart from his trademark wrestling mask.
Cover art
Their album covers are unusual - naked women, and a naked dwarf sodomizing a rabbit covered in blood, for their 1990 album Blood Guts & PussyBlood Guts & Pussy
Blood Guts & Pussy is a 1990 album by the Dwarves. It was their first album for Sub Pop, and the album's sleeve was the subject of controversy, receiving protests from feminists. Dwarves frontman Blag The Ripper asserts that the Blood Guts & Pussy classic "Drug Store" is one of his favourite songs...
- followed up a decade later, with a similar theme, this time covered in soap suds, for Come Clean.
Side projects
- Former drummer Sigh Moan formed Specula with Specter Spec, releasing the Erupt album in 1995.
- Blag Dahlia has worked as a producer for Joey SantiagoJoey SantiagoJoey Santiago is a Filipino-American guitarist and composer. Active since 1986, Santiago is best known as the lead guitarist for the American alternative rock band Pixies. After the band's breakup in 1993, Santiago produced musical scores for film and television documentaries, and he formed The...
's band The MartinisThe MartinisThe Martinis are a rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1993. The band consists of Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago and his wife Linda Mallari. They have released one album under the label Cooking Vinyl, Artist Direct, and Distracted/BMG...
, and is also half of the duo The Uncontrollables with Nick OliveriNick OliveriNick Steven Oliveri is an American musician from Palm Desert, California. He plays bass guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, and is a vocalist...
. - Blag Dahlia has also performed solo acoustic sets, which he described as his "camp counselor guy routine", released a bluegrassBluegrass musicBluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
album, Blackgrass in 1995 under the name Earl Lee Grace. - Blag Dahlia was apart the side project Penetration Moon, which released a sole single, "Fifth a Day", in 1991.
- Blag Dahlia has published two books, Armed to the Teeth With Lipstick (1998) and Nina (2006).
- Blag Dahlia sings "Doing the Sponge" in the SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
episode The Chaperone, which originally aired on NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
October 2, 1999. "Doing the Sponge" is written by Salt Peter (Peter Straus), former bassist for the Dwarves. - Blag Dahlia's most recent side project is pop/rock band Candy Now!, which he formed with Angelina Moysov of Persephone's BeesPersephone's BeesPersephone's Bees is an Oakland-based rock/pop music group.-History:Growing up in Pyatigorsk, Russia, lead singer Angelina Moysova was musically inspired by her family: her mother played traditional folk/gypsy music while her brother played modern music...
.
Albums
- Horror Stories LP (Voxx RecordsBomp! RecordsBomp! Records is an Los Angeles-based indie label formed in 1974 by fanzine publisher and music historian Greg Shaw.-History:The label has featured punk, pop, powerpop, garage rock, new wave, old school rock, neo-psychedelia among other genres, and its roster has included artists such as The Modern...
, 1986, VXS 200.037) - Toolin' For A Warm Teabag LP (Nasty Gash Records, 1988, NG 001)
- Blood Guts & PussyBlood Guts & PussyBlood Guts & Pussy is a 1990 album by the Dwarves. It was their first album for Sub Pop, and the album's sleeve was the subject of controversy, receiving protests from feminists. Dwarves frontman Blag The Ripper asserts that the Blood Guts & Pussy classic "Drug Store" is one of his favourite songs...
LP (Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
, 1990, SP 67) - Thank Heaven for Little GirlsThank Heaven for Little Girls (album)Thank Heaven for Little Girls is an album by Dwarves released via Subpop in February 1992. This album never charted.Lyricism of Thank Heaven for Little Girls ranges from the macabre deaths of young ladies of the night in "Blag the Ripper" , to befriending Satan in "Satan," and to general...
LP (Sub Pop, 1991, SP 126) - SugarfixSugarfixSugarfix is an album released by rock band Dwarves in July 1993 on Sub Pop. It was reissued in February 1999 as a two-album CD along with the band's previous album, Thank Heaven for Little Girls. This was the band's last album for Sub Pop, who dropped them shortly after its release...
LP (Sub Pop, 1993, SP 197) - The Dwarves Are Young and Good LookingThe Dwarves Are Young and Good LookingThe Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking is an album released by punk rock band Dwarves in March 1997 by Epitaph Records and Theologian Records...
LP (Theologian Records, 1997, T53) - Free CocaineFree CocaineFree Cocaine is a compilation album by punk rock band The Dwarves, released on the Recess label in February 1999. It includes their album Toolin' for a Warm Teabag, as well as the Lucifer's Crank EP, and several other tracks...
DLP (Recess RecordsRecess RecordsRecess Records is an independent record label founded in 1989 with the release of F.Y.P's Extra Credit, an 11 song 7-inch record. Label founder Todd Congelliere originally created the label as a vehicle to release F.Y.P's material...
, 1999, RECESS #51) (early singles collection) - Lick It DLP (Recess Records, 1999, RECESS #52)
- The Dwarves Come Clean LP (Epitaph RecordsEpitaph RecordsEpitaph Records is a Hollywood, California based independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The label was originally "just a logo and a P.O. box" created in the 1980s for the purpose of selling Bad Religion records, but has evolved into a large independent record...
, 2000, 86575 1) - How To Win Friends And Influence People (Reptilian Records, 2001, REP 068)
- The Dwarves Must DieThe Dwarves Must DieThe Dwarves Must Die is the 2004 release by the American punk band Dwarves. It is the band's first release on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label...
(2004) - Fuck You Up And Get Live DVD (2004)
- Greedy Boot 1 (2005) - only available from their website
- FEFU DVD (2006)
- Dwarves/Royce Cracker 7" Vinyl/CD (2009)
- The Dwarves Are Born AgainThe Dwarves Are Born AgainThe Dwarves Are Born Again is the 2011 release by the American punk rock band Dwarves. It is the band's eighth full-length original album.-Album information:...
(2011)
EPs
- Lucifer's Crank cassette EP (self issued, 1988, reissued on 7" by Rough Trade No.6 (Karbon), 1991, KAR 13/7)
- We Kill Cock Throbbin cassette-EP (self-issued, 1988)
- Underworld / Lies / Down By The River (Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
, 1993, SP 183B)
Singles
- "Lick It" 7" (Ubik, 1988)
- "She's Dead" / "Fuckhead" 7" (Sub PopSub PopSub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman in Seattle, Washington. Sub Pop achieved fame in the late 1980s for first signing Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney and many other bands from the Seattle music scene...
SP50, 1990) - "Drugstore" / "Detention Girl" / "Astro Boy" / "Motherfucker" 7" (Sub Pop SP81, 1990)
- "Sit on My Face" / "I Wanna Kill Your Boyfriend" (by Seizure) split 7" (Sympathy For the Record Industry, SFTRI 132, 1991)
- "Lucky Tonight" / "Speed Demon" / "Dairy Queen" 7" (Sub Pop SP21/163, 1992)
- "Anybody Out There" / "Who Cares" 7" (Sub Pop SP84/254, 1993)
- "That's Rock 'n' Roll" / "I'm a Man" 7" (Sympathy For The Record Industry SFTRI 280, 1994)
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (But Blondes Don't Like Cripples) 7" EP (Man's Ruin MR005, 1995)
- "I Will Deny You" / "The Dwarves are Young and Good Looking" / "One Life to Live" 7" (Reptilian REP018, 1997)
- "We Must Have Blood" / "Surfing the Intercourse Barn" 7" (Man's Ruin MR051, 1997)
Compilations
- Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking in the Streets v.5
- Dope, Guns 'n' Fucking in the Streets v.4-7
- Road To Nowhere (Poison Tree Records)
Punk-O-Rama vol.3 (single track 'Everybodies Girl')
Punk-O-Rama vol.4 (single track 'I Will Deny')
Punk-O-Rama vol.5 (single track 'Better Be Women')
Rock Against Bush Vol. 2 (single track "kids today")
God Save the Queers: A Tribute to the Queers (single track 'Love Me')
Hot Curly Weenie (single track: 'Throw That Girl Away')
Hot Curly Weenie, vol. 2 (Tracks: 'There She Goes Again' and 'Sleep Tight (with FYP))
Short Music For Short People (single track 'the Band That Wouldn't Die')
They also played a track called 'We Must Have Blood' in a 2005 movie titled Pot Zombies featuring Blag Dahlia and HeWhoCannotBeNamed.