Music: Dwarves “our attitude used to be a problem” – Dublin Gazette Newspapers

 
Perhaps it’s ridiculous to try and rank the “most controversial” punk band – there are plenty of contenders – but Dwarves have to be up there.
 
Since forming in the mid-80s, the genre-bending Chicago punk band have incited criticism for public nudity, sex on stage, inflammatory album covers, and fights. Lots of fights. They have mellowed, slightly, and their modern-day story speaks to a mix of cheekiness and a determination to explore their own identities through more punchy music.
 
The frontman, who goes by ‘Blag Dahlia’, joined us to talk about releasing a record uncovered from the archives, recorded way back in 1989. “We regained the rights to all our old records,” he explains, “we had recorded all those tracks from [new release] ‘Lollipops and Rainbows’, and we find it a really cool document of the time. It was just us, live, in the studio, exactly what it would have been like to see us back then. Apart from without all the chaos, so it actually sounded good.”
 
“We went really crazy with the art, made a picture disc, wrote a lot of liner notes… for the last 20-25 years there’s been a lot of genre hopping. We do garage rock, hardcore, rockabilly, noisy stuff… this was cool because it documented the band when it was a pretty straightforward punk band. It’s a great record for people who just want to document that time.”
 
Things, as Blag Dahlia says, have changed a bit over the years. “There’s not as much sex on stage now,” he laughs. “Crazy stuff does happen here and there, but it’s not as predictably insane as it was back then. I think people used to take our music as a challenge. It was this explosion of energy, and a lot of people took it as people trying to insult them. The scene was also quite unmonitored back then, whereas now people are worrying about their insurance and what’s going to happen.”
 
“Our attitude used to be a problem. I remember going to this pay-to-play heavy metal place in San Francisco. Someone put on a punk festival, and immediately when I got on stage, we complained about it. The curtain closed immediately, bouncers converged immediately all steroided up. There was plenty of that, where you knew things were going to get bad quick.”
 
For all their reputation, though, Dwarves are also quality musicians, something demonstrated by the involvement of superstars Nick Olivieri (Queens of the Stone Age) and Josh Freese (Foo Fighters). “I was the first one to put them in a room together,” Blag says. “Josh was always a Dwarves fan, and he’s been on five or six Dwarves records. He really believes in our stuff. It’s rare for a guy like that, who can play with artists like Sting, play jazz stuff, to be into something like our stuff, too. Nick might be the greatest heavy rock bass player in history. He’s probably played 600 or 700 Dwarves shows with me over the years.”
 
“It’s funny how it works. They’re both just music lovers who love a wild rock and roll band. It was about having some fun, and I respect them both a lot as songwriters. Band are famous for telling drummers to shut up when they say they have a song. But Josh can really write a song.”
 
“A lot of people only known for Dwarves are great songwriters. I wound up singing a song for SpongeBob in the first season because of bassist SaltPeter, who was involved in writing it.”
 
A band, then, who were all about making the most impact, the most noise, and getting the biggest reaction. But Dwarves, away from the short, punchy tracks and the brazen controversy, have so much more.
@ Dublin Gazette 2025. A.ll Rights Reserved
@ Dublin Gazette 2025. A.ll Rights Reserved

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