Dwarves

Formed in the early 1980s in Chicago, the punk band Dwarves first made their mark on the underground garage and hardcore scene before settling more permanently on the West Coast around San Francisco. Centered around singer Blag Dahlia and the masked guitarist HeWhoCannotBeNamed, Dwarves developed a direct, very fast sound blending hardcore punk, classic rock’n’roll and garage elements, with short songs, pervasive black humor and deliberately provocative lyrics. After an initial period strongly defined by a lo-fi aesthetic, the band released albums such as “Blood Guts & Pussy” (1990), “Sugarfix” (1993) and “The Dwarves Are Young and Good Looking” (1997), which moved them into a more structured register while retaining the abrasive energy of their beginnings. Subsequent records like “The Dwarves Must Die” (2004) and “The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll” (2014) continued this formula, combining stage excesses, catchy choruses and constant references to pop culture and B-movies. Dwarves’ shows, often very short and intense, contribute to the band’s identity on North American and European punk stages, and over the years have included musicians who previously played in other alternative rock outfits such as Queens of the Stone Age.