Blag Dahlia (Dwarves – vocals)
SPB: What is the most important vocal element when doing sound check for a Dwarves show?
Blag Dahlia: A sound man who isn’t profoundly retarded. They do exist, but to find them you have to travel far and wide sorting through countless buffoons until, like the princess and the pea, you find one that’s just right. Then you fire him for doing heroin while driving the van.
One-question interviews with artists where we find out about the gear and equipment they use to achieve their sound.
— More from this series
Eric Angelo Bessel SPB: Walk us through your gear setup for the recording of Mirror at Night. Eric: I composed the album, Mirror at Night, using a pair of digital Mellotrons (proto-sampling keyboards), an Alesis Micron (keyboard synthesizer), and guitars. The Micron is a new addition, and is the main … Read more
Mike Huguenor Tell us about the primary guitars you used making Surfing the Web with the Alien? Read more
Matthew Brammer (Six Below Zero) SPB: Can you walk us through your studio or recording set-up to get a glimpse of how a one-man band works for Six Below Zero? Brammer: Since I don't play live anymore, I'm pretty much 100% "in the box" these days. Especially since a lot … Read more
Steve Brewer (Distants) SPB: Did you choose your name before the band members were located in different cities? Brweer: Yes. Everyone who was in the band when it started lived in Chicago. When I joined the band in 2019, Zach and I would carpool the distants from Michigan to Chicago … Read more
Chris Mason (Faulty Cognitions) SPB: Was the mic’ing of your kit for the recording of Somehow, Here We Are fairly straight forward, or were there some techniques or experiments used to capture the sound? Mason: We didn't do anything too fancy. I do remember that we didn't mic the toms … Read more
Sunshine, Lollipops & Rainbows is a live studio recording from 1989, released on picture disc earlier this year on limited vinyl for Record Store Day. Given that it came shortly before the release of Blood, Guts & Pussy, it's no surprise that it's heavy on songs from that record (10 of 14, if I've counted correctly). It's more primal than … Read more
Take Back The Night isn’t one of those experiment Dwarves records, like the industrio-tinge of Come Clean. On their latest offering, the long-running band alternates styles consistently between their unique and twisted take on bubblegum pop-punk and screaming, single-vocalist hardcore. For the most part, the hardcore songs are fronted by Rex Everything (Nick Oliveri), with occasional SPB guest contributor Blag … Read more
I know what you’re thinking? Why has it already been five months without a new Dwarves release? Never fear, the long-running goodtime smutlovers are back, this time with a 4-song EP on Fat Wreck Chords. Gentleman Blag pulls its title track from their latest, The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll, as the band is prone to putting out already released … Read more
Ian Glasper (A Country Fit For Heroes : DIY Punk in Eighties Britain) SPB: What was the first punk show you saw and do you remember how it inspired you at the time? Glasper: I'm not sure which was the very, very first punk gig I went to, because it's … Read more
Greg Soden (Unscripted Moments: Conversations with Propagandhi) SPB: You’ve obviously followed Propagandhi for many years – what was the biggest surprise or revelation to you about the band as pieced the book together? Soden: To me, the greatest joy in interviewing members of Propagandhi for five years was the mutual … Read more
Scott O’Brien (Hooch, Smut Peddlers) SPB: How is the approach to your solo work different than with Smut Peddlers? O'Brien: My solo work, which has actually turned into a new collaborative band called Hooch, was a way to work on music I wrote that was somewhat stylistically different from Smut … Read more
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