Formed 1981, Canada
Albums:
1983
Killer Dwarfs
1986
Stand Tall
1988
Big Deal
1990
Dirty Weapons
1992
Method To The Madness
2002
Reunion Of Scribes: Live 2001
History:
A mildly successful Canadian band (twice being nominated for a Juno award), the Killer
Dwarfs were known for their quirky humor, such as all the members surprisingly going
by the surname of Dwarf. Lead singer Russ Dwarf only stood in at 5'4", but the
rest of the band was rather tall despite rumors that you had to be under a certain
height in order to join.
The Killer Dwarfs arose from the ashes of vocalist Russ "Dwarf"
Graham and drummer Darrell "Dwarf" Millar's club bands in Toronto, Ontario in
late 1981. Rounded out by Bryce "Dwarf" Trewin (guitar) and Ange "Dwarf"
Fodero (bass) the band released their self-titled debut album. It would
be three years before the follow-up was released; due in part to Bryce and
Ange leaving because they thought the band was going nowhere. They both left
the band in 1984 to be replaced by Mike "Dwarf" Hall and Bad Ronbo Dwarf
(Mayer).
Stand Tall saw the band make inroads, with help from the hilarious
videos for "Stand Tall" and "Keep The Spirit Alive", and by 1988 the Killer
Dwarfs were signed to a major label. "Big Deal" and "Dirty Weapons" would prove
to be the band's commercial peak (with "It Doesn't Matter" have some rock radio success),
as both releases reached the Billboard charts. Mike Hall would leave to
be replaced by guitarist Gerry "Dwarf" Finn on the final studio release.
Method To The Madness failed to find much of an audience and the band was
dropped. Around this time Russ Graham had a family crisis to attend to and
in 1995 the Killer Dwarfs were put to rest.
Russell Graham released an album fronting a band called Penny
Black while Darrell Millar is a current member of Laidlaw.
Guitarists Hall and Finn joined Helix for a short period of time
in 2000. In 2001 the classic Big Deal line-up returned to tour and bring
their outrageous humor and stage show to the masses once again. A new studio album,
the first in over ten years, is now in the works.
Links:
The Official Killer Dwarfs Page
The Official Darrell Millar Page
Buy Killer Dwarfs CDs:
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