{"id":30956,"date":"2026-07-04T21:52:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/?p=30956"},"modified":"2026-07-04T21:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T21:52:14","slug":"the-dwarves-the-jenkem-stories-and-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/skylight.gr\/index.php\/2026\/07\/04\/the-dwarves-the-jenkem-stories-and-beyond\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dwarves – The Jenkem Stories and Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

An interview with Blag Dahlia while the band is on the road…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. You described Jenkem as “catchy old-school punk dripping with that trademark Dwarves attitude.” What made this the right time to lean into that classic Dwarves sound rather than trying to reinvent it?<\/strong>

We had put out the hugely ambitious Concept Album a couple years before, which was very produced and very pre produced. This time it just felt right to bust out a quick dirty record that didn\u2019t take itself too seriously. So we made a straight up garage punk album and accidentally wrote the hit \u201cDamned If I Do\u201d in the process.

2. Many critics are calling Jenkem one of the strongest records of your career. When you were writing and recording it, did you have the feeling that these songs were something special, or has the response surprised you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing surprises me with the Dwarves. The harder we work, the more everyone hates it, the less we try the more everyone loves it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Songs like “Damned If I Do,” “Drug Lust,” “Psychosis Tripping,” and “Hey Melania” mix dark humor with social commentary. How do you decide where the line is between satire, provocation, and simply having fun?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having fun comes first, if an intelligent thought finds its way in there, it\u2019s usually by accident. For \u201cDamned If I Do\u201d and \u201cPsychosis Tripping\u201d, I stole the chords from big hit songs and no one noticed. \u201cMelania\u201d is as close as we get to politics and \u201cDrug Lust\u201d took about five minutes to write, with four minutes left over for doing drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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4. The Dwarves have always embraced controversy without apologizing for it. In today’s social media era, where almost everything can spark outrage, has it become harder, or more entertaining, to be genuinely provocative?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been getting cancelled since this band started, it\u2019s just now they have a word for it, and it now happens to people who are trying to be nice as often as it happens to assholes. We never set out to be provocative, we just never censored ourselves like most pussy ass lame weak musicians do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. You’ve mixed hardcore, garage rock, punk, thrash, and even heavy metal for decades. Are there any musical influences on Jenkem that listeners might not immediately recognize?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I like corny musicals from the 50\u2019s and country songs from the 30\u2019s and vaudeville songs from the 1910\u2019s. None of that is evident in Jenkem, but I like to brag about how smart I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Your live shows have become legendary for their unpredictability. After more than thirty years, what still excites you about stepping on stage, and how do you keep every performance feeling dangerous?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At my age, just getting out of a chair is dangerous. Sometimes I sneeze and my back goes out. Also, I get lost two blocks from the hotel all over the world. It\u2019s a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. The new video for “Damned If I Do” delivers the kind of outrageous visuals fans expect from The Dwarves. How involved were you in shaping the concept, and what message, or anti-message, did you want the video to express?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We wanted people to know that we had the money to hire attractive young women from Hollywood to hang out with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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