Killer Dwarfs' Russ Graham Talks About New Projects

Interview by Avril Savoie

Exclusive to Rockstar Weekly
Biography based on Wikipedia

Killer Dwarfs were a heavy metal band who formed in late 1981 in Oshawa, Ontario. Though they were known for their off beat sense of humor (all band members adopted the surname "Dwarf"), they were nominated for two Juno Awards.

The original members of Killer Dwarfs are Russ Graham (Russ Dwarf) lead vocals, Bryce Trewin (Bryce Dwarf) on guitar, Ange Fodero (Ange Dwarf) on bass, and Darrell Millar (Darrell Dwarf) on drums. Trewin and Fodero left the band a year after its self titled debut album was released in 1983 because they thought the band was stuck in neutral; they were replaced by Mike Hall (Mike Dwarf) on guitar and Ronald Mayer (Ronald "Bad Ronbo" Dwarf) on bass, respectively. They released 1986's Stand Tall (on indie label Maze/A&M in Canada and Grudge Records in the USA) with this lineup, and the album received good reviews and achieved modest success, selling 80,000 units (with no small help from the videos for "Keep the Spirit Alive", which was the most requested video on MTV by spring 1987, and the title track, "Stand Tall"). With the addition of touring the U.S. coast to coast, the exposure got the band noticed, which eventually led them to signing a record deal with major label Epic Records. In 1988 the band released its first album on the Epic label titled Big Deal, which featured their major U.S. metal radio hit We Stand Alone. They were the opening act for Iron Maiden on their tour of England in 1988. In 1990 they released Dirty Weapons. These two albums are their only releases to make the Billboard charts. Mike Hall left prior to 1992's Method to the Madness, and was replaced by Gerry Finn (Gerry Dwarf). With their most successful days behind them, they were dropped by Epic. That, added to Graham's family crisis, was enough to put the Killer Dwarfs on ice in 1995. The Stand Tall lineup reunited in 2001 for a tour, and a live album -- Reunion of Scribes: Live 2001 -- was released in 2002. Mike Hall also played in the band, Balls Deep, with former Harem Scarem drummer Darren Smith, as well as playing guitar on Smith's recent solo release. As of 2008, the band is inactive, with Russ Graham joining Canadian rock institution Moxy.

I understand your rehearsing right now?

You appeared as Russ Dwarf of the Killer Dwarfs for the Carl Dixon fundraiser last year. Was that the only recent Killer Dwarfs show?

Will there be other shows for the Killer Dwarfs?

Was it important to be part of the Carl Dixon fundraiser? That was a nasty accident.

There's a not a lot of information out there about Penny Black. Tell my about the band.

How in the world did you end up fronting Moxy?

Did you ever think you would end up singing for Moxy?

Have you ever talked with Mike Reno about Moxy?

You have a new group on the go. Is there a name for the project, what is it?

When can we expect to hear some of the results?

Back in the Killer Dwarfs heydays, the band, especially in the early days, was known for its quirky and hilarious videos. How did the video concepts come about?

The tricycle is on display, correct?

What ever made you think of a crate as a gimmick?

I heard the crate is somewhere on display?

Did you keep a crate?

What do you recall from the peak of the Killer Dwarfs days?

You've been a struggling independent artist in the early days, on a major label and now working with the young Cyclone Records. What do you prefer - the indie labels or the major labels?

Are you still the crazy Russ Dwarf we all remember from the great Killer Dwarfs tours or have things changed?

Are you going to be touring out this way?

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Comments (1)

2010-02-13 12:08:13 |99.249.45.28| Brad smitty smith - hay russ die hard fan

Well Russ, it's been a long time since I seen you guys/killer dwarfs,Iam the guy in London ont. that always took pics of you guys, then gave you a package of them at the next show,you should have some of my photos.Well I miss you guys and I know your busyand have new projects out, but I can't seem to find Pennyblack. Party with Jamie last nite, he's in a band called krank'd,cool. Get back to me you old f**ker n' giver'

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