Blag Dahlia – An Xperience Interview

Blag Dahlia – An Xperience Interview – by Rob Smittix,

RRX: So yeah, you’re hanging out on the mean streets of Burbank, huh?

BD: That’s right. Preparing to head to Canada tomorrow.

RRX: Oh yeah?

BD: Yeah, we got a little Canadian tour coming. So that should be fun.

RRX: Yeah. I love it up there in Canada; they have an excellent scene. So what’s a day in the life of Blag like?

BD: Is this the interview? Have we started?

RRX: (laughs) Yeah, I just like to shoot sh**. I don’t like to throw a bunch of questions at you. I’d rather chat like we’re old buds, you know?

BD: (chuckles) Well, my day today is picking up people at the airport and getting ready for rehearsal. It’s kind of a tedious one. But yesterday, I got to go sit in at Jimmy Kimmel in the audience and watch Spinal Tap. That was hilarious.

RRX: That’s dope!

BD: Yeah, I’m actually so ancient that I saw Spinal Tap in 1984 in Chicago, and that was hilarious. They did all their songs, and they opened with “Rockin’ Robin.” So it was wild 40 years later to see them again in Hollywood.

RRX: That’s so cool. I saw they had the cast there last night, so you got to chill and watch it with them?

BD: Yeah, it was wild. They were just talking sh**, improvising, going back and forth like they do. It was great.

RRX: Those are the perks, man, the highlights of life. I keep saying it, man, each day you get something good like that in your life, embrace it. Now, I know you guys have been doing it for a really long time. What’s it like to come out to one of your shows today, and is it any different than it would have been decades ago?

BD: Well, yeah, I mean, I was better looking decades ago. I think that’s one part of it. I think audiences are a little tamer now than they used to be. I mean, we’re the kind of band that really feeds off that live energy. So if people are going wild, then we’re going wild, and if they’re taking it easy, then we just do the best we can up there, you know?

RRX: So, what do you think of playing Albany?

BD: It’s been quite a while since we were in Albany because, even when we played in that part of the country, we tended to play Rochester every once in a while. So, we haven’t done a huge amount of Albany, but I’m ready.

RRX: Yeah, we’re ready too. And the club, Empire Underground, is definitely the place to play for punk rock music. It’s the place to play. So you’ll never want to go back to Rochester again. You got yourself a new home.

BD: Hey, you know … half of that’s already true. I never want to go back to Rochester again.

RRX: Exactly. Definitely not in the winter, that’s for sure.

(both laugh)

RRX: Well, that’s cool, man. Obviously, you’re keeping busy and all that, but I’m glad that you’re still at it. How long has it been? I know it’s been a long time, but how long have you really been at this thing?

BD: Well, we played our first club show in 1983 in Chicago.

And I moved to San Francisco in ’86 and you know … just been touring ever since. So it’s been over four decades of rock, and you know? We’re legendary, man. There’s no getting around it.

RRX: Definitely no getting around it! You’re right, though.

BD: And these old bands, you know, they tend to kind of stagnate. Maybe they made one cool record in the ‘80s or the ‘90s, and then they live off it forever. But … we kind of work on two different tracks. Live, we’re still like a punk band, you know? It’s real low production value, and we just get out there, knock it out, and rock out. But then on records, we’ve managed to make these very kind of … sophisticated, cool, pop-sounding records. Records that are kind of created between hardcore thrash and that kind of stuff, and then just pop, punk, mid-tempo rock, experimental, and surf stuff. The story is really kind of there in the records. We never stopped making records; they’re all kind of different, and the production levels are pretty high. But then you go see the band and it’s very just gut level, f*** yeah, let’s rock!

RRX: I love that, though. A lot of people don’t realize this. I mean, you got credits on a SpongeBob record? Is this really a thing?

BD: (laughs) Well, Salt Peter, our original bass player, wrote a lot of the SpongeBob songs. In the first season, before they had a budget, they had to get me to come in and sing sh**. So I sang “Do the Sponge” in the first season of SpongeBob. Probably the biggest thing I’ll ever do (laughs).

RRX: That’s amazing, though. I don’t think that got on everyone’s radar to realize that was you. Maybe if somebody requests it at a show, you could throw it into the mix.

BD: Yeah, it’ll make me very popular with 7-year-olds all over the world.

RRX: Hey, you gotta teach the children well.

BD: That’s right. I think it was Jeffrey Epstein that said that.

RRX: (laughs) Oh my God. I feel like we live in an episode of The Simpsons.

BD: Yeah, I mean … truth is definitely stranger than fiction these days.

RRX: I feel like we went off the track somewhere back in like 2012, and we never really got back on them. Things are wild, man.

BD: That is accurate.

RRX: Anything else we should know about Dwarves?

BD: The Dwarves are legendary. Big stars play on our records; Josh Freese, Nick Oliveri, you know? The lineup of the band is always brilliant. Dwarves always got a new thing up our sleeve. And then I got a solo thing going called Ralph Champagne, which is kind of retro pop music from the ‘60s and kind of countryish. I’m just trying to cover all the bases, make interesting records, and just never quit; that’s the goal.

RRX: I’m glad that you’re still out there doing it and actually making a living. These days, it ain’t easy.

BD: If you call that living.

RRX: Yeah, man, success is measured differently by everyone, but if you’re still having fun, that’s what’s important.

BD: I’ve done it my whole life. I know no other approach to existence. You get out there, you rock, you make the records, you play the show, and you know … you go to Albany. Gotta do it.

RRX: You gotta go to Albany. It’s the center of the universe.

BD: Right on, bud. Well, thanks for having me.

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