Blag Dahlia

Blag Dahlia
Blag Dahlia in 2006
Blag Dahlia in 2006
Background information
Birth namePaul Cafaro
Also known as
  • Captain Blag Dahlia
  • Blag Jesus
  • Blag Stallion
  • Blag the Ripper
  • Gentleman Blag
  • Earl Lee Grace
  • Julius Seizure
  • Kip Kasper
  • Junior High
  • Dominator
  • Astro Boy
  • Ralph Champagne
Born (1966-05-08) May 8, 1966 (age 58)
Highland Park, Illinois, U.S.
GenresPunk rock, hardcore punk, garage punk, acoustic rock, bluegrass
Occupations
  • Singer
  • producer
  • author
LabelsThick Syrup Records, SubPop, Sympathy for the Record Industry, Epitaph
Member ofDwarves
Formerly of

Paul Cafaro (born May 8, 1966),[1] known professionally as Blag Dahlia, is an American singer and record producer, best known as the vocalist for punk band Dwarves.[2][3]

Career

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Music

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Dahlia is best known as the frontman of Dwarves, a punk rock band,[4] which he founded[5] while attending Highland Park High School in suburban Chicago in the mid-1980s. With the Dwarves, he has written and produced nearly a dozen studio records over a span of over 30 years. He has produced albums by Mondo Generator,[6] Dwarves,[7] F.Y.P, Jon Cougar Concentration Camp, Swingin' Utters, and The God Awfuls.[8] He also released solo material as Blag Dahlia and under one of his other aliases, Earl Lee Grace. Blackgrass (1995), a 13-song LP of bluegrass songs,[2][9] was released on the Sympathy for the Record Industry label using a backing band of real bluegrass musicians. He started an acoustic duo with Nick Oliveri, The Uncontrollable. He narrated the opening score on Last Day of School by Autopsy Boys. In 1999, he sang "Doing the Sponge" in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "The Chaperone". In 2022, Dahlia released an outlaw country album titled, Introducing Ralph Champagne.[10]

Films

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Two songs recorded by Dahlia were on the soundtrack to A.W. Feidler's short film The Job (1997).[11] In 2001, Dahlia performed "Zine-O-Phobia Music" for the Ghost World soundtrack.[12] Dahlia appears in a mock snuff film entitled Misogynist: The Movie (2003). The Dwarves song "Massacre", which Dahlia wrote, was on the soundtrack to the 2006 film Hostel.[13] He also narrated Chris Fuller's 2007 independent film Loren Cass.

Writing

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Dahlia has authored three novels; Armed to the Teeth with Lipstick (1998), Nina (2006), and Highland Falls (2022).[2][14][15]

Controversy

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In 2004, Dahlia was involved in an altercation with Josh Homme at a Los Angeles club, after which Homme was arrested for assault. Upon pleading no contest, Homme was ordered to remain at least 100 yards (91.44 meters) away from Dahlia and the club, was sentenced to three years' probation with community service, and was forced to enter a rehab program for 60 days.[16]

Solo discography

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  • "Let's Take a Ride" / "Lord of the Road" 7" (1994), Sympathy for the Record Industry
  • Venus With Arms CD (1995), Atavistic
  • Blackgrass CD album (1995), Sympathy for the Record Industry – released under the name Earl Lee Grace
  • "Haunt Me" / "Let's Take a Ride" 7" (1996), Man's Ruin[17]
  • "Doing the Sponge" (2000), SpongeBob SquarePants
  • Introducing Ralph Champagne (2022), Greedy Media

References

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  1. ^ "Blag Dahlia MySpace". Myspace.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Ritchie, Ryan (2007) "Locals Only – Blood, Guts and Literacy: Blag Dahlia steps out from behind the Dwarves to wax hysterical Archived June 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine", OC Weekly, July 12, 2007, retrieved February 7, 2010
  3. ^ "Paul Cafaro at Hollywood.com". December 2, 2007. Archived from the original on December 2, 2007. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  4. ^ "Blag Dahlia". Markprindle.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  5. ^ Niimi, J. "Dwarves". Chicago Reader. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  6. ^ "Welcome To The Top Fan Page For LA Rockers Mondo Generator". Mondogenerator.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  7. ^ "Dwarves – Come Clean CD Album". Cduniverse.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  8. ^ Dahlia production credits Archived May 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Blag Dahlia interview". Markprindle.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  10. ^ Breznikar, Klemen (December 22, 2022). "Blag Dahlia (The Dwarves) Interview New Album, 'Introducing Ralph Champagne'". It's Psychedelic Baby! Magazine. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "The Job (1997) – IMDb". IMDb.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "Ghost World credits". Hollywood.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  13. ^ "Hostel credits". Hollywood.com. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  14. ^ Suburban Stain Archived May 12, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Phinky (September 12, 2022). "Blag Dahlia Announces Highland Falls Novel and Introducing Ralph Champagne Album". ThePunkSite. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  16. ^ Chris Lee (June 24, 2007). "Queens' rough rider". LA Times.
  17. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 312
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