Biography
The Juno-winning Killer Dwarfs formed in Ontario, Canada, in 1982 and specialized in a sound that fused pop, metal, and arena rock. Russell Graham handled lead vocals while Darrell Millar played drums and sang; the guitarists were Bryce Trewin, Gerry Finn, and Mike Hall, and the bassists were Angelo "Ange" Fodero and "Bad" Ronald Mayer. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the band cut singles and albums for Epic, Sony, Attic, and Maze. By roughly 1993 the group had lost its contract and exhausted its funds, prompting the members to pursue separate projects.
One year after forming, the Killer Dwarfs placed their self-titled debut in stores. Stand Tall, the follow-up, arrived three years later. In the interim Fodero and Trewin departed and were replaced by Hall and Mayer; the band also dropped its existing record deal and signed with Maze Records. Extensive touring took the group across Canada and into the United States, where new listeners discovered them once their videos began airing on MTV, drawing the attention of Epic Records.
Amid a demanding tour schedule the Killer Dwarfs completed three further albums in the next four years: Big Deal, Dirty Weapons, and Method to the Madness. The single “It Doesn’t Matter,” taken from the last of those releases, earned the group a Juno Award, yet commercial momentum proved insufficient to prevent the lineup from dissolving soon afterward.
The self-titled debut was reissued in 1998, at which point plans also emerged to compile previously unreleased live recordings. Graham, Millar, Hall, and Mayer reconvened in 2001 for a North American tour that yielded the concert album Reunion of Scribes: Live 2001. Two years later they issued Star @, a set recorded in 1993 but never previously released. In 2018 the band signed with EMP Label Group, run by Megadeth bassist David Ellefson; the label issued the live album Live No Guff that April and scheduled a new studio album for 2019.
One year after forming, the Killer Dwarfs placed their self-titled debut in stores. Stand Tall, the follow-up, arrived three years later. In the interim Fodero and Trewin departed and were replaced by Hall and Mayer; the band also dropped its existing record deal and signed with Maze Records. Extensive touring took the group across Canada and into the United States, where new listeners discovered them once their videos began airing on MTV, drawing the attention of Epic Records.
Amid a demanding tour schedule the Killer Dwarfs completed three further albums in the next four years: Big Deal, Dirty Weapons, and Method to the Madness. The single “It Doesn’t Matter,” taken from the last of those releases, earned the group a Juno Award, yet commercial momentum proved insufficient to prevent the lineup from dissolving soon afterward.
The self-titled debut was reissued in 1998, at which point plans also emerged to compile previously unreleased live recordings. Graham, Millar, Hall, and Mayer reconvened in 2001 for a North American tour that yielded the concert album Reunion of Scribes: Live 2001. Two years later they issued Star @, a set recorded in 1993 but never previously released. In 2018 the band signed with EMP Label Group, run by Megadeth bassist David Ellefson; the label issued the live album Live No Guff that April and scheduled a new studio album for 2019.
Albums
