About Black Dwarf
About Our Music
Black Dwarf draw influences from all over the musical spectrum. Almost every genre has at least a few interesting artists that blazed the way and created something new that would quickly become commercialized and over imitated. Black Dwarf, in the same spirit of these trailblazers are not attempting to fit in to any specific category but rather to let their widely varied influences inspire them to take a little here and a little there and create something entirely their own.
With that in mind there are some primary influences that guide Black Dwarf’s musical direction. Some of these influences would be the proto-punk of the late 60’s through the mid 70’s (such as The Velvet Underground, The Stooges, The MC5, and later the CBGB scene in NYC), the punk and subsequent genres of the late 70’s and early 80’s ( The Sex Pistols, The Damned, Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Cure, The Dead Kennedys, Christian Death, Skinny Puppy, and countless others), and the continuing underground music scene ( Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Ty Segall, Ariel Pink And The Haunted Graffiti, Amon Tobin, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, The Viagra Boys, and so many amazing artists active today the list could be a mile long). With those influences being the core but not without a sprinkling of jazz, r&b, funk, folk, blues, country and whatever else we hear that we like, it all goes into the blender and what comes out is Black Dwarf, whatever it is ultimately decided that may be.
We take music seriously, but we don’t take ourselves to seriously because in the end all we want to do is play music and have fun. Black Dwarf lyrics can span meaningful and introspective, abstract and nonsensical, to comedic and absurd (sometimes within a single song). Our attitude is be yourself, don’t judge others for being themselves, and have a good time while we are here. We are hoping to give that community a place to do exactly those things. So check out our upcoming shows and come be a part of it. We welcome all.
Black Dwarf Bios
Crystal Leavitt: Vocals
Crystal is an artist and musician who was born and raised in the Seattle area. After a little time in Colorado and Arizona Crystal returned back to Seattle and started making art full time.
Crystal has always had a passion for singing and has recently decided to share that passion with others. Black Dwarf is the vehicle for her to do that, lucky for Black Dwarf. Crystal has a uniquely creative mind, check out her art here to get some idea.
David Amlaw: Guitar / Synth
David is an artist and musician who has been actively listening to music since he can remember, buying his first record at the age of 5. Growing up in the L.A. area there was always an active music scene. David played guitar for the Earthlings and the Friendlies before moving to Boston.
In Boston David played in Crispin’s Lover and Blood Drive. In 2024 David moved to Seattle where he focused on game development for a couple years before deciding he really needed to be in a band again. In April 2026 David, Crystal, and Mark formed Black Dwarf. Read more about David and his many projects here.
Mark Stephenson: Drums / Synth
Mark was born in Virginia and began playing drums at an early age. Looking to get into a more vibrant musical scene Mark moved to New Orleans where he focused on rock and jazz drums.
After spending some time in New Orleans Mark finally moved to Seattle where he focused on work and photography for several years. Recently Mark got the itch to play music again and in April 2026 joined Black Dwarf.
