Dos

by John Bush & Ed RivadaviaDos is a curious yet interesting double bass guitar side project for Mike Watt (of the Minutemen and fIREHOSE) and his former wife, Kira Roessler (from Black Flag). Formed as a vehicle to take the bass beyond its perceived background role and into the forefront of a band, Dos (named for the Spanish two, not some operating system) also became a therapeutic experience in the wake of Roesslers departure from Black Flag and, more tragically, Minutemen D. Boons sudden death on December 22, 1985. After exchanging demos for the better part of 1986 (Roessler had moved to Connecticut), the duo reconvened to record their self-titled debut late in the year, subsequently releasing it on Watts own New Alliance Records. Because it continued to share attention with the pairs many other musical concerns, Dos have undertaken a sporadic touring (essentially when Roessler occasionally flew in to open select fIREHOSE dates) and unhurried recording schedule. These have included 1989s Numero Dos EP, a 7 single called The Bob Lawton EP for Thurston Moores Ecstatic Peace label in 1991, and a second LP, Justamente Tres, released a full decade after the first. Despite such infrequent activity, it should be noted that Dos has now become the longest-running band project of Watts career, as well as the main one in Roesslers.