dos (Spanish, 'two') is an American rock group composed of Mike Watt and Kira Roessler, who both sing and play bass guitar. Critic Greg Prato describes their unusual instrumentation as "a haunting yet intriguing and original sound."
Both performers have substantial experience in pioneering punk groups: Watt has been a member of the Reactionaries, the Minutemen, Firehose, Banyan and the reunited lineup of the Stooges, while Roessler was in Black Flag for about two years.
Band history
Watt and Roessler met not long after Roessler replaced Chuck Dukowski as the bassist of Black Flag in 1983.
The actual origin of dos came about in the fall of 1985 when Watt and Kira, who were already dating, began improvising two-bass jams in their free time, sometimes recording these results into Watt's four-track recording machine.
The sudden death of Minutemen guitarist and lead singer D. Boon in a van accident on December 22, 1985, led to the end of the Minutemen and left Watt deeply depressed. Kira had parted company with Black Flag not long beforehand and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, to work at Yale University. Watt considered abandoning music altogether. But intending to keep him playing after Boon's death, Kira and Watt began collaborating via four-track cassettes sent back and forth in the mail.
Every December, dos play a benefit show at the Sacred Grounds Coffee House in Watt's hometown of San Pedro, California for Toberman House.
Discography
- 1986: dos (New Alliance)
- 1989: numero dos (12" EP) (New Alliance)
- 1989: uno con dos (CD) (New Alliance)
- Compact disc compiling the first two dos releases
- 1996: justamente tres (CD) (Kill Rock Stars)
- 2011: dos y dos (Clenchedwrench / Org Music)