Bass is numero uno for former punk players in Dos

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/06/2004 (7755 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IN the context of rock band, bass players don’t get much respect.

There’s the common stereotype of the complicated lead vocalist, the arrogant guitarist and eccentric drummer, but the bassist? That’s just some shmuck who shores up the bottom end.

Over the years, many musicians have tried to elevate the profile of the bass guitar, from jazzman Jaco Pastorius to Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rod Slaughter of Winnipeg bass-and-drums outfit Duotang has also done his part.

But few people have dared to do what Kira Roessler and Mike Watt have done — play music using nothing but bass guitars, in a duo appropriately called Dos.

“There’s something about having two basses that allows us to explore any kind of music. It’s not ‘what can we get from two basses’ but ‘what can we get from any two instruments that intertwine in a cool way,'” says Roessler, the 41-year-old former bassist for seminal punk band Black Flag.

Acting on an invitation from Jazz Winnipeg artistic director Chris Frayer, Kira and her ex-husband Watt — the bassist and prime motivator behind pioneering ’80s indie-rock bands The Minutemen and fIREHOSE — have brought Dos to the West End Cultural Centre tonight and to a second show at the Plug In Gallery tomorrow.

“Our motivation has to do with ego. It’s like, ‘Everyone else, get out of the way, we love bass.’ Neither of us play rhythm or lead or straight, or just higher register or low end, or just generic rock lines. We try to find ways of interplaying two bass lines and draw from our history and experiences and influences.”

Trained as a jazz musician, Roessler was one of the few women in punk rock during her three-year stint alongside Henry Rollins and Greg Ginn in Black Flag in the mid-1980s. During her first week in the infamous band she injured her right playing hand but never let it rest, resulting in permanent damage that still causes her pain.

“They put it in a splint and told me not to play for six weeks and I went out and played four days later. I had just joined Black Flag and I was a girl. You think I was going to sit out for six weeks?”

After Black Flag’s demise, Roessler hooked up with Watt, whose innovative bass playing served as the foundation for both The Minutemen and fIREHOSE. Dos, which includes both vocal and instrumental components, would prove easier on Kira’s injured hand, because the absence of a drummer meant she didn’t have to attack the bass as heavily.

She and Watt would marry and divorce but Dos continued on, in a testament to the two bassists’ character. It’s now a part-time project, since Watt tours as a solo artist and Roessler makes most of her living as a sound editor on Hollywood movies.

“Obviously, our relationship has changed over the years. Whether we had stayed married or not, we’ve grown a lot. I really appreciate what’s been going on in terms of working together.

“Collaboration can be a difficult struggle for anyone, but it was harder when the emotional baggage was there. Dos has given us a mechanism to maintain a positive thing in our lives — and I don’t think I’d have the opportunity to do music anyone would hear if it wasn’t for it.”

Admission for both Dos performances is $10.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca