Paul Roessler (born August 27, 1958) is an American musician and record producer. Roessler was a prominent member of the L.A. punk scene during the late 1970s and 1980s. He played keyboards in bands such as The Screamers, Twisted Roots,

45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler i ...

, Nervous Gender, SAUPG,

Geza X Geza Gedeon (born September 28, 1952), professionally known as Geza X, is an American producer. He was a personality in the Los Angeles punk scene in the late 1970s. He is now a producer. He was born in Indiana and moved to California when he was a ...

and the Mommymen, Mike Watt and the Secondmen,

Nina Hagen Catharina "Nina" Hagen (; born 11 March 1955) is a German singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her theatrical vocals and rose to prominence during the punk and new wave movements in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is known as ...

and The Deadbeats. Roessler has also released solo recordings such as "Abominable," "Curator," "The Arc," "6/12" and a rock opera entitled "Burnt Church" with Jeff Parker. He currently works as a record producer at Kitten Robot Studios in Los Angeles, California. He is the older brother of

Kira Roessler Kira Roessler (born June 12, 1961) is an American musician and two-time Emmy Award-winning dialogue editor. She is best known as the bassist for the influential hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1983 to 1985. Since the mid-1980s, she has been ...

, formerly of Black Flag, and the son of underwater photographer Carl Roessler.

Biography

Paul Roessler was born on August 27, 1958, in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

. In 1974, he moved to West Los Angeles where he met and befriended future Germs band members

Darby Crash Jan Paul Beahm (better known by his stage name Darby Crash, formerly Bobby Pyn; September 26, 1958 – December 7, 1980) was an American punk rock vocalist who, along with longtime friend Pat Smear (born Georg Ruthenberg), co-founded the punk ro ...

and

Pat Smear Georg Albert Ruthenberg (born August 5, 1959), better known by his stage name Pat Smear, is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead guitarist and co-founder of Los Angeles-based punk band The Germs and for being a rhythm guita ...

at University High. After graduating from high school, Roessler went on to study classical music at California State University, Northridge, for a few semesters before leaving in early 1978 to join innovative

electropunk Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

band, The Screamers. After two successful years, The Screamers found themselves rapidly disintegrating as a band, causing Roessler to leave in January 1980, and would then go on to play in Nervous Gender with former Germs drummer Don Bolles as well as in

and the Mommymen. After a few months of going between bands, Roessler was recruited by

to join her for an upcoming European tour. After touring Europe and America with Hagen, they recorded '' NunSexMonkRock''. Before Roessler's second tour with Hagen, Pat Smear from the Germs joined the band. Later, when Smear left the band, Roessler left also. In 1981, he formed the band Twisted Roots with Smear and younger sister

. During this time, he was playing with

Josie Cotton Josie Cotton (born 1956) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for " Johnny Are You Queer?" and "He Could Be the One" from 1982. "Johnny Are You Queer?" was used on the soundtracks to ''Jackass Number Two'' and ''Valley Girl''. "He Co ...

, DC3 (with

Dez Cadena Dez Cadena (born June 2, 1961) is an American punk rock singer and guitarist. He was the third vocalist and later rhythm guitarist for hardcore punk band Black Flag from 1980 to 1983. Cadena played guitar with Misfits from 2001 to 2015, init ...

of Black Flag) and Crimony (with Mike Watt) as well. During this time Roessler was also doing sessions with many other bands such as the

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing p ...

and Saccharine Trust. Roessler has continued to work with

and

. From 1998 to 2011, Roessler worked as the in-house producer at Satellite Park Studio with

. In 2006, Roessler released an autobiographical poetry book entitled ''Eight Years'' ( Brass Tacks Press, 2006). In 2010, Roessler produced and played keyboards on

's gospel album ''Personal Jesus'' (Universal). He has been a member of the Fancy Space People with Don Bolles and Nora Keyes since 2009. In October 2011, they joined the

Smashing Pumpkins Smash may refer to: People * Smash (wrestler) (born 1959), professional wrestler * Moondog Rex, another professional wrestler who briefly wrestled as the original Smash, before being replaced by the above. * DJ Smash, DJ and music producer Ar ...

on their "Other Side of the Kaleidyscope" tour. In November 2011, he relocated to the newly opened Kitten Robot Studios in the Silver Lake neighbourhood of Los Angeles where he has continued to write and record his own music.

References

External links

Personal WebsiteThe Burnt Church Website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roessler, Paul 1958 births Living people Musicians from New Haven, Connecticut American rock keyboardists American punk rock musicians