Earlier than there was “The Matrix” or “John Wick,” there was Keanu Reeves, bass guitarist within the alt-rock band Dogstar.
Reeves was a rising Hollywood star with a handful of movies — together with “Invoice & Ted’s Wonderful Journey” — beneath his belt when he fashioned Dogstar with a few associates within the early Nineties. The band toured incessantly all through the ‘90s, opened for giant headliners like David Bowie and Bon Jovi, and launched two albums earlier than breaking apart in 2002, in keeping with NPR.
However as Reeves informed Billboard final 12 months, getting the band again collectively was by no means utterly out of the query.
The actor, drummer Rob Mailhouse and guitarist/vocalist Bret Domrose stayed in contact through the years and infrequently held jam classes. When the early days of the pandemic slowed their lives down, they began to rehearse extra, typically clocking eight-hour days. And steadily, the official return of Dogstar fell into place.
“I missed taking part in collectively, I missed writing collectively, I missed doing exhibits collectively. It’s one thing I’ve all the time missed,” Reeves informed Billboard. “We got here to a spot the place we weren’t taking part in anymore, and I missed it. … As soon as we began to play, and it felt good, and actually constructive and inventive, that’s when it was like, ‘OK, let’s make this occur.’”
Now, the band has launched “Someplace Between the Energy Strains and Palm Timber” — its third album and first in twenty years. Dogstar is presently on tour in help of that album, and visits Salt Lake Metropolis on Tuesday.
Greater than a passion
Reeves’ stardom has skyrocketed since Dogstar fashioned greater than 30 years in the past — The New York Instances locations him at No. 4 on its record of high 25 actors within the twenty first century.
However the actor, who purchased his first bass in 1987 and has cited Pleasure Division’s Peter Hook as a serious affect, per American Songwriter, is adamant that Dogstar is not only a facet mission that he works into his Hollywood profession.
“It’s not ‘find time for it,’” he informed Billboard. “It’s one thing that’s a part of my life. … It’s an area that I like, and an area that I attempted to guard.”
Dogstar reunites — and involves Utah
Dogstar wrote its latest music in the beginning of the pandemic. “All the things Turns Round,” the lead single from its newest album, has 1 million views on YouTube.
“I believe this can be a little lighter perhaps than among the final albums, subject-matter-wise,” Domrose informed Selection. “I believe we’re 20 years older, and a whole lot of life has been lived for the reason that final time we made a report, and it was a pleasant shock to see that that is what got here out of us. , it seems we’re not as depressed as we was once. Not each music is summery and blissful, however … I hate to say it, but it surely’s enjoyable.”
The band’s U.S. summer season tour extends by late September — together with a cease at Salt Lake Metropolis’s Union Occasion Middle on Sept. 3, in keeping with its web site. The Utah present comes only a day after Reeves’ sixtieth birthday. Dogstar has been documenting its exhibits and the viewers reception on its Instagram.
“This time round it simply looks like much more love (for the band),” Mailhouse informed Selection. “I don’t know whether or not it’s deserved or not, however I really feel that and it’s appreciated.”