Dogstar

The bassist for Dogstar, Keanu Reeves (pictured here in 2006), is better known for his roles in Hollywood films

Dogstar was a grunge and alternative rock group active from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s. The band performed at the 1996 Zwemdokrock Festival (Lummen, Belgium) and at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival (United Kingdom), and it released an EP and two albums. The band garnered media attention due to the non-musical activities of bassist Keanu Reeves, who starred in major Hollywood action films such as Speed and The Matrix.

Members

• Bret Domrose - lead vocals, guitar
• Keanu Reeves - bass guitar, backing vocals
• Robert Mailhouse - drums, percussion, backing vocals

History

The genesis of Dogstar was a chance encounter between Reeves and Mailhouse in a supermarket in 1991. Rob Mailhouse was wearing a Detroit Red Wings hockey sweater, and Reeves (an avid hockey fan and a keen player of the sport) asked if Mailhouse needed a goalie. Like Reeves, Mailhouse is also an actor. Mailhouse is a television actor, and has appeared in the NBC soap opera Days of our Lives, as well as Seinfeld. As the two men formed a friendship, they began jamming together. The band went through several lineups before Domrose joined as a vocalist/guitarist in 1994. Eventually they decided to play for a live audience, a decision Reeves would later describe as "a huge mistake". The band originally called themselves Small Fecal Matter, and then BFS (Big Fucking Shit, or Big Fucking Sound), before settling on Dogstar, after Mailhouse found the name in the book Sexus, written by Henry Miller.

In 1995 they opened for Bon Jovi in Australia and New Zealand and appeared un concert billings with David Bowie.* Dogstar also appeared in two movies: Ellie Parker and Me and Will. Dogstar had several opening acts that went on to become notable, such as Rancid and Weezer (the latter's first gig was opening for Dogstar). Dogstar released a four-track EP in early 1996, Quattro Formaggi (distributed by Zoo Entertainment) and followed this up with their debut album, Our Little Visionary, which was only distributed in Japan, but their fanbase was worldwide, and they played to audiences in the U.S., England, Australia and India. Whilst in India, they performed at the equivalent of the Academy Awards in India, the Zee Cine Awards. They also performed at the 1999 Glastonbury Festival.

Although the band members had other work commitments, a second album, Happy Ending followed in 1999, produced by Michael Vail Blum and Richie Zito. Domrose called the music on this record more "pop-aggressive" than the band's earlier work. Their last performance was in October 2002 in Japan, and the group folded afterwards. Reeves and Mailhouse later performed together in band Becky. Reeves left the band because of his working schedule, but still plays with the band on occasion. Notably, Feeder bassist Taka Hirose once hit Keanu Reeves in the face with an orange at a gig, allegedly in protest to the music.^[1]

Notable performances

• 1996 Zwemdokrock Festival (Lummen, Belgium)
• 1999 Glastonbury Festival (United Kingdom)

Discography

EPs

• 1996: Quattro Formaggi (Zoo Entertainment)

Albums

• 1996: Our Little Visionary (Zoo Entertainment)
• 2000: Happy Ending (Ultimatum Music)

Compilations

• 2004: Influences & Connections - Volume One: Mr. Big

External links

• Keanu Reeves at the Internet Movie Database
• Robert Mailhouse at the Internet Movie Database
• Bret Domrose at the Internet Movie Database
• BECKY Official Site
• DOGSTAR on MySpace
• BRET DOMROSE on MySpace
• BECKY on MySpace

References