Watch rare footage of Keanu Reeves and Dogstar performing at The Troubadour in 1994
In the early 1980s, Keanu Reeves found his footing as a stage actor with an early occupation at the Hedgerow Theater in Pennsylvania. His first glimpse of Hollywood fame came in 1986 after he appeared in Youngblood alongside Rob Lowe, but his major breakthrough wouldn’t come until 1989 with his more prominent role in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure.
Following this formative performance, Reeves attracted stand-out roles in 1991’s Point Break and 1992’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula. During this period, the young actor impressively balanced his acting aspirations with concerted efforts in the realm of grunge music as the bassist for Dogstar.
The band formed in 1991 after Reeves bumped into the actor and musician Robert Mailhouse on a California street. Mailhouse was wearing a Detroit Red Wings hockey jersey, and Reeves, a huge fan of the sport, asked if Mailhouse needed a goalie. The pair subsequently hit it off and became well-acquainted over a few garage jam sessions. As it turned out, Mailhouse needed a bassist, not a goalie.
“You know, we started in a garage, and then you end up starting to write songs, and then you’re like, ‘Let’s go out and play them!’ and then you’re like, ‘Let’s go on tour!’ and then… you’re playing,” Reeves told Jimmy Fallon in 2017.
Reeves and drummer Mailhouse formed the band’s rhythm section and were joined by Bret Domrose and Gregg Miller as guitarist and lead vocalist, respectively. The band first performed together live in 1994 and remained intermittently active until 2002. Over that period, they toured across the US, Europe, Asia and Australasia, opened concerts for David Bowie and Bon Jovi, performed at Glastonbury in 1999, and released two studio albums, Our Little Visionary and Happy Ending.
Over the past two decades, Reeves has taken some time to focus on his acting career but remained close with his co-founder, Mailhouse. Towards the end of April 2023, Dogstar announced their reunion with a message posted to their Instagram account: “Last set up on the roof in Lincoln Heights for Dogstar photo shoot. Exciting news coming soon. Thanks for being so patient.”
A follow-up comment elaborated on the band’s reunion: “Thank you everyone for the kind comments. We are overjoyed to see such a response! Honestly, didn’t expect this. It makes us want to play out even more. We will be rolling out some new music this summer, followed by some gigs. As soon as it’s all figured out we will let everyone know immediately. So much to do, but rest assured, we are on it and have assembled a fantastic team that are helping us.”
“We are also going to make a music video to support our first tune,” it continues. “That’s all I can say now. Can’t wait to share our new music with everyone. It’s the most satisfying and meaningful batch of songs we’ve ever done. Thanks again for being so patient with us. We truly have the best, most loyal fans!”
So there’s plenty to get excited about over the coming months, but in the meantime, we can enjoy this rare footage of Dogstar performing in 1994 at The Troubadour in West Hollywood.
