First The Matrix, then Bill & Ted and now Dogstar? Keanu Reeves has been on a reboot run and the actor’s 1990s grunge trio appears to be next on the list. Last week, Reeves posed for a picture in which the Dog men gathered for some promo pics on a rooftop in Los Angeles in preparation for the band’s first new music in more than 20 years.
“Last set up on the roof in Lincoln Heights for @dogstarband photo shoot,” read the post featuring bassist/singer Reeves alongside singer/guitarist Bret Domrose and drummer Robert Mailhouse. “Exiting news coming soon. Thanks for being so patient.”
The band low key reunited last summer more than two decades after their final show in Oct. 2022. During their brief run, Dogstar expectedly garnered a lot of media attention due to Reeves’ participation, beginning with the release of their four-track EP Quattro Formaggi in 1996 after several years of playing gigs in the U.S. and overseas; a full-length album, Our Little Visionary, was only released in Japan.
Another album, 1999’s Happy Ending, would prove to be their swan song as all three moved on to other projects. Dogstar began teasing a return last July with a retro pic from their salad days and the message “We’re back.” That began nearly a year of periodic updates about the in-process recordings sessions with producer Dave Trumfio, including video of Reeves transposing arrangements and a post from August describing a “deep, layered, lush” record on the horizon.
By December, they said they were mixing and sneaking out for a private show for the crew who helped create the album, while promising a spring release date. “Thank you everyone for the kind comments. We are overjoyed to see such a response!” the band added in comments on the photo shoot post. “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… 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!”
Back in 2019, Reeves spoke to GQ magazine about Dogstar and what he suspects is the general public’s feeling about his side project. “I guess it would have helped if our band was better,” he said at the time.
Check out Dogstar’s post and rehearsal footage below.
