Somewhere in between starring in Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho and the cult surfer drama Point Break, and joining Francis Ford Coppola’s goth horror Bram Stoker’s Dracula and attempting to stop a speeding bus with Sandra Bullock in Speed, Keanu Reeves formed a band.
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Along with fellow actor and drummer Robert Mailhouse, who both met and bonded over hockey at a supermarket, and decided to play some music. With Reeves on bass, they formed Dogstar in 1991, and with the addition of singer and guitarist Bret Domrose in 1994, the trio released an EP, Quattro Formaggi, followed by their debut album, Our Little Visionary, in 1996. Reeves and Mailhouse also co-wrote a good portion of the band’s catalog with chief lyricist Domrose, through the band’s second album, Happy Ending, in 2000.
“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,” said Reeves on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2017. “And then you’re like ‘Let’s go on tour,’ and then you’re playing, and then it turns into ‘Let’s make an album.'”
Shortly before disbanding in the early 2000s, Dogstar also recorded the Mr. Big song “Shine” for the 2003 compilation Influences & Connections – Volume One: Mr. Big.
Along with his work with Dogstar, Reeves also had some musical moments on screen, from singing the song “C-I-N-C-I-N-N-A-T-I” with Drew Barrymore in the 1986 holiday film Babes in Toyland and Bill & Ted‘s Wild Stallyns and “The Reaper Rap,” to crooning Frank Sinatra‘s 1947 standard “Time After Time” to Charlize Theron in the 2001 drama Sweet November.
On the verge of releasing a third album with Dogstar, 23 years later with Somewhere Between the Power Lines and the Palm Trees, here’s a look at four songs Reeves wrote with the band.
1. “Our Little Visionary” (1996)
Written by Keanu Reeves, Bret Domrose, and Robert Mailhouse
For the band’s 1996 debut, Our Little Visionary, Reeves co-wrote several of the tracks with Domrose and Mailhouse, including the title track. Produced by Ed Stasium (Motörhead, The Ramones, Talking Heads), the album also features a cover of Badfinger‘s 1970 hit “No Matter What.”
She says I got a tortured soul
I got a soul that she don’t know
She says it like it’s all so clear
She starts to shake when I am near
There comes a point
Across our lives
Where we must see
Or we will die
I’ve seen it before
In your rainbow, there’s a color
I don’t remember as a child
Listen to “Our Little Visionary”: HERE
2. “Denial” (1996)
Written by Keanu Reeves, Bret Domrose, and Robert Mailhouse
On Our Little Visionary, Reeves also co-wrote the closing “Denial.” In 1999, the Our Little Visionary track, which only runs under two minutes, appeared in the 1999 film Will & Me.
There is love here, can you feel it?
It’s from me, it’s for me
And I stole it
If caught, I’ll deny it
I’ll scream and I’ll fight it
Jesus loves me, can you feel it?
I’ve injured my life- hope he can heal it
If caught, I’ll deny it
I’ll scream and I’ll fight it
There is love here, can you feel it?
It’s from me, it’s for me
And I stole it
If caught, I’ll deny it
I’ll scream and I’ll fight it
Listen to “Denial”: HERE
3. “Enemies” (2000)
Written by Keanu Reeves, Bret Domrose, and Robert Mailhouse
In 2000, Dogstar released their second album, Happy Ending. The album features a lo-fi cover of the Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell-penned “Superstar,” made famous by The Carpenters in 1971, along with 10 original tracks, a majority written by Domrose, along with some penned by all three members.
Reeves co-wrote five tracks on the album, including “Cornerstore,” “Alarming,” “Swim,” “Blown Away,” and the propulsive “Enemies.”
It must have been maybe it was
I don’t remember when
When I fell for myself
I fell off the chair
That sat me next to you
Could I take all the love
That I have for myself
Could I give it all to you
Can I kill the big monster
That lives down inside
Can we throw all the history aside
It’s not easy to pretend
That we’re not
Enemies sometimes
But it pleases me defending
All the memories tonight
Listen to “Enemies”: HERE
4. “Cornerstore” (2000)
Written by Keanu Reeves, Bret Domrose, and Robert Mailhouse
Also off Happy Ending, the sentimental rock track, “Cornerstore,” revolves around learning more about life from someone who is blind. Produced by Michael Vail Blum and Richie Zito, Happy Ending was Dogstar’s final release before disbanding after a final concert in Tokyo, Japan in 2002.
They moved down into town
Not to be forgotten
To stay around
The jasmine’s sweet
The air is complete now
They set up a cornerstore
To try and make their lives
A little more
Their girl was blind
But she saw more
Than you or me will ever see
Photo by Miikka Skaffari/FilmMagic
