About Dogstar
Dogstar is an American alternative rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. The band consists of drummer Robert Mailhouse, bassist Keanu Reeves and guitarist Bret Domrose, who joined in 1994 and later replacing founding member in 1995 to become the vocalist, which he has been since 1995. They were initially active from the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, during which time the band found moderate success but garnered significant media attention due to the band's bassist being Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves.
The band started jam sessions again in 2020, and announced their reunion in 2022. Their latest album, Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees, was released on October 6, 2023.
The genesis of Dogstar was a chance encounter between Robert Mailhouse and Keanu Reeves in a supermarket in 1991. Mailhouse was wearing a Detroit Red Wings hockey sweater, and Reeves asked if Mailhouse needed a goalie. As the two men formed a friendship, they began jamming together, and were joined by Gregg Miller as the original lead guitarist and singer in 1992. Reeves said that one thing led to another in the band's history:
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
The band originally called themselves Small Fecal Matter, and then BFS , before settling on Dogstar, after Mailhouse found the name in the book Sexus, written by Henry Miller.
Dogstar was joined by Bret Domrose as an additional vocalist and guitarist in 1994. One year later, the band toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Asia, and opened for David Bowie at his 1995 Hollywood Palladium gig, where they covered a song by Pink Floyd, as well as for Bon Jovi on their 1995 These Days – Crossroads Tour in Australia and New Zealand. However, Miller left the band at the end of the tour. With Quattro Formaggi, they released their first disc, a four-track EP in 1996, via Zoo Entertainment, and followed this up with their debut album, Our Little Visionary, which was only distributed in Japan, even though Dogstar already had a worldwide fanbase at the time. The band also performed at the 1996 Zwemdokrock Festival in Lummen, Belgium, and the 1999 Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, Somerset, England.
Map & Directions To Venue
