“The first bass I ever owned was a very basic Ibanez 4-string, and I played the hell out of that thing. It had a rosewood neck that I loved. I bought it in the parking lot of the Hollywood Guitar Center. It was pretty much a bass drug deal.”

Keanu Reeves’ excitement is infectious as he shows off the bass collection at his Los Angeles home, where each room seems to boast a different Fender Precision or P-J. He’s lit up in a way that only someone infatuated with bass can be, and when he eventually sits down to talk, it’s almost impossible for him to resist playing the bass on his lap. “I just want a bass in my hands at all times,” says the Dogstar bassist. “Whether I’m on the phone or watching a movie, I need to be holding one and playing.”

Given the many shows the band has played in the last three years, the recent release of Dogstar’s All in Now, and the world tour that followed, the 61-year-old Los Angeles resident has been doing a lot of playing lately. The album itself is a testament to Reeves’ love of bass and the players who have inspired him throughout his career. Songs like “Wing,” “Shards of Rain,”and the opener, “Math,” showcase his admiration for Kim Deal, Peter Hook, and Paul Simonon, while the title track and “WhatIs” find him putting the pedal to the metal with gain-driven, hard-driving lines. 

For Reeves, the band’s fourth album All in Now is an evolution from 2023’s Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees, which was inspired by in-person jams. This time, the songs are built around bass riffs Reeves sent to singer/guitarist Bret Domrose and drummer Robert Mailhouse, which resulted in Keanu being the driving force for the entirety of the album’s 12 tracks of their alternative, post-punk sound. 

Still, Reeves isn’t one to take credit for Dogstar’s success. Although he has been praised for his role in the band’s evolving sound that has been developing from their start in 1991, he’s humble, genuinely happy to be making music with his friends, and fully giving in to his growing bass obsession. 

This is such a bass-forward album. What was your writing process?

After the last album, we really wanted to get back in and make the next one. I was playing a lot of bass at home, and I was coming up with a lot of riffs that I would record and send to the other guys. Some of those ideas made it onto the record and became “The Whisper,” the opening riff for “All in Now,” the verse for “Shallow Easy,” “Math,” and all the bass-heavy stuff. It felt organic that those were the starting points for those songs. 

When you’re writing on your own, do ideas come from playing or from figuring out riffs you hear in your head?

I always have a bass around; I’ll start going off on something, and if it sounds cool, I’ll keep playing it and see where it goes. It’s actually really hard to not be playing right now during this conversation! It’s all about how I’m feeling in that moment and where my hands want to go, and that’s where these riffs come from. My bandmates call them “Reeves Riffs.” Peter Hook is a big influence, so I’m a melodic player. 

You can hear that Hooky influence in the post-chorus of “What is,” where you play a high melody. 

Thanks for noticing! Hook influenced that for sure, but that song is kind of my homage to Hüsker Dü. It’s all a blues-oriented, 1-5-4 kind of riff. That part is an example of one of us bringing in an idea and then asking, “Where does it want to go?” We’ll play it, Bret or I will go to another chord, and we’ll build out the song. 

How has your playing evolved since Somewhere Between? 

The biggest change is that I recorded ideas and sent them to the band before we got into the room, unlike the last record, where we were doing it all together. [Sending Domrose and Mailhouse riffs beforehand] gave us a jump on the whole process. We went into this to write an album, so we rented a rehearsal room, got a big whiteboard, and figured out which of our 30 ideas were going to make the cut. Actually, what changed things the most is that in the past couple of years, we played over 100 shows. That made me much more confident, and I sharpened whatever my style and my voice are. 

That confidence definitely came through on the album.

Thank you! Our producer Nick [Launay] took whole sections of us playing through the songs and kept them for the final versions. Even early on, when the band was all playing together in the room, he’d take my bass tracks and use them for the album. Some of these songs were whole takes. I only did one or two overdubs.

How did you dial in your tone for this album? 

It was a mix of mic and DI and then effects or a preamp. I was playing custom shop Fender P-J and Precision basses, both with rosewood necks and hand-wound pickups, through a Gallien-Krueger Fusion 1200S head because it was so tonally flexible. Dogstar has a different identity for each song, so each track has its own bass sound. Nick is so good at producing bass; for a couple songs, he added some Tech 21 SansAmp because he liked the tone a bit dirtier than what I do natively, and on “Chards of Rain,” he added a little flange. 

How will you replicate that tone live?

I’m not going to. [Laughter] GK’s Legacy-series amps have a B channel where I can switch to an overdrive if I wanted to dirty it up, but I’m going to work with the front of house (FOH) engineer and go post-effect to control some of the coloring of my tone. Our mixer doesn’t always like that, but I’m like, come on man! We play with in-ears, and I use the stage volume to move air so I can feel it. I’ll roll off some of the low end and let the FOH amp up the low end. I’m pushing 1000 watts, so yee-haw! 

Who are some of your inspirations when it comes to bass tone?

If I could achieve any tone with this band, it would be Kim Deal’s from the Pixies. I don’t know how she got her tone, but I love where it sits in their recordings. Sonic Youth and Joy Division, too. I’m not using effects like Peter Hook, but I love how he uses melody in relation to the root note and how his fills come off the groove but stay grounded in it. I mean, I’d love to run around the fretboard like John Entwistle, but that’s not what this music is doing.   

You’ve been loyal to GK since the beginning. What do you love about them? 

Playing with GK amplifiers has been great. I got to meet Robert Gallien when we started touring again in 2023. He’s such a great guy. When I was growing up, I played through an 800RB and two 8×10’s. That was my sound. So good! I hadn’t been playing live for a while, so I reached out to Forest and asked what they’d been working on. He brought the 1200 head to L.A., we went through all of the speakers, and then they made custom 4-ohm RBH cabinets so I could push the amp a little bit more. Forest and Robert told me they were making something influenced by the 800RB, which became their Legacy series. Forest brought me some heads, and for this tour, I’m going out with the 2001 RB Legacy head pushing four 4×10 RBH cabinets. I’m really going for it. 

Tell us about your playing technique and pick attack.

I play with a pick to get a percussive quality. There are songs where I can dig in, and that’s where I look for some of that dirt, that drive. When we’re playing “All in Now” live, I really dig in, but when we get to the solo part, I lay back so I’m not competing with the guitar. I try to be mindful of the sonic space. 

Do you move your pick closer or farther from the bridge for different sounds? 

I keep my pick in-between the pickups if I’m using my P-J or right above the pickups if I’m using my P. But I really pay attention to the attack angle — how I attack the string, where I meet it, whether it’s parallel flush [holds up his pick flat to the ground] or has some angle on it changes the sound a lot.

How do you connect with the guitar and drum parts?

I watch Brett’s strumming patterns. He likes to hit on the upbeats, so on some songs, like “This Sphere,” I’ll match him. On “All in Now,” he might do downstrokes in the pre-chorus, and I’ll stay on the downstroke attack, which is also going off Robert’s kick and snare. For the chorus of “Exalted,” I match my picking to the snare. It’s all connected, so I try to be mindful of all of it. 

That picking pattern of “Exalted” sounds tricky. 

It took time to nail that. When I was listening back to rehearsal recordings, I could hear that what I was doing wasn’t meshing with him, so I went back and changed my pattern. I get chuffed when people and tell me that onstage, my bass and the drums are one. It’s different than being locked in: You can be locked into the kick or the feel of it, but when you’re one, that’s next level. I want to be meshing while he’s doing fills, not filling before he’s filling. I might set up his fill, raise a fourth or something, and then he hits it. After a while of doing it together, it becomes almost subconscious. 

What goes through your mind while you’re onstage with Dogstar? 

I’m looking to have fun. I’m looking to pay attention. I’m looking to listen. I’m hoping to get to a place where I’m locking in with the band and it becomes unconscious to the point where I can just feel it. I want to get to the place where I can just enjoy every song and not fuck up. I don’t want it to be a clambake. I can get one or two clams in there almost unnoticed, but not a lot. I don’t want to draw attention — I want the song to get the attention, and if I’m clamming, then that’s a roadblock, a speedbump. I don’t want to have to put another dollar in the mistake jar. I don’t want to be that guy. 

Which songs are you excited to see on the setlist for this tour? 

I’m really looking forward to digging into “Joy,” “All in Now,” “Shards of Rain,” and a lot of these new songs.

Do you find any of your parts very challenging? 

Listen, man, I’m not doing anything virtuosic up there. I’m the epitome of “meat and potatoes,” but I try to infuse melody, hit the right spots, and be additive to the experience and the expression of the song. Brett is playing stereo through a Marshall amp and a Matchless amp, so I’ve gotta be the ground for him. I don’t mind driving a D on the A string, doing eighth notes or quarter notes, just driving with the drums. I’ll hold it down with basic and simple shit, and in the transitions, I’ll do a little something. That’s what it’s all about to me. Just feel the bass, man!

What do you love about playing in a power trio? 

It’s the essentials: Bass, guitar, and drums. It’s like earth, water, and fire. 

Of those three, which one is bass?

We’re the earth. I remember hearing a quote from Sting where he said, “Until I play a note, the chord is undecided.” That’s the power of bass. Everybody plays their part in a trio, and everybody contributes to the collective. I try to respect that. I listen to what the other two are doing in every step. I love having the space to play and not interfere. Also, bass has a bigger melodic role in a trio, and I like that. 

What’s it like being in a rhythm section with Robert for all these years? 

It’s telepathy. When we’re doing soundcheck and I start playing, he just kicks in. Obviously, there are cues in the music, but a lot of stuff that we do, we’ll just naturally do it at the same exact time. During a show, we’ll go off on a part together without even signaling it. We’re definitely in the quantum realm.

Who are your greatest bass influences?

Peter Hook, obviously, as well as Kim Deal, Dee Dee Ramone, and Kim Gordon. I’m mainly influenced by music from the early ’80s and the ’90s. I’m not a funk or blues player, so for me it’s all about bands like Sonic Youth, the Pixies, Joy Division, and the Cure. And then there are the bass players I wish I could be like later on in life, like Andy Rourke of the Smiths. Talk about being able to move! I feel like Smiths bass lines are like Paul McCartney lines in that genre. I like Jane’s Addiction bass lines, too, and Fugazi, who are so underrated. The way all those players sit in the songs of their bands has really influenced me.

What do you practice when you’re at home?

Right now, I tend to go through the set, but otherwise, I have a bass in a lot of rooms in the house, so I’ll just pick one up and start playing. I’ll be on the phone and before I know it, I have a bass in my hands. I found an online transcription for the Bach Cello Suites, which is really fun. I use that to warm up my hands. I play with fingers at home, but always with a pick with Dogstar. 

What’s your go-to bass?

My primary bass is a P-Bass. Fender made me some American Ultra II P-Basses with rosewood necks. I’ve had some custom basses made over the years, but they’re all basically Precisions. 

No Jazz Basses? 

I don’t play Jazz basses, but that’s more of a tone thing rather than a feel thing. They have skinnier necks, but I love the P-Bass tones. P-J’s are best of both worlds. 

You mentioned the Fender custom shop, too. 

I had a beautiful 1965 Fender Precision that I loved; it had my favorite neck of any bass I’d played. When I had a chance to work with Fender, I brought that neck to Dave Brown in the custom shop, and they replicated it. I also got some hand-wound pickups and had them add stacked knobs so that I can control bass and treble on each P-J pickup. 

That Sadowsky is sweet!

I reached out to Roger Sadowsky and had him build me this bass. It’s got a quilted maple top, and it’s just beautiful. 

Why bass? How does it resonate with your personality and being? 

It’s funny because in my band I’m called “Switzerland.” I mediate, I’m in the middle, and I solve conflicts. I’m that guy. The same way bass plays that role in music. It just fits me. 

How did you get started? 

It’s what I hear when I listen to music. I was never a failed or converted guitarist; I just went straight to bass. My ear has always been drawn to it, and I wanted to be able to do that. It really just called to me. I just wanted to play bass.

Catch Keanu and Dogstar on tour:

Aug 1: Austin, TX at ACL Live at the Moody Theatre

Aug 2: Dallas, TX at The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory

Aug 4: Atlanta, GA at Tabernacle

Aug 5: Nashville, TN at Ryman Auditorium

Aug 7: Raleigh, NC at The Ritz

Aug 8: Richmond, VA at The National

Aug 11: Washington, DC at 9:30 Club

Aug 12: Philadelphia, PA at Union Transfer

Aug 14: Atlantic City, NJ at Sound Waves at The Hard Rock

Aug 15: Mashantucket, CT at Great Cedar Showroom – Foxwoods Resort & Casino

Aug 16: Boston, MA at Citizens House of Blues Boston

Aug 18: Hershey, PA at Hershey Theatre

Aug 19: New York, NY at Webster Hall

Aug 21: Niagara Falls, ON at Fallsview Casino

Aug 22: Detroit, MI at Saint Andrew’s Hall

Aug 24: Cincinnati, OH at Bogart’s

Aug 25: Indianapolis, IN at Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

Aug 27: St. Louis, MO at The Factory

Aug 28: New Buffalo, MI at Silver Creek Event Center at Four Winds New Buffalo

Aug 29: Madison, WI at The Sylvee

Aug 31: Omaha, NE at Steelhouse Omaha

Sept 2: Denver, CO at Summit Music Hall

Sept 3: Salt Lake City, UT at The Complex