Keanu Reeves is back on the road with Dogstar, and ahead of the band’s upcoming tour, the actor and bass guitarist took time to talk about his history with the instrument, his influences and the gear he’s using onstage.
In a new video with No Treble and The Bass Nerds, Reeves walks through his current rig, which includes a Fender American Ultra Precision Bass and a Gallien-Krueger 2001RB Legacy head driving four 4x12 cabs.
But the conversation quickly goes beyond gear, with Reeves recalling the unlikely circumstances of his first bass purchase and the players who shaped his approach to the instrument.
“I started playing when I was 22, went to Guitar Center in Hollywood and I ended up buying a bass in the parking lot,” Reeves says. “It was a white Ibanez, four-string, with a rosewood neck for 300 bucks.”
From there, he moved on to Fender Precision Basses, although he also spent some time playing a Music Man.
“I played a MusicMan too for a little bit,” he says. “But in the progression I did a P Bass, but never did a Jazz.
“Now I like PJs,” he adds, referring to Precision basses fitted with both Precision Bass and Jazz Bass pickups, such as the Ultra and Ultra II models.
Reeves also demonstrates what Dogstar calls “Reeves’ riff,” the bass figure that became the foundation of “All in Now,” the title track and first single from the band’s new album.
His musical influences go back to some of the defining bass sounds of punk and alternative rock. Reeves cites the Ramones, Pixies bass guitarist Kim Deal and Joy Division/New Order bass guitarist Peter Hook among his favorites. At one point in the video, he plays Hook’s instantly recognizable bass line from Joy Division’s “Disorder.”
“I guess when I wanted to learn how to play when I was 22, it was the Ramones, a little punk rock. There was also the bass line to [Lou Reed’s] ‘Walk on the Wild Side.’ There was Kim Deal,” he says, attempting to play Deal’s bass line from the Pixies’ “Gigantic.”
That emphasis on the bass as a melodic instrument, rather than simply a rhythmic foundation, seems to have been central to Reeves from the beginning.
“Having the melody from the bass — I guess my ear always went to that... So yeah, I was drawn to that stuff.”
Dogstar’s All In Now Tour launches September 29 at the Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles.
