Keanu: Thanks! I ain't so bad. I ain't so bad. Glad's here.Letterman: Our next guest is, uh, best known for playing an action hero in the blockbuster motion picture (audience screaming) Speed and the (?) airhead in Bill & Ted's Excellent Advantures. Tonight, he will be playing bass with his band, Dogstar. Ladies and gentlemen, here's Keanu Reeves. Keanu!
(Audience screaming and clapping. Keanu walks out.)
L: Welcome to San Francisco. Welcome back to the show. How you doing, Buddy?
Keanu: Thanks! I ain't so bad. I ain't so bad. Glad's here.
L: So, let me get this straight, uh, it's not enough for you to be "Mr. Big Time" movie star.
K: Naw... no. That only happened to me once (joins hands in prayer and looks upward). Thank you very much.
L: Yeah, so, in addition to that, now, you're curving out a career for yourself as a musician. Are you any good?
K: Hopefully, hopefully. Yeah, we ain't so bad. We ain't so bad. Hopefully, you're hear it.
L: What are you... What are you perform? What do you play?
K: Uh... I play electric bass. The band, I guess is "pop-oriented."
L: Ah-huh. How long have you been playing the bass?
K: Uh... um... 5 years.
L: Uh-huh... Really?!?!
K: Yeah, you see I play all the time. I mean when I'm hanging out, I'll play.
L: So. How long has the band been playing together?
K: Ah, this incarnation for about a year. Yeah...
L: Are you guys any good?
K: Well, I don't know, Man! It depends on your taste, ya know? (Audience and Dave laugh.) You might like us, you might not like us.
L: You think, you're ok?
K: Yeah.
L: Yeah, you guys...
K: We get better all the time.
L: You guys have work? You have jobs and stuff? You travel the world playing?
K: Uh... what have we done? As a... as a band, we travelled the States last year and...
L: And how did that go?
K: And, uh, we'd gone to Australia.
L: How did that go? Did people like that?
K: Yeah, it went pretty well. That did pretty well.
L: Now, forgive me but did they like it because, "Oh, my God, there's Keanu Reeves, 'Mr. Big Shot' movie star'?"
K: I'm NOT "Mr. Big Shot" movie star!
(Audience lauging)
L: Oh, yeah? Your're not?
K: No, I...
L: Where the hell is "Mr. Big Shot" movie star?
K (stands up in a "Superman" stance with fists on hips): Hang on a second. (Audience goes wild. Letterman laughs.)
(Keanu in a deeper voice says...)Here I am, David.
L: Or do they like you because the band is good?
K: No, it's been cool. 'Cause, well, a lot of people come out because they see me in a film or whatever and mostly dug that. (L: Uh-huh.) So, we get that audience but as we've been playing and you'll people more and more people have been hearing us hopefully (L: Yeah.) You know, and it's changing and that's why I'm very grateful for this opportunity...
L: Well, we're happy to have you on.
K: ... for people to hear.
L: You kids need a break.
K: Yeah, exactly.
L: I feel like Dick Clark!
K: You are!
(Dave and audience laughing.)
K: You are doing that! You are doing that.
L: Dogstar, Dogstar the name, of course, Dogstar...
K: Um...
L: Canis Major
K: Yeah... (Audience laughing.)
L: Sirius...
K: Sirius. "Siriously" sirius. Yeah.
L: The brightest star in the Northern Hemisphere.
K: (pause)(Keanu is looking around waiting for Dave to stop interrupting) Yeah. (Audience lauging.)And um... hopefully, ah, it came from, actually, it came from, um, the drummer, Rob Mailhouse. He was reading "Sexist" by Henry Miller, and he saw the word (L: Uh-huh) I don't know if he had all the encrytion that went along with it.
L (interrupts Keanu): See, I may know more about the name of the band than you guys do.
K (setting Dave straight): No, actually, I know all about it. (L: Alright.) The Dogon tribe from Africa who had prayed to it. They only knew about Sirius B before...
L: Is that right?
(Keanu continues explaining but it's inaudible because Dave talks over him.)
L: Alright. Stop that! Now, I feel stupid. (Audience laughing.) Ah, anyway, uh, what we're gonna do now is take a break here and when we come back you guys, the band Dogstar, knock us out, alright?
K: Alright.
L: We'll be back.
(After commercial break.)
L: You know our next guests are making their network television debut right here from the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco, California, and their forthcoming CD will be available in stores in September. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Dogstar!
(Audience screams.) Dogstar plays "Our Little Visionary".
End of transcript
I would like to thank Marshall Hays for providing the interview picture above. Check out other Letterman guests on Marshall's Page
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