On a recent episode of Tony Hawk’s Hawk vs Wolf podcast, Keanu Reeves stopped by with his band Dogstar for a discussion touching on a range of music-related topics, including the iconic soundtrack for Hawk’s video game series, Pro Skater.
After congratulating Hawk on the upcoming 25th anniversary of the first installment of the game, Reeves asked what his go-to skating band was in the early days. “Favorite band — and everything kinda follows — is Gang of Four,” Hawk replied. “Everything kinda surrounds that.”
Continuing, Hawk shed light onto the creation of the Pro Skater soundtrack, giving a bit of a history lecture in the process. “Music was just a huge part of skating, especially in the formative years of the ‘70s and ‘80s,” he said. “So, when I got to do a game, I wanted to represent the culture, including music. So, I just was throwing bands that I listened to growing up. They were easy to get.”
When asked by Reeve’s Dogstar bandmate, Robert Mailhouse, if he’d ever skate without music, Hawk explained, “It was just [playing over] the intercom of the skate parks. They were mostly playing K-Rock… K-Rock was that sound. Rodney on the ROQ, that was one of the first vinyl I ever bought.”
“So, that was my contribution to the game in terms of the old school music,” Hawk continued. “Then, they had their own pretty robust music department to get newer bands at the time, the stuff that people associate with [the Pro Skater series], like Goldfinger, Powerman 5000, Fu Manchu, stuff like that.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Dogstar talked to Hawk and his co-host, Jason Ellis, about the band’s origin, their music, their live shows, and more. Watch a clip of the Pro Skater soundtrack discussion below.
Meanwhile, Dogstar released their first new album in 20 years, Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees, last year. Up next, they’ll embark on a 2024 North American tour in September, making stops in Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, and more cities before wrapping in Maricopa, Arizona on September 21st. Grab tickets here.