Tony Hawk reveals his favourite bands to Keanu Reeves: “Music was just a huge part of skating”
Tony Hawk has shared some of his favourite bands in a new podcast with Keanu Reeves’ band, Dogstar.
Appearing on Hawk’s Hawk vs Wolf podcast, Reeves and his band also touched on the iconic Pro Skater soundtrack ahead of its 25th anniversary.
The Pro Skater games were an entry point for young fans new to alternative music and featured everything from punk to nu metal. Decades on from the release of the first instalment, the soundtrack to the games – which transformed the careers of groups like Millencolin, Goldfinger and Fu Manchu, remains beloved by both fans and the artists involved.
After congratulating Hawk on the upcoming milestone, Reeves asked what his favourite skating band was. “Favourite band, and everything kinda follows, is Gang of Four,” Hawk replied. “Everything kinda surrounds that.”
Hawk touched on the creation of the seminal Pro Skater soundtrack, explaining how it was intended to mimic the scene he was immersed in.
“Music was just a huge part of skating, especially in the formative years of the ‘70s and ‘80s,” Hawk 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.”
Dogstar drummer Robert Mailhouse asked if he’d ever skate without listening to music, and Hawk said it was a constant fixture of skateparks regardless.
“They were mostly playing K-Rock [over the intercom of the skate parks],” he explained. “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,” he continued.
“Then, they had their own pretty robust music department to get newer bands at the time, the stuff that people associate with [the game series], like Goldfinger, Powerman 5000, Fu Manchu, stuff like that.”
Last month, Dogstar announced a series of US tour dates across cities including Indianapolis, Richmond, Columbia, Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Jacksonville, Santa Cruz, Las Vegas and more.
It follows their surprise comeback last year, when they released their first album in 23 years, ‘Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees’, in October.
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Poppy Burton
NME
