Hoobastank is an American alternative rock band best known for their 2004 hit "The Reason".
Early career (1994-2000)
Hoobastank formed in the Los Angeles County suburb Agoura Hills in 1994. According to drummer Chris Hesse, vocalist Doug Robb had known guitarist Dan Estrin for some time before competing against him in a high school battle of the bands competition and subsequently, they decided to form a band. They then recruited Markku Lappalainen and Hesse to form Hoobastank, which at the time was spelled Hoobustank (pronounced the same way as "Hoobastank").
In an interview with Launch Yahoo!, Doug Robb said the name had no particular meaning: "You're going to ask me what it means. It doesn't mean anything. And it's really cool, it's one of those old high school inside-joke words that didn't really mean anything." Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson of Linkin Park attended the same high school, Agoura High School, as the members of Hoobastank.
Hoobastank started playing gigs in their local area, the band started out in Cobalt Cafe along with Linkin Park, Incubus, Avenged Sevenfold and others. They recorded their first full-length self-released album in 1998 called They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To. It featured a unique saxophone section headed by Jeremy Wasser, who executive produced said album and recorded the Summer Romance saxophone solo on Incubus' S.C.I.E.N.C.E. album. By this stage, Hoobastank had developed a strong reputation in Southern California. This attracted interest from Island Records, who subsequently signed the band in 2000. At the time of signing, the band had completed a second full length album, titled "Forward", also featuring Jeremy Wasser, however Island execs felt that the direction they were heading in would work best without a sax, so Jeremy departed the band and the album was shelved. a few of its tracks were re-recorded for release on the bands self-titled 2001 release. the original recordings from the "Forward" sessions made their way to the internet via peer to peer sites in late 2001.
Hoobastank (2001-2002)
Hoobastank released their self-titled debut album in November 2001. The first single was "Crawling in the Dark" which was a breakthrough hit reaching #68 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Modern Rock chart, #7 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #1 on an MP3.com download chart in early 2002. The second single "Running Away" was even more successful reaching #44 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Modern Rock chart, #9 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #3 on the MP3.com download chart. The Hoobastank album went Platinum thanks to these hit singles and reached #25 on the Billboard 200 album charts and #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart.
However, the album received many negative reviews including a 2.5 stars review by Allmusic which includes the line: "Nothing here's gonna change the world, but the fact that these guys don't seem inclined toward filling any agenda or catering to a specific audience is promising".
The album also achieved recognition internationally with the band touring in Europe and Asia in support of the record. "Remember Me", the third single released from this album, was a moderate hit reaching #23 on the Modern Rock charts and #9 on the Mainstream Rock charts. The band also made a song titled "Losing My Grip" for the soundtrack of the movie The Scorpion King. In late 2001, Hoobastank was invited to play in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame due to the success of the album.
The Reason (2003-2005)
The band entered the studio in 2003 with producer Howard Benson who has produced records by P.O.D., Blindside, Cold and The Crystal Method. However, recording was disrupted for a month when Dan Estrin was seriously injured in a freak minibike accident in August. Estrin had recovered by October and the band headed off on a Nokia Unwired Tour with The All-American Rejects and Ozomatli in November.
An interview was made with Chris Hesse, asking the same question all ask ... "How did the band come up with the name Hoobastank?" He replied, "Doug's brother is the vice president of BMW Motorcycles and lives in Germany. And there is this street out by his house that is called Hooba Street or something like that and before Doug could pronounce the name, he called it Hoobastank and it was kinda a cute thing and his brother still teases him about it to this day. When we were looking for band names it's almost impossible to find a band name that hasn't been taken. Anything remotely normal has been taken already. I don't remember how it came up but someone said it and we were like yeah."
Their second album The Reason was released in December 2003.It showcased a harder-edged vocal performance from Robb. The single "Same Direction" was made available for download on the band's website. Doug Robb says on the band's website: "A lot of it is about asking questions or questioning all that people see. It's not all about religion. "Out of Control" is about that and about opening your eyes after being blinded by being devoted to anything." "Same Direction" would reach #9 on the US Modern Rock chart, #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #16 on a composite World Modern Rock chart (based on the US, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Canada and Australia). A year later, the Let It Out DVD collected the band's videos.
The title track was released as a single in the first half of 2004. It became a massive hit reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the US and World Modern Rock charts, #1 on a World Airplay chart in May 2004, #10 in Australia and #15 in Germany. The song was also played during the final episode of Friends. In Canada, it spent 21 weeks at the top, setting a new record for most weeks at No. 1. Meanwhile in the United States, the album reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart.
The band's international profile was increased by a support slot on Linkin Park's Meteora world tour in early 2004.
Every Man for Himself (2006-2007)
Their third album Every Man for Himself was released in May 2006 and debuted at #12 on the Billboard chart. Three singles, "If I Were You", "Inside of You" and "Born to Lead" have been released so far, all of which have fared poorly on the rock charts. Another single, "If Only" was planned to be released but was canceled for unknown reasons, possibly because of the low chart achievements of the first three singles. Despite this, the album has been certified Gold in the United States.
On a 2005 co-headlining tour with Velvet Revolver, the band received a chilly reception from some audiences and rumors of a feud between Robb and Velvet Revolver frontman Scott Weiland were soon filling Internet message boards. "If I Were You" from Every Man for Himself addressed the whole affair. Doug later said in an interview with MTV News online that he has nothing against Scott Weiland or any other member of Velvet Revolver .
Upcoming album (2008-present)
In October 2007, Doug posted on the official Hoobastank message boards and said that they have "Set the bar very very high for this next CD" and that they have "More ideas going into this CD than ever before".
In January 2008, Chris posted a message on their official Myspace page and stated the following:
"Happy New Year to all. Just a small update so you know we haven't fallen off the face of the planet. We're currently finishing up the writing process for record number 4, trying to wrap things up so we can get into the studio and start recording in late Feb. It's an exciting time for us, everything we've been working on for the last year is coming together very nicely and the record is getting closer to being finished. That means touring season is nearing and we get to perform all of these new pieces for you.
The website will soon be given a full overhaul and it will be getting updated on a regular basis (sorry for the last half a year of lagging!). Please be patient as we tidy things up and get back out there to you guys. Can't wait to see you on the road."
On June 2nd, Doug posted an update on their temporary website, announcing that the recording process of their upcoming album was almost done and to expect a release date within a couple of weeks
Band members
Current members
Doug Robb – Lead vocals and rhythm guitar
Dan Estrin – Lead guitar and backing vocals
Josh Moreau – Bass guitar
Chris Hesse – Drums and percussion
Former members
Markku Lappalainen – Bass guitar (1997-2005)
Jeremy Wasser – Saxophone (Basketball Shorts only)
Derek Kwan – Saxophone (1997-1999)
Josef Sy – Bassist (1997-1999)
