Biography Of Hoobstank..

Put a band together with influences like Faith No More, Tool, and Fishbone, let each member add unique influences ranging from Phish to Guns n Roses to Trance music. Enter Hoobastank.

Flash back to July of 1998 and enoughmoney saved up to self release the first album They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To, spreading the Hoobastank sound across Southern California, throughout the United States, and as far as the UK, Brazil, Russia, and Israel.

Even further back to the summer of 1994 when Dan and Doug and Markku started writing music together, and then to early 1995 when Chris answered the right newspaper ad to complete the quartet. Forward a bit to the summer of 1995. The Roxy in Los Angeles. The first show: the lights, the adrenaline and the fans. The fans like you that have enabled Hoobastank to consistently sell out local shows, to play up and down California and Arizona, and to play venues as large as the Palace and even the Universal Amphitheatre. 

And then look to what is almost yesterday. A band that has matured and grown enough to get signed to Island/Defjam Records and be picked up by the booking agency CAA, and then to tomorrow: a new album that will set new standards for and a tour that will bring the energetic Hoobastank sound even closer to you.

Hoobastank are a hard rock band that feature an accessible mixture of metal riffs, emotive lyrics and radio-ready melodies. The band’s angry, wounded lyrics never risks alienating the mainstream audience – instead, Hoobastank’s songs dress their misery in pleasing hooks and sing-along choruses. Led by frontman Doug Robb, the group had their biggest success with the 2004 ballad “The Reason.” Hardcore rock fans tend to dismiss Hoobastank’s lightweight material, but the truth of the matter is that the group’s mid-tempo songs are far stronger than their attempts to write aggressive rock anthems.

Hoobastank’s Origins:

Hoobastank formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, a small community north of Los Angeles. Singer Doug Robb joined forced with two of his classmates – guitarist Dan Estrin and drummer Chris Hesse – to put together the band. (Bassist Markku Lappalainen was also a part of the original lineup but left the group in 2005.) For the next few years, Hoobastank played around Southern California and recorded some self-produced albums. The band signed to Island Records at the turn of the century, but after an aborted album called Forward was shelved, Hoobastank set to work on their official debut.

Wowing Radio, Annoying Critics:

2001’s Hoobastank set the course for the band’s career: audiences loved the group’s post-grunge hard rock, but critics found their songs whiny and derivative. Hoobastank was front-loaded with its three singles – “Crawling in the Dark,” “Remember Me” and “Running Away” – being the first three songs on the album. Of their early hits, the mid-tempo ballad “Running Away” got the most traction, charting on the mainstream rock, modern rock, pop, and adult charts, hinting at the group’s ability to bridge musical genres with their songs.

Hoobastank Find "The Reason":

Released at the end of 2003, The Reason would make its impact felt the following year. After the first single, the choked-riff “Out of Control,” made a respectable showing on the rock charts, Hoobastank followed it up with the title track, an undeniably sentimental power ballad about a girlfriend that the singer has left brokenhearted. “The Reason” was the sort of song that makes hard rock fans roll their eyes, but just about everyone else on the planet embraced it – the track reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Buoyed by the song’s success, The Reason went double platinum.

Struggling to Maintain Popularity:

Bassist Markku Lappalainen was gone from the band by the time of 2006’s Every Man for Himself. Although the album showcased Hoobastank’s continuing sonic evolution, Every Man didn’t have another ballad with the same power as “The Reason,” although “If I Were You” was actually a better, less sappy variation on the model. Consequently, Every Manfailed to enjoy the same popularity as The Reason had – still, the album peaked at No. 12 and managed to be certified for gold-level sales

Hoobastank fans hoping that For(n)ever (or, as it is also called,Fornever) will contain another killer pop ballad like “The Reason” will be disappointed – the band’s fourth album is a sleek, rocking affair that doesn’t have any big, sappy sing-along love songs on it. In their place, frontman Doug Robb and his partners have crafted a mostly tuneful collection of angst-heavy numbers about bad girlfriends. For(n)ever probably won’t match the sales heights of previous Hoobastank records, but ironically, it’s one of their better efforts.