Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in 1994 in
Agoura Hills, California
Agoura Hills () is a city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 20,330 at the 2010 census, which decreased to
20,299 in 2020. It is in the eastern Conejo Valley between the S ...
, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They were signed to
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
from 2001 to 2012 and have released six albums and one
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. to date. Their most recent album, ''
Push Pull'', was released on May 25, 2018. They have sold 10 million albums worldwide. The band is best known for their biggest hit single, "
The Reason".
History
Early career (1994–2000)
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 Chris Hesse to form Hoobastank.
The band has provided a variety of explanations for the origin of the band's unusual name, and it is unclear where it originated from. Claims have included that it is a mispronunciation of a German street, slang for someone who owns many sneakers, or a word the band came up with while they were "joking around."
Hoobastank started playing gigs at the local venue
Cobalt Cafe The Cobalt Cafe was an all-ages music venue in Canoga Park, California. Although the venue always hosted touring artists, it was most known for hosting rock concerts featuring bands local to the Los Angeles area, typically punk, heavy metal, and al ...
along with
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
and
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
. They recorded their first full-length self-released album in 1998 called ''They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To'', which features a saxophone section headed by Jeremy Wasser, who executive produced the album and recorded the "Summer Romance" saxophone solo on
Incubus
An incubus is a demon in male form in folklore that seeks to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women; the corresponding spirit in female form is called a succubus. In medieval Europe, union with an incubus was supposed by some to result in t ...
' ''
S.C.I.E.N.C.E.'' album. The Incubus connections continued with Fourth Street Recording's music producer Jim Wirt and logos and visual design by Brett Spivey.
By this stage, Hoobastank had developed a strong reputation in Southern California. This attracted interest from
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
, 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, the band felt that the direction they were heading in would work best without a sax, so Wasser departed the band and the album was shelved. A few tracks were rerecorded for release on the band's 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 its
self-titled debut album in November 2001. The first single was "
Crawling in the Dark", which was a breakthrough hit, reaching No. 68 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 3 on the Modern Rock chart, No. 7 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 1 on an
MP3.com download chart in early 2002. Also, the song was featured in the 2002 inline skating game, ''
Aggressive Inline'', appearing on the
Xbox
Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...
,
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
,
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
and
GameCube
The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
consoles. The second single "
Running Away
"Running Away" is a single recorded by Hoobastank. It was the third single released from their self-titled debut album on April 1, 2002. The song peaked at number two on the US ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK an ...
" was even more successful, reaching No. 44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 2 on the Modern Rock chart, No. 9 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 3 on the MP3.com download chart. The ''Hoobastank'' album went Platinum due to these hit singles and reached No. 25 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album charts and No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Heatseeker chart.
The album 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 No. 23 on the Modern Rock charts. The band made a song titled "Losing My Grip" for the soundtrack of the movie ''
The Scorpion King
''The Scorpion King'' is a 2002 American sword and sorcery action adventure film directed by Chuck Russell, starring Dwayne Johnson, Steven Brand, Kelly Hu, Grant Heslov and Michael Clarke Duncan. It is both a prequel and spin-off of ''The ...
''.
''The Reason'' (2003–2005)
In early 2003, the group contributed the song "Right Before Your Eyes" to ''
Daredevil: The Album''. The band then entered the studio with producer
Howard Benson
Howard Benson is an American music producer and multi-instrumentalist. He was nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy Award in 2007 and 2008.
Early life and education
Benson was born and raised in a middle-class family in greater Philadel ...
. Recording was disrupted for a month when Dan Estrin was seriously injured in a minibike accident in August. Estrin had recovered by October and the band headed off on a
Nokia
Nokia Corporation (natively Nokia Oyj, referred to as Nokia) is a Finnish multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications industry, telecommunications, technology company, information technology, and consumer electronics corporatio ...
Unwired Tour with
The All-American Rejects
The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.[Ozomatli
Ozomatli is an American rock band, formed in 1995 in Los Angeles. They are known both for their vocal activist viewpoints and incorporating a wide array of musical styles – including salsa, jazz, funk, reggae, hip hop, and others. The group ...]
in November.
Their second album ''
The Reason'' was released in December 2003. The single "Out of Control" was made available for download on the band's website. Doug Robb said 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 No. 9 on the US Modern Rock chart, No. 16 on the Mainstream Rock chart and No. 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 Reason" was put to a popular music video on
Tangle
Tangle may refer to: Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
*''The Tangle'' is the name of the ledger, a directed acyclic graph, used for the cryptocurrency IOTA
*Tangle (mathematics), a topological object
Natural sciences & medicine ...
.
The
title track
A title track is a song that has the same name as the album or film in which it appears. In the Korean music industry, the term is used to describe a promoted song on an album, akin to a single, regardless of the song's title.
Title track may a ...
was released as a single in the first half of 2004. It became a hit, reaching No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 on the US and World Modern Rock charts, No. 10 in Australia, No. 12 in the United Kingdom and No. 15 in Germany. 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 No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 album chart.
The band's international profile was increased by a support slot on
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...
's ''
Meteora
The Meteora (; el, Μετέωρα, ) is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos.Sofianos, D.Z.: "Metéora". ...
'' 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 No. 12 on the ''Billboard'' chart. Three singles, "
If I Were You", "
Inside of You", and "
Born to Lead", were released. 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
Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...
, the band received a chilly reception from some audiences and rumors of a feud between Robb and Velvet Revolver frontman
Scott Weiland
Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from 1 ...
were soon filling Internet message boards. "If I Were You" from ''Every Man for Himself'' addressed the whole affair.
Robb later said in an interview with MTV News online that he has nothing against Scott Weiland or any other member of Velvet Revolver.
''For(N)ever'' and ''The Greatest Hits'' (2008–2009)
In October 2007, Robb 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". On June 2, 2008, Robb 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. On September 19, Robb posted a Myspace bulletin announcing that the "new Hoobastank album is nearly done".
The first single from the album, "
My Turn", premiered on radio October 13, 2008. The album ''
For(N)ever'' was released on January 27, 2009, as announced by Doug Robb in a blog entry on the band's official website. The song was featured as the theme song for
TNA Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promoti ...
's
Destination X 2009 Pay Per View
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
.
On April 20, 2010, a
Vanessa Amorosi
Vanessa Joy AmorosiSharon Verghis"Back on track" ''The Sun-Herald'', 18 October 2009, Archived fro''the original''on 6 March 2016. (born 8 August 1981) is an Australian singer-songwriter and recording artist. Her combined album and single sales ...
fan website revealed details of a collaboration between Hoobastank and the Australian singer, a duet version of "
The Letter". On August 5, it was confirmed that there was another version of the song on
Universal International
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...
. This one was a duet between Hoobastank and the American-Japanese singer, lyricist, actress and model
Anna Tsuchiya
is a Japanese singer, actress and semi-retired model. Since 2005, she is primarily known as a singer.[Oricon pr ...](_blank)
.
The website, VanessaAmorosi.net, also provided the duet version to be streamed in full for the first time. The music video was shot in Los Angeles at Lacy Street Studio with director Paul Brown. The video and single was serviced to Australian media on May 4. While the single was released in Australia on June 19, 2009, featuring Vanessa Amorosi, the version of the song featuring Anna Tsuchiya
[ appears on the deluxe edition of Hoobastank's greatest hits album ''The Greatest Hits: Don't Touch My Moustache''.
''For(N)ever'' had its Australian release on June 26.
The best of album ''The Greatest Hits: Don't Touch My Moustache'' was released on August 5, through ]Universal Records
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
in Japan. The Deluxe Edition's tracks were selected from their first four albums by Hoobastank fans on the band's official record label website.
Hoobastank was a support band on Creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
's 2009 reunion tour.
''Is This the Day?'' (2009–2010)
Hoobastank announced on Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that they were recording an acoustic album on September 2, 2009.
On October 30, Hoobastank covered the song "Ghostbusters
''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...
" for Halloween and a music video was released on Hoobastank's official YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel.
The band released the live album ''Live from the Wiltern'' in December 8, which was available exclusively through iTunes
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
.
Hoobastank released a new song entitled " We Are One" on January 19, 2010, as part of a compilation from Music for Relief
Music for Relief is a 501(c)(3) charitable trust founded by the rock band Linkin Park in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Throughout its first twelve years, the organization responded to over 30 natural disasters across four continen ...
in support of the Haiti earthquake crisis.
On February 12, Hoobastank released a new song entitled "Never Be Here Again" as part of the '' AT&T Team USA Soundtrack''.
In May, the band announced that they would be performing an acoustic live tour at several places in Japan. They released an acoustic album titled ''Is This the Day?'' on August 4, 2010, in Japan, but it has yet to be released in the United States.
''Fight or Flight'' (2011–2015)
On April 5, 2012, the band announced on Twitter that their new album's name was to be titled '' Fight or Flight''. On May 3, the band revealed the first single "This Is Gonna Hurt". The album was released on September 11, 2012.
To promote the album, two more singles, "Can You Save Me?" and "Incomplete", accompanied by a touring music video and a lyric video respectively, were released.
On August 2, 2013, former member Jeremy Wasser made a one-off appearance on Sunset Strip Music Festival
The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western border with Beverly H ...
at Whisky a Go Go
The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed "the Whisky") is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boul ...
in West Hollywood, California. He played sax with the band in songs "Earthsick" and "Can I Buy You A Drink?" from ''They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To''.
''Push Pull'' (2016–present)
In November 2016, the band began recording for their sixth studio album. They began working with producer Matt Wallace
Matt Wallace is an American record producer. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley,[Sonic Forces
is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. The story sees Sonic the Hedgehog joining a resistance force to stop Docto ...]
''. On October 19, 2017, the band had signed with Napalm Records
Napalm Records is an Austrian independent record label focused on heavy metal and hard rock. Originally, Napalm focused on black metal bands, such as Abigor and Summoning, and folk metal bands, such as Falkenbach and Vintersorg. The label later ...
. They also announced that the sixth studio album is finished and expected to be released in the first half of 2018.
On March 29, 2018, Hoobastank announced their next album '' Push Pull''. It was released worldwide on May 25, along with the album's first single, "More Beautiful".
Throughout 2018, the band went on their tour to commemorate the 15th anniversary of their 2003 album ''The Reason'', playing the album in its entirety. On August 16, 2019, Hoobastank announced that they would be re-releasing the album on October 4 with a vinyl release and a digital version with bonus tracks.
In September 2022, A documentary series about the making of their self-titled debut studio album was released, in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the album. It was uploaded on their official YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
channel.
Musical style and influences
Hoobastank has been categorized under genres such as post-grunge
Post-grunge is a derivative of grunge that has a less abrasive or intense tone than traditional grunge. Originally, the term was used almost pejoratively to label mid-1990s rock bands such as Bush (British band), Bush, Candlebox and Collective So ...
, alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
, hard rock
Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
, and nu metal
Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...
, On their early independent releases, the band used a funk metal
Funk metal (also known as thrash-funk or punk-funk) is a subgenre of funk rock and alternative metal that infuses heavy metal music (often thrash metal) with elements of funk and punk rock. Funk metal was part of the alternative metal movement, ...
and ska punk
Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. (sometimes spelled skacore) is a subgenre of ska punk that mixes ska with hardcore punk. Early ska punk mixed both 2 tone and ska with hardc ...
sound and had a saxophonist in the band. On their major-label, self-titled, debut album, the band's sound changed; they removed their saxophonist and became a four-piece rock band, using an alternative rock sound. The band's sound matured in their second album, '' The Reason'', and became more melodic. Hoobastank cite Mike Patton
Michael Allan Patton (born January 27, 1968) is an American singer, producer, film composer and voice actor, best known as the lead vocalist of the alternative metal band Faith No More. Noted for his vocal proficiency, diverse singing techni ...
as an influence.
Band members
Current members
* Doug Robb
Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassis ...
– lead vocals, rhythm guitar
* Dan Estrin – lead guitar, backing vocals
* Chris Hesse – drums, backing vocals
* Jesse Charland – bass, keyboards, backing vocals
Studio members
*Paul Bushnell – bass
*Chris Chaney
Christopher A. Chaney (born June 14, 1970) is an American musician. He is best known as the former bassist of alternative rock band Jane's Addiction, and as a member of Alanis Morissette's touring and recording band for six years. Chaney was a ...
– bass
Former members
*Jeremy Wasser – saxophone
*Derek Kwan – saxophone
*Markku Lappalainen – bass
*Matt McKenzie – bass
*Josh Moreau – bass, backing vocals
*David Amezcua – bass, backing vocals
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
* ''Hoobastank
Hoobastank (sometimes stylized as h∞bastank, and originally known as Hoobustank) is an American rock band formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California, by lead vocalist Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassis ...
'' (2001)
* '' The Reason'' (2003)
* '' Every Man for Himself'' (2006)
* '' Fornever'' (2009)
* '' Fight or Flight'' (2012)
* '' Push Pull'' (2018)
References
External links
*
*
An interview with the band from 2009's Rock on the Range
{{Authority control
Alternative rock groups from California
American post-grunge musical groups
Island Records artists
Musical groups established in 1994
Musical groups from Los Angeles
Musical quartets
Nu metal musical groups from California
1994 establishments in California