Hoobastank

selected  Hoobastank TShirTS, PosTerS & Prints

Hoobastank (also colloquially referred to as "Hooba" or "Who The Stank") is a rock band best known for their crossover hit "The Reason" (2003) and by their continued success in the modern rock market.

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." Rob Bourdon, 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 and recorded a 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 Hoobastank in 2000. Hoobastank's reputation continued to grow on tours with the similar sounding band Incubus.

They covered a variety of songs, such as Rod Stewart's "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" and Cyndi Lauper's "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

Hoobastank released their self-titled debut 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 Hoobastank 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 on the back of these hits and reached #25 on the Billboard 200 album charts and #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart. The album also achieved recognition internationally with the album touring in Europe and Asia in support of the record. "Remember Me" the third Hoobastank single was a moderate hit reaching #23 on the modern rock charts and #9 on the mainstream rock charts. The Hoobastank song "Losing My Grip" was featured on the soundtrack for the movie The Scorpion King.

Hoobastank entered the studio in 2003 with producer Howard Benson who has produced records by P.O.D., 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.

Hoobastank's 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 Hoobastank's website. Doug Robb says on Hoobastank'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 Hoobastank'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 and #10 in Australia. The song was also played during the final episode of Friends

In Canada, it spent 20 weeks at the top, setting a new record for most weeks at No. 1.

The Reason received a new lease of life on the US album charts, reaching #3 on the Billboard 200.

The band's international profile was increased by a support slot on Linkin Park's Meteora world tour in early 2004.

Hoobastank's 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. Despite this, the album has been certified Gold. 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 VR frontman Scott Weiland were soon filling Internet message boards. "If I Were You," addressed the whole affair.

from Wikipedia licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.