Hoobastank

Hoobastank began their activity in 1994. The driving force behind their formation was vocalist Doug Robb and guitarist Dan Estrin who met at a competition for beginning rock bands as rivals. Their rivalry ended after they decided to launch a new project together. Hoobastank were a complete band after the musicians found Chris Hesse and Markku Lappalainen. Robb said that they did not mean anything by naming the band this way. Hoobastank gave their first performances on the same stage with big bands including Linkin Park, Incubus, Avenged Sevenfold and others. In 1998, the group recorded and released independently their first album titled They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To. The recording was made in cooperation with saxophonist Jeremy Wasser. By the moment of the release of this work, Hoobastank had already been well known in the whole area of California. They managed to interest Island Records and eventually signed their first professional contract with the label in 2000. Following that, the musicians did several covers, including those for Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? By Rod Steward, and Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cindy Lauper, as part of warming up before doing the next album.

In November 2001 Hoobastank released the self-titled album. It featured the hit composition Crawling in the Dark, spotted in all influential rock charts of the nation. This single was followed by the second one, Running Away, having even higher places in various ratings. The third single, Remember Me, could not compete against the first two. This did not affect the excellent sales of the long player making it platinum. The album was much loved not only in the USA, but far abroad, which made the band’s tours in Asia and Europe a big and lucrative move. The preparation of the following album was postponed in connection with Estrin’s injury after his falling off the minibike. As a result, The Reason hit the stores only in December 2003. Robb’s vocals got rougher and the music made a step towards heavier sounding. The Same Direction single was made available on the group’s official web site. The Reason became a sensation in the rock music world and a record number one for rock lovers from many different countries. The same titled song was released as a single early in 2001 to instantly lead the charts as a smashing hit. The song was played by the world leading stations and featured in the final season of Friends. In Canada, this single remained first for twenty years setting a new record. Hoobastank enlarged their fan base considerably after participating in 2004 Meteora world tour of Linkin Park.

In May 2006, Hoobastank delivered the third album, Every Man for Himself. It debuted twelfth in Billboard. Although the singles If I Were You, Inside Of You, and Born To Lead never reached high ranks in rock charts, the album itself ran gold. The 2005 tour with Velvet Revolver disappointed Hoobastank with moderate supporting in a number of places. Besides, these performances were followed by information about a conflict between Robb and Scott Weiland, Velvet Revolver vocalist. Robb addressed these statements saying that he had amicable relations with each member of this band. Hoobastank spent a large part of 2007 on the stage visiting the venues in America, Asia, Australia and South Africa. The work on the subsequent album, For(N)ever, took a loner time than expected. The band planned to issue it in 2008, but the audience received a chance to taste their new record only in the beginning of 2009. Also the musicians released their record titled The Greatest Hits: Don't Touch My Moustache in 2009.