8 Notes on Hoobastank

- HOOBASTANK was formed in the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills at the beginning of 1994. At that time Doug Rob (vocalist) and Dan Estrin (guitarist) had just met each other at a high-school band competition. After Markku Lappalainen (bassist) and Chris Hesse (drummer) joined them, HOOBASTANK was born. Note : Markku left the group in 2005 after the band summer tour.

- If you wonder what the meaning of HOOBASTANK is, it actually has no meaning at all. When they formed the band for the first time, it used to be spelled HOOBASTANK, but was pronounced the same way as HOOBASTANK.

- In 1998, with their saxophone section headed by Jeremy Wasser, HOOBASTANK recorded their second self-relesead album called They Sure Don’t Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To. This album surely contributed to their strong reputation in Southern California and eventually attracted Island Records, which signed the band in 2000.

- Their second album, The Reason, which was relesead in December 2003, contains the hit single “The Reason,” the 2004’s longest-running rock single on the Hot 100, nominated for several Grammy Awards as Song of the Year and Best Performance By a Duo or Group with vocal, as well as The Best Rock Video. The album itself was nominated as The Best Rock Album.

- In 2003, during the band’s tour for its second album, Dan was badly injured in a mini-bike accident. He rode around on his new mini bike after a show and smashed his head into concrete.

- Some unique facts about its personnel : – Dan used to be roadie for INCUBUS. – Chris used to work in a plant nursery for five years. – Doug and Dan used to be counselors at the YMCA . – They attended the same high school as Rob Bourdon of LINKIN PARK.

- HOOBASTANK started to work on Every Man for Himself during thir last mega-tour. Dan would come up with musical ideas during sound checks, then record a demo later. He would next hand it off to Doug for melodies and lyrics. Finally the whole band recorded the finished product during non-tour weekends. This way was really unusual and tiring.

Even if the way they recorded their third album was uncommon and grueling, it affected them in a positive way. Doug said that it even resulted in an album far greater than their previous two albums. Hopefully it will also result in more platinums.