Hoobastank | |
---|---|
Hoobastank's lineup in 2013, From left to right, Dan Estrin, Chris Heese, Doug Robb, and Jesse Charland
|
|
Background information | |
Origin | Agoura Hills, Los Angeles, California, United States |
Genres | |
Years active | 1994–present |
Labels | |
Associated acts | Vanessa Amorosi |
Website | www |
Members |
|
Past members |
|
Hoobastank (often stylized as h∞bastank) is an American rock band, formed in 1994 in Agoura Hills, California with lead singer Doug Robb, guitarist Dan Estrin, drummer Chris Hesse, and original bassist Markku Lappalainen. They were signed to Island Records from 2001 to 2012 and have released five albums and one extended play to date. Their fifth studio album, Fight or Flight, was released on September 11, 2012. They have sold 10 million albums worldwide. The band is best known for their singles "Crawling in the Dark", "Running Away", and "The Reason".
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.
Hoobastank started playing gigs at the local venue Cobalt Cafe along with Incubus and others. They recorded their first full-length self-released album in 1998 called They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To. It featured an unusual saxophone section headed by Jeremy Wasser, who executive produced the album and recorded the Summer Romance saxophone solo on Incubus' 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, 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.