In a music landscape filled with some odd band names, Hoobastank may have taken the prize for strangest moniker. On their self-titled major label debut, the band came roaring out of the gate with a strong debut single in “Crawling in the Dark” that rose as high as the top three on Billboard’s Modern Rock chart. One thing that many people don’t know about the band is that this record is actually their second full-length record with the independently released They Sure Don’t Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To, that featured a horn section and not too much material within the same realm as Hoobastank. I discovered this band in a similar way as others, by seeing their first music video on MTV2 and then promptly buying my first concert ticket to see them at the 9:30 Club. Their live show was filled with pulse-pounding drums (courtesy of Chris Hesse), the brilliant riffing from guitarist Dan Estrin, and anthemic vocals from Doug Robb. During this concert, they played two tracks from their independent debut, “Earthsick” and the song closest to the sound they would go for on their Island Records’ debut on “Stuck Without a Voice.” This concert made me a life-long fan of the band, and they would go on to achieve remarkable success on their subsequent record called The Reason, where the title track made them a household name. This meteoric rise made the radio ready rock band Hoobastank something that ironically everyone would know exactly what you’re talking about.