Cleveland – In pinpointing the platinum success of Hoobastank’s sophomore Island album, “The Reason,” lead singer Doug Robb tells Billboard the high-profile inclusion of the album’s title track on last-season episodes of “Friends” and “The O.C.” proved pivotal in breaking the band to new listeners.
“That was probably the single largest reason why the audience basically tripled,” says Robb.
“Because once it hit top 40 or pop radio, which is something that we were really hesitant about because we’re not really a pop band, the success of those formats really just opened doors to a lot of new fans. And some of them go to shows and expect to hear a bunch of ‘Reasons’ and they walk away disappointed. But whatever – they’re hearing one or two mellow songs and 12 pretty rocking songs.”
A new stateside concert leg, which begins Nov. 16 in Kansas City, Kan., will keep the band on the road through December. As far as new material for its next disc goes, Robb says the California-based band has been “running through riffs and different jumpy stuff during soundcheck, but none of us have really sat down and said it’s time to write.”
While the band’s 2001 self-titled debut was rooted in mainstream rock, including the breakout single “Crawling in the Dark,” the new album has a definite heavier slant. So perhaps the biggest question for Hoobastank is what stylistic direction it will pursue next.
“I have no idea,” Robb admits. “I think before we did the last record, we didn’t have like an idea that we wanted to be heavier. We just kind of write and see how it turns out. We’re pretty uncontrived as far as the sound. I really can’t tell you where we are going to go with the next one.”
Ideally, Robb hopes to have the next studio project out a year from now, and hints that a live compilation could bridge the gap. For now, Hoobastank fans will have to settle for the band’s first DVD, “Let It Out,” due Nov. 23.
The release features concert footage, videos, behind-the-scenes material and “a lot of little skits that we made up that we think are funny, and maybe our fans will think are funny,” says Robb. “But maybe they won’t.”
