Post-grunge quartet Hoobastank formed in the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills in early 1994, after vocalist Doug Robb met guitarist Dan Estrin at a high-school battle of the bands competition. The two chose to join forces, and after adding bassist Markku Lappalainen and drummer Chris Hesse, Hoobastank was born. While the heavy alternative sounds of acts like Tool and Alice in Chains were primary influences, Hoobastank tempered the gloomier elements of that music with a suburban California groove and an eye for accessibility. Their self-released demo generated strong local buzz upon its 1998 release, and soon the band had moved from backyard gigs to shows up and down the Cali coast. Hoobastank's eponymous debut album dropped in November 2001, and the singles Crawling in the Dark and Running Away were hits at radio and MTV. On a 2005 co-headlining tour with Velvet Revolver, the band received a chilly reception from some audiences and rumors of a feud between Robb and VR frontman Scott Weiland were soon filling Internet message boards. If I Were You, the first single from their 2006 album Every Man for Himself, addressed the whole affair. ......