| |  | | -- by Corey Moss, with additional reporting by Jennifer Vineyard
"Whose butt stinks?" "Perfume." "Jesus H. Christ." "Brown lipstick."
No, this isn't a conversation with a Tourette's patient — it's a powwowwith one of the fastest-rising rock bands in America. At the moment, they'respouting off about the origins of their oh-so-fun-to-say name, Hoobastank.(Try it. Hoobastank, Hoobastank, Hoobastank ... it never gets old!)
"I just wanna know, why does it have to mean anything?" singer Doug Robb asks in his laid-back Keanu Reeves voice. "I love Jamiroquai, but I don't go diving into what it means."
OK, if you insist, we won't go there. Instead, let's talk about thecontinual comparisons of Hoobastank to Incubus, the former high-school matesof Robb and guitarist Dan Estrin and the band's unofficial big brothers inthe music business. At least, we think the brotherhood is unofficial.
"So many people ask me, 'Is it true that you're Brandon Boyd's brother?' "Robb says. He shakes his handsome face, which slightly resembles the Incubussinger's, from side to side. "The answer's no. I'm not related to BrandonBoyd. Standing next to each other, we don't look anything alike, and neverdid I get any kind of comparison until the last few months."
"You know, I don't get that," a stern Estrin interjects. "It's the hair,maybe. But look, he's half-Japanese. He doesn't look like Brandon."
Seriously, the reason Robb, Estrin, bassist Markku Lappalainen and drummerChris Hesse are sitting in front of a camera in MTV's Times Square studiosis not to discuss their name, their hair or their gene pool. It's because"Crawling in the Dark," their unavoidable debut single, sits at #8 onBillboard's Modern Rock Singles chart.
A melodic rock anthem with a poignant chorus — "Is there somethingmore/ Than what I've been handed/ I've been crawling in the dark/ Lookingfor the answers" — "Crawling in the Dark" is the "Last Resort" of 2002,a song kids of all backgrounds can grab onto and call their own.
Written in one and a half days — a record for the band — "Crawlingin the Dark" is the product of four guys who put everything into their bandfor a half a decade, having no idea when, or if, they would ever break outof Agoura Hills, California.
Five years of label rejections and soul-searching questions finally pay off... NEXT
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Hoobastank photo gallery 