Doug Robb, lead singer of Hoobastank, recently took a moment on conference call to speak with journalists from several Boston area colleges. Students from Brandeis University, Harvard University and Westminster College all participated in this interview, and all asked questions. The band, comprised of members Robb, Chris Hesse (drums), Dan Estrin (guitar) and Markku (bass), is set to release their latest album, "The Reason."JustArts: How does "The Reason" compare to the self-titled album and "The Basket Ball Shorts?"
Doug Robb: Wow, we did "The BB Shorts" so long ago, they were just like a collection of demos - not really something for an album per say. But compared to the last one, I think it sounds better guitarwise. Tones, it sounds different. It's not like we actually sit down and are like, "we are going write like this." It just happens.

JA: So I noticed that in the beginning - I have some of the original demos - you guys had a sort of ska sound with horns and such, and then your first album came out and it was more rock. Why the change in sound?
DR: Yeah, good question. Truth be told, I hate ska! We got lumped into that category because we had the beat guitarist and horns, but I prefer rock myself. If you listen to the original stuff then go through the self-titled one, you can hear the gradual change from ska to rock. It just happened. It was the way Dan's music went. Markku and I are the rock guys but we had to bring Dan around from punk-ish stuff and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But he is all good now.

JA: So was it all at once or a gradual change?
DR: It was more of an immediate change than a sudden one. If you listen to some of our older, softer songs like "Our Song," "Mirror," and "Out of Voice," you can hear the change starting. It has been happening since the beginning.

JA: So you guys seem like you have a lot of fun. What's more important, jokes or a sense of humor in your daily lives?
DR: Sense of humor is the most important thing to me. We don't take each other seriously at all. I can't stand bands that take themselves too seriously. You need to have fun.

JA: Are you guys practical joksters?
DR: Oh yes, yes, all the time! Want to hear a story?

JA: Sure!
DR: Well, recently we were in Seattle and Dan and I were doing this acoustic thing for Launch media. We were waiting in the green room with out tour assistant Billy. It was one of those mornings where they had, like, two big boxes of bagels arranged like donuts. So Billy left to do something and Dan and I were like 'aw, yeah.' We had this horrible idea. We were just standing there in the green room with our pants around our ankles, holding all the bagels in one box in turn in our asses. Then we put them all back. It was all on tape. But the tape didn't see us take the other box of bagels, and we put that box out on the bus for the rest of the guys and crew. All day they were eating and commenting how great the bagels were. Then they saw the tape and nothing we could say could convince them otherwise that they didn't have ass bagels!
JA: Wow you guys are crazy!
DR: Yeah, we have our moments.

JA: What do you think of iTunes compared to buying music in stores?
DR: Well, we do have some of our music free on our website, but with iTunes, well who gets that money? We certainly don't see it. But I was computer-less for a while and I just got a laptop, and I'm starting to put out some acoustic stuff again.

JA: So what do you think of the age of computers?
DR: Well, I got my first computer only like four years ago, I'm 28 now, and I did stuff like Napster too. I only looked for really obscure stuff, but I racked up at least 100 songs. I didn't think of it really until I was on the other side, but I still don't know. I don't do the research and don't know how it directly affects us though our managers say that when we had one million copies of the album sold, we could have had two by then if downloading wasn't happening. The attitude of many people today is they feel like music has always been available online, and for some that's true. But I went 20 years getting music with no problem except working and if it died, most of us could still survive.

JA: Does online sharing help or hurt you?
DR: Well, I think it helps up-and-coming bands get their stuff out and heard, but I definitely think it hurts older, well-known bands.

JA: Heard you guys were involved in charit yticketauctions.org. What do you think of that?
DR: Anything to deal with kids, I'm all for it.

JA: So what about touring schedules. Do you guys go where the fan-base is or hit college towns?
DR: College tours, I love college tours! But it's all about the fans, though one could say colleges sometimes have higher fan rates, and they are usually very energetic. But the tour we are on now was very last-second. We were supposed to be on another tour but it fell through. We have actually played a few places I haven't been to yet.

JA: Okay, come January, you are going on tour with Linkin Park, P.O.D and Still of the Year. How did that happen?
DR: Well, I don't know the statistics, but basically they asked and we said sure. Most of us went to school with the Linkin Park guys, and they are very cool.

JA: What do you like better; touring or recording?
DR: Well, you crave doing what you haven't done in a while. When you're on the road for five months, the first three are great then you feel like you want to hit the studio, and then vice versa. Now we are loving being on the road, but soon enough we will be craving the studio again.

JA: Okay, so you are the vocalist. Are you also the main lyricist?
DR: I am the only writer.

JA: What inspires you?
DR: Listening to the music itself. Dan writes the music, and I write the lyrics and melodies that I feel from the music he writes. Like, if the song is about your heart being ripped out, I will draw from experience in the past and see where it goes. I don't usually write out the lyrics first, but on a few of these new ones I did.

JA: Do you feel this new album is more honest?
DR: I feel it is pretty honest. You hear a song and it puts you in a certain mood, you know? I'm proud of the music and the work we did. I feel it is better than before.

JA: What was it like to go platinum?
DR: Like it was before we went platinum. It's a cool thing to attach to your name like 'Yeah, we went platinum,' and I gave a plaque to my parents for Christmas one year. It was cool, but more of a personal thing. But I would take an insane fan base over a platinum record any day.

JA: Okay, if your house was on fire, what CD would you save and why?
DR: Haha! I would have to say either "Faith No More"(self-titled) or "Angel Dust"(also by Faith No More). Faith is my favorite CD, my favorite band of all time. They are amazing. That, and I would have to save the dying fish video. And Mike Pattern.

JA: If you don't mind my asking, what nationality are you?
DR: My mom is Japanese and my dad is Scottish. They went to high school together.

JA: What do you guys like to do during off-time?
DR: Drunk bowling.

JA: Drunk bowling? How did you guys start that?
DR: Well it all happened during the time Dan hit his head when he fell off his mini-bike in southern California and ended up with a concussion and stayed in the hospital for a few days with a fractured skull and a drained blood clot. We needed to kill time somehow, so we all got drunk and went bowling. One of the reps from Texas taught me how to spin the ball and that night, my bowling average was 170 and 189.

JA: That is so great!
DR: Yeah, so now we go out on our off-days, Markku, Chris and the crew all drink, but I don't because they all place bets. They can't play for shit when they are drunk, and I have been cleaning up from them lately because I'm getting better. I think if music dies for me in a few years, I'm going to go professional after I break an average of 240.

JA: Sounds like you guys have a lot of fun.
DR: We have a blast.

JA: Well, thanks for talking with us, and good luck with the tour. Any chance you guys are hitting Boston any time soon?
DR: We will actually be there right after Thanksgiving. We are in Amherst right now.

JA: Very cool. Well, thanks again! And good talking to you!
DR: No problem, thanks for having me! Peace out.