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While the heavy alternative sounds of Tool and Alice in Chains were primary influences on Hoobastank's sound, the post-grunge quartet tempered the gloomier elements of such music with a suburban California groove and an eye for accessibility. Formed in the Los Angeles suburb of Agoura Hills in early 1994, the band's earliest members were vocalist Doug Robb and guitarist Dan Estrin, who met each other at a high-school battle of the bands competition. The two chose to join forces, adding bassist Markku Lappalainen and drummer Chris Hesse to form a competent quartet. The self-released, clumsily titled They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To 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. Island Records took notice and put Hoobastank on the label's payroll in August 2000, and tours with the likeminded Incubus (to whom the band would be frequently, although not unreasonably, linked) and...