More than just 'The Reason'

You have toured India earlier. How was the experience then, and what do you expect this time?
We’ve played in India only once before, and that was earlier this year in June. It was a festival in Shillong. It was quite an adventure getting there and the show itself had a couple of technical issues, but despite the rain, there were 15,000 people and it was a lot of fun. I’m not sure what to expect this time really. I just want everyone at the show to have a great time; cut loose and enjoy the music and energy.

How different is the set going to be this time?
The set this time won’t differ too much from the last time we played in India. We’ve been playing a similar set all summer in the States and it has felt pretty good, so we’re going to stick with it. The audience can expect a good combination of singles and album tracks that we, the band, really enjoy playing. That set has an ebb and flow. At points it’s high energy and at points it mellows out for a few songs.

For a layperson, it would just seem like you guys are coming back so long after The Reason in 2004. Why has the band stayed so low-key all this while?
We have been very busy since The Reason was released. We toured for that album for almost two years. Then, we released two more full length albums under Island Def Jam — Every Man For Himself and For(n)ever and toured the world extensively for those. Then we released Fight or Flight, our fifth album, under a new label Open E Entertainment, and now, we’re busy touring for that.

You released Flight or Fight in 2012. How different was it writing songs for this album from the previous ones? Were there newer inspirations?
Fight or Flight was the first album we have written as a four-piece band together since The Reason. The two albums in between were written as a three-piece and recorded with a studio session bass player. Now that Jesse Charland has been in the band for four years, it was refreshing to be able to write again all together. I think the songs are more “complete” this way. Inspiration comes from all over. Anytime. Anywhere. It’s unpredictable. The birth of my first child was a big inspiration emotionally, and it reflects in a lot of songs.

You started almost 20 years ago. Over this period of time, what has changed?
Well, we have probably changed as people over the last 20 years as much as anyone would. 20 years is a long time and people grow. We still, at our core, are the same kids that started back in 1994 just playing music for fun. We’re just twice as old now. I think we’ve all become so much better at what we do individually over the last 20 years. How could you not, really?

The Reason has undoubtedly set a certain benchmark for everything that comes out from the Hoobastank stable. Do you feel the pressure to deliver such a hit every single time? Also, is there any song from your latest album that you think can, very likely, beat the popularity of The Reason?
You always want all of your songs to be hits, but that’s never the case unless you’re Katy Perry, I guess. We have felt pressure to write similar songs but have always felt it to be really impossible. We didn’t try to write a hit when we wrote The Reason. It just happened, and there were also a lot of other factors beyond our control that contributed to its success. The best we can do now is to write songs we love and hopefully everyone else will love them too. I’m not sure if there’s a song in Fight or Flight that could be as big as The Reason. But one of our favourite songs from the album is Slow Down.

When you hear The Reason continuing to be played everywhere even today, how does it feel?
Never in a million years did I think it was going to be a huge hit. No one did really. It was just like catching lightning in a bottle. When I hear it today, it makes me think about how much this song has changed my life. It’s pretty amazing.

Finally, do you think rock music still stands as a sign of rebellion today,  like it did when you started twenty years ago?
I think in some forms, yes, it still does. Music trends always change and are very cyclical. Rock, to me though, never goes ‘too’ out of style. Sometimes it is at the forefront and sometimes, like now, it isn’t the most popular style of music. But it will come back again; it always does. Like I said, it’s cyclical.

Catch Hoobastank perform live at the Kingfisher The Great Indian Octoberfest – 2013 at Jayamahal Palace, Nandidurga Road, on October 19. For tickets, log on to www.bookmyshow.com

Also look forward to...
Day 1: Arijit Singh, Core 304, All The Fat Children, Point of View, Inner Sanctum, Exist Immortal, Answer and Rohan Kapoor.

Day 2: Hoobastank, Slapdash Tavern, Skrat, One Nite Stand, Indus Creed, Beat Gurus, AabhaHanjura, Shankar Tucker, Avial, Ajit Pai, Inferno and Adit.

Day 3: Mika Singh, Raghu Dixit Project, Lagori, Broda V — Machas With Attitude, LatetiaZonzambe, Clown With a Frown, Girish Pradhan, Jasmeet, Jochen Miller, Twokid Wickid.