Hoobastank's Robb living his teenage dream

updated 12:03 p.m. ET June 1, 2004

When Doug Robb reminisces about the first concert he ever attended, he recalls how it all “seemed bigger than life.”

Robb, lead singer for the rock act Hoobastank, was just a teenager when he went to see Van Halen with opening act Poison. He remembers every detail vividly.

“I remember seeing David Lee Roth fly across the arena on his surfboard, and me going, 'That’s the guy on my posters on my wall!”’ he told The Associated Press.

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Now, with two albums and several radio hits under his belt, Robb finally understands how Roth must have felt.

“It’s weird to think that somebody out there might be thinking the same things when they see me walk on stage,” he said.

The Los Angeles-based band is headlining a summer tour that kicks off in July. Hoobastank will concentrate heavily on material from their most recent album, the platinum-selling “The Reason,” including the title track, which has become a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

But Robb is also counting on incorporating the band’s older material into the set, namely his favorite song, “Disappear,” from their eponymous album. The singer hopes the song will help work fans into a frenzy.

“I love to interact with the crowd,” Robb said. “What the audience fails to realize is how important they are to having a good show. If the crowd and we are really clicking and connecting, it goes to a whole new level.”

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