Hoobastank’s singer Doug Robb says the band wrote their new song for themselves first. The single, “How Do You Sleep?,” marks their first new music in nearly a decade.
Producer Benson Payne told them the song sounded like a modern take on their early‑2000s sound. He said he hadn’t heard that kind of conviction from them in years. Robb agrees the band chased that energy on purpose. “We just said, ‘Can we write stuff we really enjoy?’” he says. He wanted music he’d be excited to listen to, even if no one else heard it.
Now that the song is out, Robb is avoiding reading reactions online. He says he doesn’t want other opinions to change how he feels about the song. “If people love it, fantastic. If they hate it, fantastic,” he says. “But I don’t want it to affect how I feel about what I’ve done.” So far, fans haven’t thrown tomatoes when they play it live, he adds with a laugh.
Hoobastank will play the Vans Warped Tour in Long Beach, California, on Saturday.
