Hoobastank’s Dan Estrin Plays His Favorite Riffs

Our latest episode of Gear Factor features Hoobastank guitarist Dan Estrin, who was gracious enough to share some of the riffs that impacted his career and show off some of the band’s more famous songs with stories of how they came about.

At the top of the episode, we learn the song that initially catapulted young Dan’s passion for guitar music. While admitting it probably wasn’t the first song he ever learned to play, Estrin recalls in detail that moment that Guns N’ Roses’ “Welcome to the Jungle” first came into his life.

“The intro part with the delay is really cool but it was really after that (mimics guitar noises), just the groove of the whole thing,” shares Estrin of what initially drew him in.

The guitarist says he doesn’t recall the first riff he wrote for the band, as the earliest stages of their career pulled from a lot of different sounds and styles before they settled into what fans know today.

He does however provide viewers with a little bit of background and demonstration of how to play two of their earliest hits, “Crawling in the Dark” and “Same Direction.”

Hoobastank Guitarist Finds His ‘Reason’

Estrin also takes us back to the beginnings of the band’s biggest hit, “The Reason,” sharing how the familiar guitar line for the 2000s earworm of a song came to be.

The guitarist confesses, “We had no idea that it was going to do what it did and become what it has become.” But he took an initial fondness to the riff because it recalled the experiences of his youth, where most of the heavy bands he listened to had at least one softer song on the record.

“Metallica had heavy shit, but also would have ‘Fade to Black’ which is one of my favorite songs. And there was something about that song, the chord structure and the way they’re playing it, that made my stomach feel like butterflies,” says Estrin. “So I always gravitated towards songs like that.”

READ MORE: The Huge Star Hoobastank Turned Down for a Guest Spot on Their Album

At present, Hoobastank are in the home stretch of their 2025 touring. The band return with shows in August that will carry over into October. Be sure to check out all the tour dates and get ticketing information through the Hoobastank website.

Hoobastank’s Dan Estrin Plays His Favorite Riffs