"Southern California is OK, but Hawai'i is amazing," Hoobastank drummer Chris Hesse said. "Being an avid surfer, I live to surf without a wetsuit."

It's been two years since Hoobastank has been to Hawai'i, but Hesse will be able to practice his surfing in the Islands this week, when the band launches its 14-date tour here in promotion of its new album, "Fornever," due out Jan. 27.

He'll also have a chance to visit his aunt in Hilo for the first time. "I'm a bad nephew," Hesse joked. "I can finally visit her place this time around."

Their tour begins at Maui's Hard Rock Cafe on Saturday, moves to Kona's RockStarz Nightclub on Sunday and ends in Honolulu at Pipeline Cafe on Wednesday.

The first single, "My Turn," off the trio's upcoming album, hit the airwaves mid-October. Hesse said the sound on "Fornever" returns to the angst that was part of their debut effort.

"This album sounds more like our first. Our past two albums were kind of soft," Hesse said. "We definitely took some time off. We had been touring for the past seven years, so I think we got kind of anxious."

Hoobastank has been enjoying success since its self-titled debut album from 2001. Its third effort, released in 2006, "Every Man For Himself," sold nearly 200,000 copies.

The band's sophomore album, released in 2003, sold more than 2 million copies. It has been their most successful album because of the title track, "The Reason," which became an international hit and reached No. 1 on the charts.

Before Hoobastank was selling double-platinum albums, it was trying to find its place in the music industry. Hesse said Incubus helped immensely.

"We hung out with those guys before either of us got a record deal. They helped us a lot after they got a record deal and took us on the road with them for about a year and half," Hesse said. Soon after, Hoobastank scored a deal with Island Records.

Hesse said his fascination with motorcycles began while on tour in Europe with Incubus. "All of us rented scooters in Barcelona and had so much fun that we got our motorcycle licenses when we returned to L.A."

When he isn't playing drums, he's riding his Suzuki SVS 650. "I actually rode my bike to the studio today. That's how I was spending a lot of free time this past year."

But the music comes first. He started playing piano at 4 years old, moving on to drums during his teen years because it was "much more fun."

His family influenced him musically. His father is a musician. His Hilo aunt even played a part: Instead of throwing out an old cassette tape by Rush, she gave it to her nephew when he was young.

Rush's drummer, Neil Peart, went on to become one of Hesse's biggest drumming influences, Hesse said.

Hesse grew up wanting to be a musician. "I always dreamed of playing on stage, so here I am living it," Hesse said.

Playing on Hawai'i stages isn't the only thing Hesse is excited about. There's another thing he'd like to do while he's in the Islands.

"This might sound silly, but I really enjoy Ka'anapali on Maui. It's just really calm and I enjoy the snorkeling," Hesse said.

Mark Hayden is a freelance writer who lives in Honolulu.