Train (music group)

Music group

Scott Underwood

• Born: January 2, 1971

Pat Monahan

• Born: February 28, 1969
• Place of Birth: Erie, Pennsylvania

Jimmy Stafford

• Born: April 26, 1964
• Place of Birth: Morris, Illinois

Taylor Locke

• Guitarist and vocalist

• Pat Monahan
• Vocalist

Jerry Becker

• Keyboards and rhythm guitar

Hector Malonado

• Bass

Matt Musty

• Drummer

Contribution: Train is an American popular-music band best known for its album Drops of Jupiter, nominated in 2002 for five Grammy Awards, including record of the year; the title song won two Grammy Awards, including best rock song.

Background

Pat Monahan, the lead singer of Train, grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, with a passion for music. He played the drums and sang covers of Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, and other popular rock musicians and bands in the local bars. In 1993, after briefly attending nearby Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, he moved to San Francisco, California to further his music career. It was there that he met singer and guitarist Rob Hotchkiss, whose rock group, the Apostles, had recently disbanded. They played for a while as a duo before forming Train with former Apostles guitarist Jimmy Stafford and bassist Charlie Colin as well as drummer Scott Underwood, Colin’s friend.

Over the following few years, the band built a following in the Bay Area. As the band continued to draw audiences, Train began touring, opening for the Barenaked Ladies and other major bands. In 1998, Aware Records, a label known for endorsing new bands, and that was working in collaboration with Columbia Records at the time, released Train’s first CD, the self-titled Train, and promoted two singles, “Meet Virginia” and “Free.” The songs were well-received on rock radio stations throughout the country, and “Meet Virginia” went on to become Train’s first Billboard hit, while the album reached platinum status. A third song, “I Am,” also fared well.

Career

The success of Train’s first album led to a contract with Columbia Records. In March 2001, they released Drops of Jupiter, the album that became their signature recording. It reached platinum status within just a few months, while the title song, “Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me),” peaked at number five on Billboard’s Top 40 list. It remained in the Top 40 for months before claiming the 2002 Grammy Awards for best rock song and best instrumental arrangement accompanying vocalist(s). Other Grammy nominations included song of the year, while the album, which eventually sold more than two million copies, was nominated for record of the year. The lyrics to “Drops of Jupiter” came to Monahan in a dream after his mother died of cancer, and the song was a way to memorialize her while also coming to grips with his own grief.

Train’s third album, My Private Nation, was released in 2003 and featured four singles, including “Calling All Angels.” While the album was well received by fans and became another platinum success, it received mixed reviews from rock critics and represented the beginning of a big change for the band. Hotchkiss left soon after and was replaced with Brandon Bush. Bush played on the 2004 live album, Alive at Last, recorded at Workplay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama. Although the CD and tour satisfied fans, the band’s popularity had peaked and their songwriting ability was stagnating.

In 2005, bassist Colin left the band and was replaced with Johnny Colt, formerly of the Black Crowes. Sales of Train’s 2006 release, For Me, It’s You, paled in comparison with previous releases. The band took a three-year break, during which time Monahan released a solo album that also received little fanfare.

In 2009, Train regrouped as a trio consisting of Monahan, Stafford, and Underwood. The next album, Save Me, San Francisco. provided an unpredictably robust comeback, and the hit single, “Hey, Soul Sister,” written in collaboration with Norwegian singers Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund, ended up setting a record number of sales for Columbia, became the most popular download of 2010 at iTunes, and generated more than six million total downloads from the Internet. The certified-gold hit also won the 2010 Grammy Award for best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals and the 2011 Billboard Award for Top Rock Song. Other hit singles from Save Me, San Francisco included “If It’s Love” and “Marry Me.” The success of the album propelled the group to being named the Billboard Award for Top Rock Artist in 2011.

The success of “Hey, Soul Sister” resulted in another collaboration with Lind and Bjørklund on “Drive By,” the hit single from Train’s sixth studio album, California 37 (2012). Monahan thrilled audiences when he appeared on stage during Taylor Swift’s 2013 tour and the two sang the song together. In 2013, Train was nominated for favorite band at the People’s Choice Awards.

In the years that followed, Train continued to enjoy moderate popularity. Bulletproof Picasso (2014) peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 chart, while the band's compilation of Zeppelin covers, Does Led Zeppelin II (2016), ranked tenth on the Top Rock Albums chart. Their 2016 single "Play That Song," off a girl a bottle a boat (2017), soon went platinum and the album itself broke the top ten on the Billboard 200.

In 2017 Stafford left the band, but Train continued to tour and produce new music. The group released several collaborative singles in the late 2010s, such as "Mai Tais" (2019) with Skylar Grey. In 2022, they released the studio album AM Gold.

Impact

The songs written and performed by Train have permeated contemporary culture: They are heard on American Idol, played in baseball stadiums, and featured in movie soundtracks. The band’s success has also resulted in unique business ventures, such as the Save Me, San Francisco Wine Co., with wines named after their hit songs, and a partnership with San Francisco’s Ghirardelli chocolate company to make Save Me, San Francisco chocolate bars. Some proceeds from the sales of these ventures support Family House, Inc. of San Francisco, which helps severely ill children.

Personal Life

Monahan is married to his second wife, Amber Peterson, and they live near Seattle with their two children. He also has two children from his first marriage to Ginean Rapp. Stafford has written a novel. While touring with Train, Underwood enrolled in online classes with Berklee College of Music.

Bibliography

Bozza, Anthony. “Train, the Little Band That Could.” Rolling Stone 28 Mar. 2002: 35–36. Web. 17 July 2013.

“Rock Band Train Makes Tracks in Wine World. Fox News. Fox News Network, 3 May 2012. Web. 2013 Aug. 30.

"Train's Pat Monahan on the Band's Career and the New Single and Live Album." The San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sept. 2024, www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2024/09/04/trains-pat-monahan-on-the-bands-career-and-the-new-single-and-live-album/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2024.

Underwood, Scott. Interview by Rick Long. ”Scott Underwood of Train.” Modern Drummer 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 17 July 2013.

Varga, George. “Train Derailed, Now Back on Track.” Union-Tribune [San Diego]. San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 June 2013. Web. 2013 Aug. 30.

Zemler, Emily. “Train Keeps A-Rollin’.” Billboard 14 Apr. 2012: 22. Web. 17 July 2013.