Train (band)

Train

Train is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan (lead vocalist), Jimmy Stafford (guitar), and Scott Underwood (drummer).

Train achieved mainstream success with their debut album, Train, which was released in 1998. Their second album, Drops of Jupiter (2001) brought the band massive popularity. The lead single from the album, "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)", was an international hit and won two Grammy Awards in 2002. The album was certified double platinum in the United States and Canada and remains the band's best-selling album to date.

Their third studio album, My Private Nation, released in 2003, continued the band's success, and was certified platinum in the United States. The band released their fourth album, For Me, It's You in 2006. Despite a generally positive reception from critics, the album was commercially unsuccessful. Train then went on a three-year hiatus.

Train re-united and released their latest album, Save Me San Francisco in 2009. The first single from the album, "Hey, Soul Sister" became the band's most successful single in their career, charting in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching the top ten in several other countries.

History

Formation and early years

Following the dissolution of his Led Zeppelin cover band, singer Pat Monahan left his hometown of Erie, PA, in late 1993. He resettled in California and crossed paths with Rob Hotchkiss, who performed in coffee houses and local clubs. Monahan did lead vocals, and Hotchkiss was backing vocals and guitar. Hotchkiss had been the lead singer for LA based "Apostles." After deciding to form a full band, the duo recruited Jimmy Stafford, known for looking exactly like Howie Mandel, on guitar/ukulele, Charlie Colin on bass and, at a later date, Scott Underwood as drummer, thus solidifying Train's lineup in 1994. Train attempted to get signed under Columbia Records in 1996, but were rejected. After being rejected, the band decided to release its first self-titled CD independently. By 1997, they were touring nationally, opening concerts for bands such as Barenaked Ladies, Hootie & the Blowfish, Cracker and Counting Crows.

Train

The album was released on February 24, 1998, with a different track listing than its independent counterpart. It was self-produced for $25,000, and three singles from the album were released. The first single released, "Free", was largely a hit on rock stations. The second single, "Meet Virginia" was a top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #15, and the third single was "I Am". The album brought the band national fame, and was certified platinum by the RIAA. Following the success of their debut album, the band began working on their sophomore album.

Drops of Jupiter

Drops of Jupiter, the band's second album, was produced by Brendan O' Brien who had previously worked for artists such as Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. Before the release of their second album, the band released the single "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)". The song was a massive hit; it entered the Hot 100 on March 10, 2001, and spent over a year on the chart (53 weeks) before being relegated to the recurrents chart. The song won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement.

The album Drops of Jupiter was released on March 27, 2001, and became Train's first multi-platinum album, with the success of the lead single. The album was Train's first top 10 album, peaking at number 6 on the Billboard 200. The album was also a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number 8. "She's on Fire", the second single from Drops of Jupiter was a modest success and was featured in the 2001 comedy The Animal. The album was eventually certified double platinum in the United States and in Canada. It was also certified gold in Australia.

The meaning behind Drops of Jupiter: Lead singer Patrick Monahan's mother died in 1998, unable to get over her loss and out of a rut that prevented his music from touching the soul, he woke up one morning and started writing. Drops of Jupiter is dedicated to his mother. Patrick finally started his healing process that day in 2001 when it won a Grammy.

During the Drops of Jupiter tour, the band released a live DVD of a sold out concert in the band's hometown of San Francisco at The Warfield. The DVD was titled "Midnight Moon" and featured Train's hits from the first two albums among others. The concert was recorded on May 21, 2001.

In 2002, founder Rob Hotchkiss left the band to pursue a solo career, after having contributed to 6 of the 11 songs on the upcoming album My Private Nation. Train was chosen to do a cover of Aerosmith's classic rock song "Dream On" on an episode of the MTV show, Icon that was dedicated to Aerosmith.

My Private Nation

The band's third album, My Private Nation, was released in June 2003 with "Calling All Angels" as the lead single. "Calling All Angels" became Train's third top 20 hit, and was a major hit on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. The song also featured as a CODA in the first series of the hit CW show One Tree Hill. The album's second single, "When I Look to the Sky", also did well on the Hot 100. The song was also used for the trailer of the 2004 movie "Jersey Girl". Bassist Charlie Colin left Train in October 2003. In 2004, their non-album song "Ordinary" was featured in the movie "Spider-Man 2". In 2007, it was featured again, this time in the NBC series Heroes. The music video for "Ordinary" was in rotation on MTV, but the song only charted on the Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. In July 2005, after the song was featured in an advertising campaign for Cingular, the band released "Get to Me" as the final single from My Private Nation. "Get to Me" reached #9 on the Billboard Adult Top 40. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, but was not as successful as its predecessor.

The band released their first live album, Alive at Last, in 2004, later winning a Radio Music Award for best artist.

For Me, It's You

Train began recording their fourth studio album, For Me, It's You in Atlanta during the summer of 2005. They released the album's lead single, "Cab" on November 14, 2005. The song peaked at #9 on the Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. The album was released on January 31, 2006 and peaked at #10 on the Billboard 200 chart. However, it failed commercially, becoming the first album of the band's career to fail to receive an RIAA certification. The album was the band's only album to include members Johnny Colt on bass and Brandon Bush playing keyboard.

Hiatus (2006–09)

Starting in November 2006, the band took a three-year hiatus from recording and touring to be with friends and family.

Pat Monahan released his debut solo album Last of Seven on September 18, 2007. The first single, "Her Eyes" reached #9 on the Hot Ac charts, with a second single "Two Ways to Say Goodbye" reaching #21 on Hot Ac. Both the singles and the album garnered generally favorable reviews.

Save Me San Francisco

On August 11, 2009, Train released its first single in more than three years. The song "Hey, Soul Sister", from their fifth studio album, Save Me San Francisco, was released on October 27, 2009. The single was a major success, becoming their second-career top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in its sixteenth week on the chart, after surging from #23 to #7 during the week of January 30, 2010, largely because of an 81% increase in digital sales from the previous week. Like their earlier hit Get to Me, this song gained further popularity when it was used as the commercial soundtrack to launch Samsung's 3D television during the Oscars. It is now their highest-charting single since "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)". The album itself peaked at #17 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Train is currently touring as their second single, "If It's Love" is on the rise. Pat Monahan has revealed to Billboard.com, "I feel incredible -- not just motivated but like I've found this special place in myself as a writer. I also feel like this means that people want to hear more Train music, and that gets me excited. I want to do that. I want to create something cool."

Discography

Main articles: Train discography and List of Train (band) songs

• Train (1998)
• Drops of Jupiter (2001)
• My Private Nation (2003)
• For Me, It's You (2006)
• Save Me, San Francisco (2009)

Band members

Current band members

• Patrick Monahan - vocals, harmonica
• Jimmy Stafford - lead guitar, vocals
• Scott Underwood - drums, percussion

Former band members

• Rob Hotchkiss - guitar, vocals, keyboards
• Charlie Colin - bass guitar, vocals
• Johnny Colt - bass guitar
• Brandon Bush - keyboards

See also

• List of bands from the San Francisco Bay Area

External links

• Official website