Chronicle Online 3/29: They rock; now Train is starting to roll

They rock; now Train is starting to roll

By Lawrence Benedetto
Vitality Editor

It seems like every time you turn around these days, the “Next Big Thing” is on the radio or on MTV. Usually, though, the next big thing turns out to be nothing more than fodder for used-CD stores. However, there are exceptions, and Train is the exception of 1999.

Train, the San Francisco-based band, is on track for major success, and they deserve it. The band is hard to categorize. Although there may be a touch of Counting Crows mixed in with a bit of an acoustic Led Zeppelin feel, Train has a guitar-driven sound all its own.

This is probably due to a wide range of influences coming from the five members of the band. Guitarist Jimmy Stafford spoke about their variety in tastes. “We all listen to so many different styles of music and I think that’s really what’s cool about the band,” Stafford said. “It makes it all like a melting pot. By the time we all put our influences together into writing a song, it comes out completely Train in the end.”

The members of Train were brought together in San Francisco. Guitarist Rob Hotchkiss was the first to move there and lead singer Pat Monahan followed in July of 1994. Stafford, who played with Hotchkiss in a Los Angeles band, headed there in September of ’94. Bassist Charlie Colin and drummer Scott Underwood completed the band in January of 1995. “The night that Scott and Charlie moved there, we started rehearsing as a band in my little apartment, rehearsing acoustically,” Stafford said. “Like a week later, we played our first gig at a small bar.”

It has been much of the same ever since. Train sharpened their skills by playing throughout northern California until it was time to make an album. Train produced their self-titled debut album and released it on local independent label Aware Records last February.

The album showcases the band’s strongest attributes, from Monahan’s unwavering voice, which gave him the opportunity to sing the national anthem in front of a Monday Night Football crowd in Denver last September, to the powerful collection of sound brought together by the musicians. It features truthful songwriting that is best heard on “Free” and “I Am.” The first single “Meet Virginia” takes listeners on a journey that was inspired by several people who have crossed Monahan’s path.

“Meet Virginia” continues to receive more airplay across the country and has garnered the band some recognition back home in San Francisco as well. In the March 4 issue of “Rolling Stone,” the song was listed at No. 16 in the Mainstream Rock category. Meanwhile, the band recently won a Bammie award, which is California’s version of the Grammy. Train won in the best Americana/Roots Artist category.

The popularity of the song made Columbia Records decide to take control of the album’s distribution and begin a huge national push to promote the band. A high-budget video is in the works, and it’s expected to be out by summertime. The song “Free” was recently featured on Fox’s “Party of Five,” and the band is hoping for an opening slot on Tom Petty’s upcoming summer tour. Columbia Records’ involvement also includes a lot of marketing dollars, which will help push Train to the forefront of the national spotlight.

“Basically, we’ve been told that they are going to full-on go for it and try to break this song and this band,” Stafford said.

So Train continues to do what they do best, which is play live in front of increasingly larger audiences. The band’s endless touring back and forth across the country, which has been virtually non-stop for the past year and a half, gives them more and more confidence. Each time they come around on tour, the band gets better as a unit. Their sound is fuller, their melodies are tighter and they just sound more comfortable together.

Stafford, who hails from downstate Morris, Ill., has grown so accustomed to the road, that he feels a bit odd when he does go home. “I’m so used to being on the road,” he said, “that being home now has become the uncomfortable part of my life.”

When he does make it home, however, a very gracious family greets him. His parents make it to every Chicago show, and they usually bring some other relatives and friends along for the trip. His mother also puts out her own newsletter, which updates fans on her son’s band and its travels across the country.

Stafford’s parents have always supported his life. “Ever since day one,” Train’s guitarist said. “They’ve just always been there so much that it made such a huge difference. Whatever I wanted to do, they were there for me. They never held me back.”

This positive upbringing gives Train another quality that may just be their brightest. It’s their personal approach with the fans. After every show, the band takes time out to speak with the members of the audience. It’s a characteristic that makes Train that much easier to enjoy.

Train returns to Chicago this Friday night, when they will headline a concert at the Metro (3730 N. Clark). Tickets are only $12.50 ($15 at the door), and can be purchased at the Metro box office or through Ticketmaster. Expect a strong set that should feature most of their debut album, as well as some currently unreleased tracks like “Flatfoot” and “The Gas.” You may also hear a few covers mixed in to the show.

One of the crowd favorites at any Train performance is their rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Ramble On,” when Monahan’s voice transforms him into a perfect match for Robert Plant. If you didn’t happen to be watching the stage during this song, you may be fooled into thinking that it actually is Plant up there pouring his heart into the lyrics.

Train has all of the qualities that can make anybody a believer and if things keep moving at this pace, nothing is going to stop them.

“I’ve always believed that a good band with good songs, if they could perform their songs well live, would be successful because people all over the world love music,” Stafford explained. “Music is the universal thing that everybody can grasp.”

I asked the guys from Train some interesting questions, and I got some interesting answers. Here’s what they had to say:

Why Train?
Jimmy Stafford: You know it’s funny. Everybody asks us that. And we really don’t have a good answer.

You’ve got to make something up.
JS: Well, it’s basically, we wanted a strong name — something kind of powerful. Actually, we didn’t really like it at first, but we decided to go with it for awhile to see if we could grow into it. And we did. After like a year, when we started developing a following we were saying “How could we be anything but Train?”

How does the songwriting process work for you?
Pat Monahan: I have no idea and I hope I never know.

In a year, where do you see yourselves?
JS: I see “Meet Virginia” being a hit single, I hope. [The record company executives] think it’s going to be. So I think that in a year from now, we’ll have two or three singles off the record hopefully and be touring the country, playing large venues opening for big bands like the Tom Pettys of the world and also doing our own headlining large club tour. Because hopefully by then, (smiles) we’ll be all over the airwaves, TV and radio, and we’ll be able to sell out those size rooms and just be a working, functional, self-sufficient band. That is our goal. To turn people on to our music and meet new fans.

Is there one song that you are just sick of playing?
JS: No. Not me personally. You’d think that we would get tired of playing “Meet Virginia” every night or “Free” because those are the two singles. But I look forward to them every night because you know that everybody in the audience is going to light up as soon as they recognize the first few notes of the song. As long as the people like the music, I will play it.

What is your favorite city?
JS: Chicago is our home away from home.

What’s the most interesting sight you’ve seen while driving across the U.S.?
PM: The living vacuum cleaners all around the country: the cows. They just sit there kind of next to the earth.

Do you guys have a “worst tour experience”?
JS: There was an all-time low. We were driving through Kansas in the wintertime, and we had to stop because they were closing the freeway because it was too icy. So we stopped in a place called Russell, Kansas, home of Bob Dole, and all the nice hotels were filled. We ended up staying in this dumpy hotel and when we opened up our room, there was a snowdrift inside of the room – over the top of the heater. The heater was on and the snow just covered it. We had a snowball fight in the room, but it was so freezing.

Pat, where do you buy all of your onstage clothes?
PM: I have my pants made in L.A. by the girl who does No Doubt’s clothes and Marilyn Manson’s clothes. Her name is Debbie and she makes my pants. And my shirts, when I run into something I dig, I get it.

What annoys you about society?
PM: People who, while being ridiculous, will diss their neighbor for how ridiculous they are.

Explain.
PM: I met some people in Washington, D.C. that were backstage with us, hanging out with the band, telling us how disgusting groupies were. (laughs)

If you were going to a costume party as the Spice Girls (there’s five guys in Train and there were five Spice Girls), who would be who?
Scott Underwood: I’d be the Spice Girl who quit.
JS: I think we all would.

(The song “I Am” lists a number of things that Monahan has never done. I was wondering if the song still held true.) Have you had time to read about Uncle Tom?
PM: No. I actually hope to make that song irrelevant.

So you’re just checking things off?
PM: That’s right. I’ve never been on a train. I’ve never seen a rodeo. I’ve never crashed in the desert. I’ve never done a lot of those things. So it still holds true for the most part.

What is your favorite ice cream?
PM: I would say mint chocolate chip.
JS: It’s gotta be one of the many Ben & Jerry’s flavors: Phish Food. I love Ben & Jerry’s Phish Food.

Favorite food?
PM: Sushi.
JS: Sushi.

Have you read a good book lately?
JS: I can’t read on the road because I get van-sick.
PM: I did just buy “The Little Prince.” I was told that I should buy it.

I read that in school. It’s hard to read in French when you’re in 8th grade.
PM: Yeah, it’s hard to read in French when you’re 210.

Finally, where can I “Meet Virginia”?
PM: I wish I knew. If you find out, let me know. She’s the ultimate personality, I think.