Train

Wikipedia:

Train is an American pop band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1994. The band currently comprises a core trio of Patrick Monahan (vocals), Jimmy Stafford (guitar, vocals) and Scott Underwood (drums, percussion).

Train, with a line-up that included original members Rob Hotchkiss and Charlie Colin, as well as Monahan, Stafford, and Underwood, achieved mainstream success with their debut album, Train, which was released in 1998 with the hit "Meet Virginia". 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 with the hit "Calling All Angels". Following the departures of Hotchkiss and Colin, the band released their fourth album, For Me, It's You in 2006, with Johnny Colt on bass and Brandon Bush on keys. Despite a generally positive reception from critics, the album was commercially unsuccessful. Train then went on a three-year hiatus.

Returning in late 2009 with the album Save Me, San Francisco, from which album three singles— the RIAA 5x Platinum certified international hit "Hey, Soul Sister", "If It's Love" and "Marry Me"— reached high positions on the Billboard Hot 100 at number three, 34, and 34 respectively. The album itself has been certified Gold by both the RIAA and ARIA and is currently closing in on Platinum status having sold 954,000 units. Since 2008, Hector Maldonado (bass, guitar, vocals, percussion) and Jerry Becker (keyboards, guitar) have been touring and recording with the group around the world. Cello player Ana Lenchantin joined the band for a few months during the last leg of the Save Me, San Francisco tour from June through October 2011.

History

Formation and early years

Following the dissolution of his Led Zeppelin cover band, singer Patrick Monahan left his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania in late 1993. He resettled in California and crossed paths with Rob Hotchkiss, who performed in coffee houses and local clubs. The two shared lead vocals, with Hotchkiss on guitar and harmonica, and Monahan playing percussion, including a modified conga attached to a kick-drum pedal. Hotchkiss had been the lead singer for LA based Apostles. After deciding to form a full band, the duo recruited Jimmy Stafford on guitar, Charlie Colin on bass, and Scott Underwood on drums, thus solidifying Train's lineup in 1994. Train attempted to get signed under Columbia Records in 1996, but were rejected. Subsequently, 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 (1998-2000)

Train is the band's self titled debut album. The album was released on February 24, 1998, with a different track listing from 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 number 20, 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 second album.

Drops of Jupiter (2001-2004)

Drops of Jupiter, the band's second album, was produced by Brendan O' Brien who has also worked with artists such as Pearl Jam, King's X, Bob Dylan, KoЯn, Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band 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 (54 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, which was written by Paul Buckmaster, noted for his string arrangements for Elton John. (The band reportedly hired Buckmaster expressly to create a sound similar to his arrangement for John's "Burn Down The Mission".)

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 ten album, peaking at number six on the Billboard 200. The album was also a top ten hit in the United Kingdom, where it peaked at number eight. "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.

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 26, 2001.

In 2002, 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. The following year, Rob Hotchkiss left the band to pursue a solo career, after having contributed to six of the 11 songs on the (at the time) upcoming album My Private Nation. Rob's album, Midnight Ghost, was released in 2004.

On May 1, 2012, "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)" was released as DLC for the video game Rock Band 3.

My Private Nation (2003-2005)

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. "Calling All Angels" has been certified RIAA Gold. 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 number nine on the Billboard Adult Top 40. Paul Buckmaster returned on "My Private Nation" with string arrangements for the tracks "Lincoln Avenue" and "Your Every Color". The album was certified platinum by the RIAA.

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 (2005-2006)

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 number nine on the Adult Top 40 Tracks chart. The album was released on January 31, 2006 and peaked at number ten 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 (2006–2009)

Starting in November 2006, the band took a three-year hiatus from recording and touring to be with friends and family. The band's lead singer and songwriter Pat Monahan released a solo album, Last of Seven, on September 18, 2007. The album peaked at number 82 on the Billboard 200 chart. Two hit singles off of the album "Her Eyes" and "Two Ways to Say Goodbye" charted at number 9 and number 21 on the Adult Top 40 with "Her Eyes" charting at number 10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles as well. Pat Monahan also wrote "The Truth" for American Idol winner Kris Allen. "The Truth" charted at number 17 on the Adult Top 40.

Save Me, San Francisco (2009-2011)

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 16th week on the chart, after surging from number 23 to number seven 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)". "Hey Soul Sister" is now the most played song in Australian radio history, the most downloaded iTunes song of 2010, the best selling single in Columbia Records history, and has been certified RIAA quintuple platinum. The album itself peaked at number 17 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Train's second single from the album, "If It's Love", peaked at number 34, making it their most successful secondary single from any record. "If It's Love has been RIAA certified gold. 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."

Train released the third single from the record, "Marry Me", on October 25. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 95, the first time Train has had three consecutive singles on this chart. The song peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Marry Me" was featured on One Tree Hill on February 1, 2011. "Marry Me" has been certified RIAA Gold. Train released a Christmas single called "Shake Up Christmas". It was featured in commercials internationally as part of Coca Cola's Christmas commercial series in 2010. The single charted at number 12 on the "Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks". The single also charted at #99 on Billboard's Hot 100.

Train's single "Save Me, San Francisco" peaked at number 75 on the Billboard Hot 100, at 22 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and 7 on the Adult Pop Songs chart.

Train performed alongside Shakira in Bogota on March 12, as at part of the South American leg tour of Shakira's The Sun Comes Out World Tour.

On April 1, 2012 Pat Monahan performed a Martina McBride cover of "Marry Me" with Martina McBride at the ACM Awards.

California 37 (2011–present)

Train has currently completed their sixth studio album entitled California 37. Train has been performing the song "Drive By", which is the first single release from the new album, during their 2011 Summer Tour. The country oriented song entitled "Bruises" is set to appear as well with Pat stating "it could be a really big career song for Train." The album is currently available for purchase on iTunes which includes the bonus track "to be loved" with a complete album download.

The first single from the album entitled "Drive By" is currently #11 on the Billboard Hot 100 (current peak), #11 on iTunes (peak of #7), #15 CHR/POP (current peak), #12 AC (current peak), #4 Hot AC ( peak of # 2 ), and #17 AAA. The single has already been certified RIAA Platinum.

Train performed during the halftime show of the 2012 Discover Orange Bowl in Miami.

Train performed the song "Drive By" on David Letterman.t

On March 27, Train performed their current single "Drive By" and 3 other songs, including a Van Halen cover, on The Howard Stern Show.

On February 26, 2012 Pat Monahan performed the National Anthem at the Daytona 500. On April 18, 2012, California 37 hit #1 on iTunes, the day after being released. On May 22, 2012 Train performed songs acoustically during the Opie and Anthony show on Sirius XM.

On May 22, 2012, Train performed at Springle Ball 2012, hosted by Q102 as one of their 'hit' artists of the night along with Enrique Inglesias and Adam Lambert. Following this performance, they are having a summer tour throughout the east coast.