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<\/p>\nVocalist and songwriter Pat Monahan formed Train in San Francisco in 1994. The pop-rock band worked hard to develop its sound and cultivate its Bay Area fan base for a few years, eventually signing with Columbia. That major label then reissued the band\u2019s self-titled debut, originally recorded on a shoestring budget and marketed independently by the band.<\/p>\n
By 1999, the group caught fire with a national audience, and that momentum has sustained through the years. To date, Train has landed more than a dozen of its singles on Billboard<\/i>\u2019s \u201cHot 100\u201d charts, and the group has scored three prestigious Grammy Awards, two Billboard<\/i> Music Awards and an ASCAP Pop Music Award. Train has even broken through to the country music audience: in 2011 the band received a nomination for \u201cPerformance of the Year\u201d at the CMT Music Awards.<\/p>\n
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While Monahan is the sole founding member still with the band today, the current lineup has been remarkably stable: bassist Hector Maldonadao, multi-instrumentalist Jerry Becker and vocalists Nikita Houston and Sakai Smith have all been with the group since 2009. Drummer Matt Musty joined in 2019, and guitarist Taylor Locke came on board nearly two years ago.<\/p>\n
As Monahan explained in a recent conversation a few weeks before the kickoff of a nearly three-month run of dates, Train\u2019s original plans for this year didn\u2019t include a tour at all. But the band\u2019s ardent fan base demanded it. The band\u2019s 11th<\/sup> studio album, AM Gold<\/i> was released in early 2022, and this tour will give the band an opportunity to bring the songs from that well-received album to the stage, along with fan favorites from across the group\u2019s nearly 25-year history.<\/p>\n Train\u2019s music has explored a number of different styles. You explored a country vibe on \u201cAngel in Blue Jeans,\u201d and leaned in an acoustic direction with \u201cMarry Me\u201d and \u201cHey, Soul Sister.\u201d There\u2019s an orchestra backing the band up on \u201cDrops of Jupiter.\u201d You even did an album of Led Zeppelin songs. With AM Gold<\/i>, you\u2019re showcasing another dimension of the band\u2019s character, a modern take on classic pop. Is that eclectic approach a product of your wide influences, musical restlessness, or something else?<\/b><\/p>\n Musical restlessness is probably a pretty good way to put it! I love so many different types of music that thinking about being in one lane doesn\u2019t seem nearly as fun. It\u2019ll still be my voice and words and melodies, but maybe with different instrumentation and a different take on it. When we were writing the AM Gold<\/i> album, my manager, Jonathan [Daniel] recognized the style that we were writing in; he said, \u201cThis sounds like an \u2018AM gold\u2019 album!\u201d I was like, \u201cI don\u2019t even know if I know what that is.\u201d But then I explored it, and that sounded right to me.<\/p>\n So you weren\u2019t setting out to write songs in a particular style? <\/b><\/p>\n Right; the [initial songs] came out that way. And then once I recognized what the style was, we were able to continue down that road and finish the album.<\/p>\n At this point in my career, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s much of a marketing plan. People who like Train as something they listen to: those are the people that we\u2019re marketing to. It\u2019s less of a marketing plan and more of, \u201cHow do we get this heard?\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s an old saying that it takes years to become an overnight sensation. Train was together for five or six years before you broke through, producing and initially releasing your first album independently. Were there ever times in those early years when you were tempted to give it up and move on?<\/b><\/p>\n There weren\u2019t give-up moments. I didn\u2019t have another opportunity. I was painting houses in the Bay Area, and painting houses was not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I did enjoy it, but it didn\u2019t seem like it was something I would be able to continue with and not feel terrible about [missing] an opportunity that I might have been given by whatever the spirit world is. The frustrations were really difficult to bear through, but when you don\u2019t have a choice, then you figure out how to get through it.<\/p>\n In those early days, did you have a vision of where you wanted the band to go?<\/b><\/p>\n I did interviews [back then] and told writers, \u201cWe will probably never be the biggest band in the world, but we will outlive all of them!\u201d Even in the early days, it wasn\u2019t bragging; it\u2019s just that I have a desire to learn. I listen to a lot of young artists that people probably haven\u2019t heard of, and I\u2019m getting a lot out of it all the time. So my desire to continue \u2014 to progress and try to tap into different things and even in myself \u2014 creates longevity.<\/p>\n Not only does AM Gold <\/i><\/b>have that kind of early \u201970s kind of pop feel, but it also feels very new and contemporary. That\u2019s not a common quality among bands that have been around for 20-odd years. Is that by design? <\/b><\/p>\n Well, you can\u2019t compete if [the music] sounds like it\u2019s not current. Even if it is<\/i> a throwback, it has to sound like you did it today. And that kind of always comes naturally to me. When you listen to classic rock or pop songs, they\u2019re so good, and they\u2019re so well thought out. I\u2019m trying to emulate that, but with a \u201ccurrent\u201d sound: my manager always jokes, \u201cKids don\u2019t like real drums.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/train04.jpg\")
Does having such a widescreen approach to a musical style make it difficult or frustrating for your record company to market you?<\/b><\/p>\n