Train consists of Charlie Colin (bass, guitar, vocals), Jimmy Stafford (guitars, mandolin, vocals), Pat Monahan (vocals, trumpet, saxaphone, vibes, percussion), Rob Hotchkiss (guitars, bass, harmonica, vocals), Scott Underwood (drums, keyboards, programming, percussion).
Trainband, a contraction of "trained band," was a historic name for militias.
Train is a Grammy winning modern rock band, formed in San Francisco, USA in 1994.
The group started out in San Francisco with only two members, Rob Hotchkiss and Patrick Monahan, performing in coffee houses and local clubs. After deciding to form a full band, the duo recruited Jimmy Stafford on guitar, Charlie Colin on bass and, at a later date, Scott Underwood as drummer.
By 1997 they went on tour, opening concerts for groups such as the Barenaked Ladies and Counting Crows.
Their first major hit was Meet Virginia from their self-titled 1998 debut. Later on they also had two other songs which reached #1 on the Billboard Adult Top 40: the title track from their second album, Drops of Jupiter, and "Calling All Angels" from 2003's My Private Nation.
When Drops Of Jupiter was released in March 2001, the title track "Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)" was already a hit on several Billboard charts. By June 2001, Drops Of Jupiter was RIAA-certified platinum. By April 2002, the single had spent a total of 53 weeks on the Hot 100. It won a Best Rock Song Grammy for Train, as well as a Best Arrangement Grammy for Paul Buckmaster.
Both Drops Of Jupiter (2001) and My Private Nation (2003) were recorded at Southern Tracks Recording in Atlanta, GA and produced by famed rock producer Brendan O' Brien.
Towards the end of 2002 co-founder Rob Hotchkiss left Train and the band's third album, My Private Nation, was released in June of 2003. Bassist Charlie Colin left Train in October 2003. However, in 2003 Train released "Calling All Angels" as the lead single for My Private Nation. The second single released off My Private Nation was "When I Look To The Sky", which is a song relating to a lost loved one.