The super group Train has two songs on the charts right now, “Play that Song” and “This Christmas.” The band began their musical journey in 1993 out of San Francisco, consisting of Patrick Monahan, Jimmy Stafford, Jerry Becker, Luis Maldonaldo, Hector Maldonado, Drew Shoals, and backup vocals of Nikita Houston and Sakai Smith.
The leader of the group, Patrick Monahan, left his hometown Erie, PA in the early 90s to earn his chops in coffee houses in Los Angeles, eventually putting the original lineup together. By 1997 they found themselves opening for the Barenaked Ladies and Hootie and the Blowfish, before striking gold with “Meet Virginia,” their big hit in 1998. The song brought them well deserved fame and fortune. By 2002 the band had earned two Grammys, and countless awards for their sound and creative song writing.
As music irony goes, one of their biggest hits “Calling All Angels” became the theme song of sorts for the Los Angeles Angels, played before every Angels’ home game in 2010.
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