Album of the Day — September 14
Train — Train
14.September.2020
Train
Train
1996
In 1997/8, rock music was still a thing. File sharing wasn’t as ubiquitous as it would become in two years, and radio stations had the marginal latitude to play new music.
That’s how Train found an audience for their self-titled debut album.
By the mid-aughts, the music of Train and Patrick Monahan’s distinctive voice was everywhere.
The band began after Erie, Pennsylvania native Monahan moved to San Francisco and hooked up with Rob Hotchkiss. The two worked the Bay Area coffee house circuit, sharing vocals. Eventually deciding to form a full band, the two recruited Hotchkiss friend Jimmy Stafford on guitar, Charlie Colin on bass, and Scott Underwood on drums.
That line-up kicked around the scene for a bit and eventually pullled $25k together to record this self-titled debut album.
In late 1996, Train was released independently by Aware Records (John Mayer, Guster, Five for Fighting), and by 1997 Train was touring nationally, opening for headlining bands like Hootie and the Blowfish, Cracker, and Counting Crows.
