Back on Track Top 20 Hit Was Like A Dream for San Francisco Band
By: TONI RUBERTO - Buffalo News
August 11th 2001 7:27am
Funny how fate can turn your life upside down. The San Francisco-based rock band Train's second release for
Columbia Records was finished when singer Pat Monahan (an Erie, Pa.,
native) woke up with "a gift" - a song he couldn't get out of his
head. He made a demo and took it to his bandmates who were "blown
away," recalls guitarist Rob Hotchkiss. Next step was Columbia, where
"everyone flipped." A lush string arrangement filled out the ballad
and the song became the title track for the newly-named CD, "Drops of
Jupiter." Six months after the album's release, the heavenly love song is
everywhere with no signs of going away. After debuting at No. 6 on
the Billboard charts, "Drops of Jupiter" remains locked in the Top 20
and now tops the Adult Top 40 after 25 weeks. Train pulls into Darien
Lake Performing Arts Center on Tuesday on a bill with Seven Mary
Three and headliner Matchbox 20. "We credit our fans with that. We have such a solid foundation of
people behind us," Hotchkiss said in a recent interview. Train - Hotchkiss, Monahan, Charlie Colin, Jimmy Stafford and
Scott Underwood - has worked diligently to build its fan base. After Train's self-titled debut - a self-produced $25,000 effort
made with money borrowed from family and friends - got the band
signed to Columbia Records, the group was moved to the label's Alert
subsidiary where touring was a priority. "Columbia didn't know what to do with us," Hotchkiss said in a
recent interview. "We spent three years on the road and developed a
strong following by touring relentlessly. We had to do it the hard
way, club by club, and ultimately, it worked out." The touring ignited the quirky 1999 hit "Meet Virginia" and CD
sales topped one million. Like "Drops of Jupiter," "Meet Virginia"
was a song that just wouldn't go away. "Our singles tend to get in
the way," Hotchkiss laughed, recalling how the band's attempt to
release a follow-up single was stalled by "Meet Virginia's" year-
long success. It's the same with "Drops of Jupiter." It is a magical
song. "There is a return to song-oriented bands like Coldplay and
Travis. Bands are writing songs and playing instruments and I think
people missed that. Maybe that's why "Drops of Jupiter' is so
popular."
 (C) 2001 Buffalo News. via Bell&Howell Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved
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