Pat Monahan and Train: A Journey Through Music, Wine, Philanthropy, and Legacy

Pat Monahan: When Kevin Cronin and I met a few years ago through Sammy Hagar, not that I'm a “name dropper,” but I might as well do it. Kevin and I hit it off really well. Due to COVID, we were unable to work together for a while. When things opened up, we thought it would be a cool idea for our bands to go on tour together. It's been an incredible experience watching these amazing musicians perform every night and playing the songs I grew up with. They are not only talented but also wonderful people, and it's an honor to be on tour with them. I hope we can do something like this again in the future. It's not often that you tour with bands and walk away as friends for life, but in this case, we definitely have. I believe the audience is getting a fantastic show every night, and we're doing a great job. REO is also doing a fantastic job, and we get to see Yacht Rock Revue, one of my favorite bands. It's been a real success so far, and we have many more shows to get people excited and make some memories.

PM: I think when AM Gold was being written, we definitely wanted to step back into like the 1980s because there was so much diversity on the radio between R&B and Disco and Rock and Singer-Songwriter music, and I think that was the goal in capturing all that, and then Long Yellow Dress is kind of an extension of that. I'm writing an Americana record. This was one of the first songs that got written for it. This may not even be on the record since people will have heard it for a while, but it's such a good vibe, and people are loving the song live. So, I think it worked out pretty well.

PM: I just remember writing 80 songs for "Save Me, San Francisco". It had been after a failed attempt at a solo album, being very frustrated with some of the choices that we had made in the band train, and wanted to get back to our roots. And so 80 songs still didn't complete the album. There may have been five or six that made it, and then we had to continue to write. 

One standout memory is of our recording sessions in London, which was a fantastic experience. We had the pleasure of working with my friends Butch Walker, Greg Wattenberg, Sam Hollander, and many others to find the right sound. Another magical moment was working with Espionage, the Norwegian duo who helped me write "Hey, Soul Sister" and several other songs. Collaborating with Espen Lind and Amund Bjørklund, was a real pleasure. Maybe we’ll do that again.

PM: My love for wine is relatively new, about ten years old. I began making wine with a partner before I even started drinking or caring about it. Now that I know a lot about wine, I take pride in being part of presenting our wine to people, even though I'm not the winemaker. It's important for us to showcase the taste of the Bay Area, where our band is from. We've been fortunate to have sold a lot of wine, which has allowed us to support a charity in San Francisco called Family House. This charity provides housing for sick children and their families who can't afford to stay in a hotel while in San Francisco. Family House has 80 rooms for families and is always at full capacity. I'm proud that our winemaking has not only produced quality wine but also provided support for a charity we love and believe in.

PM: Well, you know, all these different things, acting and making albums, and right now we're on a TikTok trend, they are all really fun. So we're always trying to stay current, but also, you know, dip into the arts. I think acting is incredibly difficult. I would not say I'm great at it, but I do put everything I have into it, and would love to do more of that. Our work with Family House is not really an artistic venture, but it is a creative one. And to have those people and all the love they put into what they do at Family House. It's just inspiring. So it inspires us to make music, make TikToks and get in a movie here and there.

PM: I believe the next step for Train is to focus on staying relevant. Staying relevant is always the goal, and the way to achieve that is by being competitive. We have some country esque elements in our music, but I think fully embracing the country music genre has previously been considered taboo. Country music itself is a family, and if you try to barge in after making a bunch of pop songs, it might seem insincere to suddenly transition to country music. However, I think it's time for us to step a little closer to that territory, and I believe we will be welcomed with open arms. It may not be a complete transformation into a country version of Train, but more of an Americana version, drawing inspiration from artists like Roy Orbison and Tom Petty. Our Summer tour with REO Speedwagon will be a great experience, and it's happening just before we make this shift. We're looking forward to ending this tour with REO Speedwagon as close friends and hopefully collaborating with them in the future. It's going to be a lot of fun, and we might even have Kevin, Dave, or other band members join us for some of our future projects. This is an exciting move into the future for us.

PM: San Francisco is absolutely where I could eat Mexican food every single day. And when you're in a Bay Area anywhere around San Francisco, I find it to be the best Mexican food in the world. And I've had it everywhere, Mexico, San Diego, everywhere that you can guarantee you'll have great Mexican food. But if you see a taqueria or anything in San Francisco, you must go in. And if you get a burrito, get a chicken burrito with a chili rieno in it, you will not have to eat for another three to four weeks. 

The incredible music that comes out of San Francisco is also really special. You know, Green Day is still out there doing it. I'm so glad that our manager, Crush Music, is also from the Bay Area. And, you know, it's a beautiful place to come out of and to call home.