Rockers are ready to wheel and deal
Train is on track for its Picasso at the Wheel Tour, which begins Thursday in Wheatland, Calif., and rolls through July. Joining Train are The Fray and Matt Nathanson.
REMOTE PODCAST.
For nearly two years, Train frontman Pat Monahan has hosted a weekly podcast called Patcast. The singer of such hits as Hey, Soul Sister and Drops of Jupiter plans to set up a tent with recording equipment at some tour stops to get material for the podcast: “I’m going to try to get out to the parking lot more often, because that’s where you find out more about your fans.”
TAKING DAYS OFF.
Train will play 43 concerts in 66 days, including a July show at the Rock the Park Festival in London, Ontario. Two off days are particularly important to Monahan. “One is at the end of May, when my 6-year-old has a dance recital,” he says. “Then, in the middle of June, my 17-year-old daughter graduates high school.”
BURNING UP THE ROAD.
On an early tour, the group’s van caught fire, stranding the members on the side of an Ohio highway. “We were in a van that we paid $3,000 for that was worth about 30 bucks and had it fixed by a guy who didn’t know what he was doing,” Monahan says. With three shows left on the tour, the band rented a moving van. “We illegally sat in the back of the van with our gear while we went to the next place. That was dumb, but that’s what you do when you’re in a band and you’re dumb.”
THOSE HIGH-END CONCESSIONS.
In 2009, Train started a wine company named after its album Save Me, San Francisco. Many venues on the tour will serve the winery’s varietals, which include a California 37 Cabernet Sauvignon and a Calling All Angels Chardonnay. “If you want to buy our wine, you can just go to SaveMeSanFranciscoWineCo.com,” Monahan says. “But if you want to drink our wine, you can drink it at the concert.”
COSTUME PARTY.
Since the band encouraged fans to dress up as mermaids for its 2013 Mermaids of Alcatraz Tour, coming in costume has become a key part of the Train experience. “We can’t keep people from dressing up, so we’ve created a judge tent,” Monahan says. “The best costumes get to sit in the front row.”
TOUR TIP.
If you find yourself on the bus with Monahan, do not eat the first food he offers you. It’s a decoy. “Like I’ll buy a bag of Lay’s potato chips, which I wouldn’t want to eat, and I’ll buy what I do want to eat,” he says. “I’ll start by opening the bag of Lay’s. Everybody goes, ‘ Oh, can I get some?’ Then they eat the entire bag of Lay’s while I get to enjoy what I really wanted to have.”