photo: Ron Elkman/Getty ImagesA massive arena
tour
is enough to keep most bands pretty busy, but Train isn't content to
travel in just one direction. While gearing up for their extensive "
Mermaids of
Alcatraz"
North American tour, which kicks off July 11 in Virginia Beach, the
San Francisco rockers sell their own brand of wine and
chocolate to support a renowned
charity that helps ill children and their families. They're also gearing up to release an action-packed
mobile game based on one of their songs, all the while juggling active family lives.
Whew!
The Grammy-winners are also re-releasing their latest album,
California 37, on June 25. The deluxe, limited-edition version of the album is called
Mermaids of Alcatraz Tour Edition and features three new songs and live versions of several tunes in addition to the hits "Drive By" and their newest single, "
Bruises," featuring
Ashley Monroe of Pistol Annies.
"There are some songs that didn't make it onto the [original] record
and I still want them to be heard," lead singer Pat Monahan says of the
album's re-release as he prepares to board a plane from Seattle to
London. "There's the song 'Futon' that the whole band really loved and
now it made it onto the [re-released] album. It will also help raise
awareness and give people the chance to revisit it before coming to our
shows."
Monahan says he's looking forward to hitting the road on Train's
biggest tour ever, and connecting with fans not only onstage but
face-to-face. "It feels like a family reunion," he says of the "Mermaids
of Alcatraz" tour. "We share email addresses with some fans and we have
dinner. I [direct message] fans over Twitter and Facebook. I've given a
lot of fans my email address. People that aren't well, I try to get
them good tickets. I feel very fortunate that I'm able to do that."
The band is also excited share the road with the Script, Gavin DeGraw, Michael Franti
& Spearhead, and Monroe, who will be touring with Train. "It's like
having a bunch of friends out," Monahan says. "It's so lovely that
tickets have sold so well all over the country."
Train are also gearing up to release the
mobile game, "
50 Ways to Survive," based on their song "50 Ways to Say Goodbye."
photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images"It's
incredibly fun!" Monahan says of the game. "It comes out on June 25
around the same time as deluxe version of the album. Basically you have
to try to save me from the things in the song like the shark and the
purple Scion and you have to help me get to my girlfriend."
Despite evidence to the contrary, it's not all fun and games for the band. Train have been actively involved in supporting
Family House,
a Bay Area charity that provides temporary housing to families of
seriously ill children receiving treatment at the University of
California San Francisco Benioff Children's Hospital.
"We always try to do things as a band, and coming to an agreement
about things can be difficult," Monahan confesses. "But coming to an
agreement about where we were going to spend our extra time and money
was quite simple when we did some investigating."
Monahan explains that he and his
bandmates Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood share some important things
in common – they're all parents, and they all wanted to get involved
with a charity
that benefited children. "We also wanted it to be local in San
Francisco, and we wanted it to be a charity without a bunch of
high-level executives flying around in helicopters," he says. "They're
also the loveliest people. When I get back from London I plan on going
there because there's one little boy that may not be doing so well.
We'll try to play a bit of music there and go and say hi."
One way they raise funds for
Family House is by donating proceeds from sales of their
Save Me San Francisco wine and
chocolate to the charity.
"We teamed up with Ghirardelli to
create the chocolate because they make the best chocolate in North
America," Monahan says. "We give 100 percent of profits from that [to
Family House] and a bit of money from the wine that we don't invest back
into the business." Proceeds from sales of the "50 Ways to Survive" mobile game will also be donated to Family House.
As if he weren't busy enough,
Monahan plans to go back into the studio and work on new material as
soon as he has the chance. "I want to put together that masterpiece
record everybody always dreams of making," he says with a laugh. "I'm
being told by the universe that now is the time. I wrote one song so
far. Writing is like cooking — you make something and you think, 'Yeah,
it was good, but it needs this.' So it's always a work in progress."
