Billboard.com published an interview today with Erie native and Train leader Pat Monahan about the band’s new single “Drive By” and their upcoming, still-untitled new CD.
You can read the whole article at www.billboard.com. Some highlights:
Monahan says the new album has a variety of rock flavors.
“There’s Rolling Stones-types songs on here, and songs that are very radio and dance-y and fun, like my wife and I would love to listen to on the radio,” Monahan told Billboard. “And then there’s very first-record Train songs, that are like ‘Blind’ and very melancholy and emotional. There a song called ‘Bruises’ that I think is really special. I’m going, ‘Man, I don’t know if I”m going to be able to follow that up.’”
Monahan said he also wrote continuously for this one during the touring for “Save Me, San Francisco.” He said he wrote new single “Drive By” in Australia. That song leaps from No. 29 to No. 17 in its second week on Billboard’s Adult Pop chart. It drops from No. 60 to No. 83 on the Hot 100, which means Top 40 stations haven’t embraced it yet. But that’s par for the course with Train: Its songs break first on adult-contemporary and later on Top 40. That’s what “Hey, Soul Sister” did, too.
Monahan also said the band will hit the road in the spring but probably won’t tour the U.S. until late summer. They will tour Europe and Australia, first.
Cool news from Docksider land. JMG Productions plans to sponsor a series of blues-rock shows and every one will be free.
First up: Hadden Sayers Band on Feb. 10. He’s the Texas-born, bluesy and soulful performer who at one time had two Erie players in his band: Ron Sutton and Jason Lewis. They played the Docksider in 2005; it’s cool to finally have them back.
Dates are still being finalized for the other performers, but Mark Graham of JMG hopes to nail down Jimmy Thackery, Joe Louis Walker and hot New York City blues-rocker Popa Chubby. Thackery used to play Erie every so often, but hasn’t been here since a 2005 show at Moonlight Lounge. He’s fantastic. Walker was a headliner at the 2001 Erie Art Museum Blues & Jazz Festival.
I’ll keep you posted on when the above shows are finalized.
John Michael Montgomery will headline the Meadville Fraternal Order of Police Col. Lewis Walker Lodge No. 97′s annual Country Music Show on March 18. He’ll play two shows (1 and 6 p.m.) at Allegheny College’s Shafer Auditorium. Tickets are $22, on sale at (814) 337-5650.
Aaron Tippin may be headed to the Erie County Fair in Wattsburg. Pollstar lists a date for him at the fair on Aug. 30.
Cleveland’s annual Majic 105.7 Moondog Coronation Ball will feature Creedence Clearwater Revisited, KC and the Sunshine Band, Micky Dolenz of the Monkees and Sam Moore from Sam & Dave on March 31 at Quicken Loans Arena.. Tickets range from $37.50 to $67.50 and go on sale Feb. 3 at (888) 894-9424 and online at theqarena.com.
