PAT'S CORNER - Updated 5.12.04

SUMMER 2005

Saturday, August 6th
don't tell anybody, but we've been in the studio for the past week recording songs for our next studio release. we started last monday and will continue to work until the 18th of this month when we have to take some time off to film a video for "get to me" in LA. we're hoping to have 10 songs finished by then. once again we're working at southern tracks recording studios in atlanta with brendan o'brien who produced both the "drops of jupiter" and the "my private nation" cd's. somebody told me that brendan said he's never heard the band sound better. i agree. johnny and scott are laying down the fat grooves and locking with each other as if they've been playing together forever (definately the best drumming i've ever heard from scott and johnny colt is just "johnny colt"!), brandon's piano and keyboard playing (as well as his songwriting) is adding a whole new dimension (keyboards have always been an overdub in the past. this is our first album where they're being tracked from the beginning), there's plenty of room for my guitar playing, which i'm doing all of on this record for the first time, and pat's vocals have never sounded better and his lyrics and melodies are stronger than they've ever been. the guy just keeps outdoing himself with every song.

i have to go throw a guitar track down on a song. back with you in a few....

ok...i'm back. just recorded my guitar track on a song called "shelter me". a groovy tune that one. other song titles that we're working on this week include "give myself to you", "cab", "for me, it's you", "i wanna believe" and "i'm on your side". things are going incredibly well so far. quick, easy, fun and the songs sound amazing! not totally sure when this cd will be released yet and we haven't got a title for it yet or artwork, but all of that stuff is going to come together soon along with a rebuilt website, which brandon is working very hard on (don't say it...don't even think it!). i would expect that the new cd won't be released until early 2006. maybe you'll be hearing a radio single before then. not sure. until then you'll just have to live with the revitalized "get to me" on the airwaves, which we're certainly not complaining about. it's funny how alot of people who aren't very familiar with the band think that "get to me" is a new song. oh well, good for them. won't they be excited when they go out to buy that one and find out that "calling all angels" and "when i look to the sky" are on the same cd! or maybe not. we hope so...

anyway...no plans to tour until this new cd is released next year. it'll be worth the wait, though. we're going to be very excited when the time comes to get out on the road and perform these new songs live. until then we'll be keeping you posted from the studio with more frequent updates about what's going on here and any new developments we hear about. i'm going to sign off for now and head into the control room to listen to johnny colt play the bass on "i'm on your side". talk to you soon...

jimmy

Friday, August 12th
just wanted to clear something up for you. there's been some discussion on the board as to what exactly we are recording in atlanta. pat had mentioned in a radio interview a while back that our next cd would possibly be titled "equilibrium". that is still very undecided. we'll figure out the name of the album when we get closer to the finished product and we'll let you know as soon as we've decided. i think we should call it "train: is jimmy hot or what?!!". it's going to be hard to convince the other guys, though. i had mentioned in an interview that we were going to be recording an "essentials" cd, which at the time of the interview was the plan. that is no longer the plan. what happened was that we had been writing songs for a new cd for the past year and were just getting ready to start recording when "get to me" became a surprise single on the radio. columbia records had an idea to release a cd of Train "essentials" (including "get to me") along with three or four new songs and some videos. it was a good idea, but we were just a little bummed as we very excited about the new songs and were all set to record a full-length cd, which now would be postponed until sometime later next year. well, when our good friends at the record company heard a few of the songs we were working on in atlanta they decided to put the brakes on the "essentials" cd (which had a september 27th release date) and asked us to finish recording the full-length cd, which we were more than happy to do! so, our stay in atlanta has been extended. things are going very well as i said in the previous notes from the road. this week we've worked on songs titled "explaination" and "am i reaching you now". we'll probably start tracking "all i ever wanted" and "i'm not waiting in line" this afternoon before taking the night off to attend an atlanta braves game. we should have the new cd finished by the end of the month when we'll head to LA to film a video for "get to me". don't expect to see the new cd in stores until early 2006, though, as we'll need time for packaging, promoting, marketing and all of that stuff. you might be hearing a new single before then. we'll see. we have a very capable record company and management team who's job it is to make those decisions. our job is to make the music. so, we'll do that and you have a great weekend. nice talk. glad we cleared that up.

jimmy

p.s. "train: is jimmy hot or what?!!" is not nearly as bad as brandon's concept for the website homepage that he showed me the other day! a big ole sexy picture of himself with tiny, unflattering shots of the rest of the band down in the corner, an "all about brandon" page and so on....funny guy.

i have to go throw a guitar track down on a song. back with you in a few....

jimmy

Monday, June 20th
hi everyone! it's been quite some time since anybody has written, so i thought i'd fill you in on what we've been up to and what our plans are.

basically, the MPN tour ended in las vegas in july of 2004 and then we released a live album in the fall, which we figured would buy us some much needed time off and allow us to take our time writing and recording our next cd. so, that's about it! 1. tour over 2. live album 3. time off 4. writing songs for new cd. questions? ok...we have done a few shows here and there...mostly unannounced private shows, but a few others as well including new year's eve in chicago, new year's day in vegas and san francisco's black and white ball a few weekends back (other bands on that bill included the village people, the violent fems and patti labelle! only in san francisco...). we've spent quite a bit of time writing music together in atlanta, which was chosen because johnny and brandon live there and we have access to a nice little studio to write and record demos in. some of my guitars and my mandolin were stolen from there, but were recovered later the same week due to johnny's superb detective work and a few friends in high places. so, we've probably written close to 50 songs by now. the process has been very smooth and fun for all of us, but i think we're all starting to get the itch to get into the studio and start recording. we're very excited about the songs and very, very excited about a select 11 or 12 that will end up on the cd. we'll decide on a producer very soon and hope to begin recording in late august. we don't want to rush it, because we want to give you our best, so don't expect anything before the end of the year or early 2006. it'll be worth the wait. after the as yet untitled (or recorded) cd is released we'll be planning a big, kick-ass tour.

in the meantime, cingular wireless has been using our song "get to me" for their tv ads, which seems to be working for them and us! our record company and management (and hopefully every radio station in the country!) have decided it would be a good idea to release the song as a single, so you'll probably start to hear that one very soon. we're also planning to do some television and radio promotion in the next month or so to promote it. we're already scheduled to appear on good morning america july 8th. other things will be added soon, so keep checking our website (which you will also start to see changes on thanks to brandon and our hard working team at columbia records). there is even some talk about doing a video for the song! we'll definitely keep you posted on everything. it's time for this Train to get back on the tracks! ew...i suck for saying that. idiot! and to think i could have just hit the backspace button a few times and written something much cooler, but instead i decide to punish myself and call myself names and write all of this other bullshit that makes me look even more like an idiot! jeez. see?...this is what happens when we stay out of touch for so long. now i'm pissed.

hey, also...on june 29th pat is going to be a guest dj on the mix morning radio show in chicago. he'll be filling in for the vacationing morning crew. four hours of pat! all the things he's always wanted to talk about onstage, but couldn't because we had to play music or there was some hottie in the front row rendering him speechless. should be interesting. could be the end of our careers! i'm hoping for the first one.

anyway, have a great summer and you'll be hearing from us soon. i promise!

your friend the idiot,
jimmy

FALL 2004

Monday, October 18th
hi everybody. it's been awhile since i've written, so i thought i'd drop a line and catch you up on what's been going on with the band. since the tour ended in las vegas on july 27th we've been busy finishing up our live album titled "TRAIN - Alive at Last!", which will be released on november 2nd (election day!). by "finishing up" i mean working on art work, choosing songs, mixing and mastering and gearing up for some promotion. mind you, there were no overdubs on this live album! it's typical for a band to go into the studio after recording a live performance and fix mistakes, re-sing out of tune vocals, layer on a few extra guitars...stuff like that. we did nothing! this is a pure, live recording mostly taken from one night in birmingham. as is. mistakes and all. and we're very proud of it. it really does capture what we're about as a live band. the running order is very much like an actual set list. of course it's got all of the hits, but also some unreleased songs (Landmine and Sweet Rain), some spontaneous jams, some funny pat banter and a new cover tune (Stay with Me). 13 live tracks and two bonus studio tracks (Ordinary and New Sensation...not the INXS song!). and the artwork is very cool with lots of photos. anyway, we think you'll like it as much as we do. as for the title....we consider ourselves a hard working band with a foundation built on our live performances. 2004 is the 10 year anniversary of TRAIN and this is our first official live album release. so there.

also, since the end of the My Private Nation tour the band has been getting together just about every other week for writing sessions in atlanta. you'd think that "hey, we have this live album coming out. this is our chance to kick back, take a vacation, relax a little....". not us! it's true that we do not plan to tour in support of Alive at Last, but instead we plan to write and record our next studio album while the live album is keeping you all busy. and then right when you're starting to get bored with the live album....BAM!!....a brand new studio album! we're hoping to have it recorded and released by springtime, 2005 and i must say that the songs that we've written so far are very, very exciting. in my opinion it's our best work ever and this next studio album is going to be our biggest, bestest record so far! we're all very excited about it and can't wait to finish up with the writing and get into the studio t o start recording this stuff. we'll keep you posted on the progress.

what else...oh, we've been nominated for a few Radio Music Awards this year. not sure which ones, but i think we're up for something like radio band of the year or something. not sure. we've also been invited to perform on the show, which will air live from las vegas on NBC on monday night, october 25th. look for us. we'll be that really cool band playing the really cool song and hopefully winning some really cool award. also look for us to be making a few television appearances in early november (not sure which ones yet...they don't tell me anything!) to support the release of Alive at Last. we'll let you know. probably maybe.

also, look for a new website in the near future. we're currently making plans to redo the entire site and make it bigger, better and much more active than ever! we'll keep you posted. maybe.

so...november 2nd...big day....you have to run out and buy Alive at Last on your way home from the polls! please don't forget to vote!!!! it's our right and it's very important this year. our band has made an effort to stay out of politics through the years, but things have gotten ugly in america and we/us/you can change it. without taking sides (Kerry), americans are not looked at in a good light these days by others in the world. americans couldn't even proudly display their flag at the olympics this year! the world doesn't like us right now. and not just the terrorists! it's almost embarrassing, not to mention dangerous, to travel the world as an american these days. that just shouldn't be. we should be proud, not embarrassed! can't we all just get along? jeez. i think we can. things have to change, though. we need somebody who can straighten up this mess (Kerry) and i 'm just too damned busy! so, i'm not trying to sway anybody (Kerry), but really....who gives a fuck if gay people want to get married?!! that's their problem! all i know is that this country has the largest debt in its history, more people than ever are unemployed and thousands of people are dying in a war that we were lied to about. i certainly wouldn't send my kid over there. i guess it's good, though, that we got rid of all of those weapons of mass destruction. and i suppose it's good that we're getting rid of all of those terrorists. i feel much safer. except for the fact that, because of our current administration's policies, even the rest of the world who aren't terrorists think americans are assholes! hey, i've got an idea....how about taking care of our own problems over here?! how can we expect to lead the world when we can't even lead ourselves? and why do we have to lead the whole f riggin' world, anyway?! how about just leading us? remember what we learned in kindergarden?.....sit in your own square, share with others, don't tell fibs and don't hit! some of us weren't paying attention. anyway, sorry for rambling. these are my own personal opinions. i'm very upset about this and can't believe that there are so many americans who are believing the lies and are blind to what is really going on. i have never seen such an obvious example of right and wrong and i just can't believe there are so many people who don't see it! are americans just a bunch of followers? i don't think so. i think we're leaders. again...sorry for rambling. i really don't care who you vote for (Kerry) just VOTE!!!! and pick up a copy of Alive at Last....

and hey, if you're mad at me for taking advantage of this page to express my own personal opinions then i apologize. no i don't!

your unruly and opinionated guitar player who was too busy this year to run for president,
jimmy

Wednesday, September 1st
I have been receiving some really nice encouragement to write another NFTR, but have been reluctant in doing so due to that status of our band being "OFF". Even my beautifully obnoxious and talented drum tech, Dan Kelly, has been threatening to find me and hurt me with discomforting words of insult if I did not soon put pen to paper! This is the same man who finds it socially appropriate to brag on and on about the size of his newborn son, Pete's, member. I figure any man that keeps that within his collection of 'things that are O.K. to do and say' would be one to take seriously with a threat of any nature. My retort to any compelling letter would be a definition of the phrase Notes From The Road. Since we are currently not touring there is not much to tell. And when we are home we all kind of keep to ourselves barring the occasional phone conference. I have noticed that a certain few from our family of listeners find this disconcerting. They would prefer to think that a band is inseparable - that we do everything together, and are best friends. We in Train love each other, but we also have spent almost all of the past ten years together out on tour or in the studio, and when we are home we give each other space and peace. This being said I can honestly claim to have no idea what the other members do when they are home. And I would feel a little to egocentric to believe that you would like to hear only of my adventures during our down time. I did write in to the fellers inquiring what they have been up to so I could convey it to you all, and my only response was from Tony who seems to spend the majority of his time picking up the excrement that spills from the hind orifice of his bulldog. As for the other guys I have to assume from their lack of response that they are allowing me some creative freedom in guessing what they are up to. This is dangerous for them, interesting for me, and potentially really satisfying for you. In my perfect world I would use this as an opportunity to exercise the comedic genius I believe to be dwelling within me. I would concoct the most hilarious, scathing falsities to the resounding joy of me and the small, shedding Pug lying on the floor to my left. She and I would dance around the room together (picture that Henri Matisse painting of the people dancing in a circle) howling at the triumph felt in the systematic, public humiliation of the members in Train. I would be the heroic funny guy, and would be invited to all the coolest parties. I'd laugh and laugh and laugh until I realized that they too have a pen. I would suddenly shiver in a clammy fear as I imagined their faces filling with a redness that rises from the collar of their Dolce and Gabbana shirts to the crown of their bald and brunette craniums until steam blows from their ears. (Imagine a great classic Loony Tunes scene for greatest effect here.) Their revenge would be certain, swift, and savage. Confirmable carnage for yours truly. Thanks goodness for fantasy with foresight. I'll be good.

I'd guess that Jimmy is spending the majority of his time golfing. This man decided to pick up a set of clubs not too long ago, and since then has become quite a competent golfer. I on the other hand have been playing since I was nine years old and am truly one of the worst golfers in spikes! It pisses me off! Beyond that I would bet he is making some good investments at the blackjack tables as well as keeping himself in position A for meeting some lovely top shelf ladies. Mr. Pat Monahan is living in his home town spending most of his time with his two children. He tries to maintain a mostly normal life when home. This is constantly challenged by the fact that everywhere he goes he is stopped and photographed and asked for autographs. I'm certain that the number of times a guy has handed Pat a cell phone requesting his hello to "Debbie" who thinks he is so hot, could not be counted with ease. His determination to keeping it as real as possible is important to him. It's important to you and I too for that is the soil from which his everyman lyrics grow. I would further wager that he, not unlike Jimmy the Jimmy Jam, finds a free moment here and there to beat the soul out of a Titalist Pro V1. That's a golf ball by the way for you non-golfing types. Beyond this he will spend the remaining moments maintaining his sexy man bod that makes women swoon and men run in fear! Brandon Bush must be not unlike a mad scientist surrounded with keyboards and electric gadgetry. It takes a lot of work to be that good! Johnny Colt is, well, I don't know what he is doing, but I can assure you it would make you feel as though you are not living life well enough in comparison! As for me, I have been spending this year in New York City with my fiancee and our Pug Isabella. It's hard to say what I have been doing, for it seems that one amazing day just spins into the next. We are fond of the very happening music scene here, and have seen a bunch of great shows. It's good to be on the audience side of things for me. I am a huge fan of music and am right there with you guys loving nothing more than a live show of your favorite band. Last Sunday we marched with tens of thousands of people protesting a myriad of issues regarding the Bush agenda. That was one of the greatest moments of my life. I have never felt so much a part of patriotism and social consciousness. Regardless of where you stand on the government these days you have to admire seeing democracy in action. New York has not seen a protest of that size since Vietnam! It was cool. It's funny being away from the band though. I start to miss them so quickly. At the end of a long tour I am feeling that if I never see these guys again it would be too soon. But within a few weeks back home the fog in my head settles as I begin to sift through the highlights of our time together. I can honestly tell you that we have had some amazing good times in each other's company. There are times that I am laughing so hard I'll need a nap afterwards! We have seen each other's lives change so much over the years, and have traveled the world together. If any of you have gone on a road trip with a friend or a trek through Europe or the like, you certainly know the depth to which you get to know the person with whom you share your excursion. You know the growth you experience. How you return a different person than the one who left, and you will never be the same. We have that happening all the time with each other. We have so much to be thankful for, and we can not let you know enough how much we are aware that YOU are the ones providing this for us! It's like we are the foundation of "Give Train the best life Ever" and you are our biggest and only benefactors! THANK YOU!

Oh, I do have a little bit of official Train news. We recorded two new tracks in LA a couple weeks ago. They came out great. One song is titled "New Sensation" and is going to be released as a bonus track along with the recording of "Ordinary" on our live CD that's coming out soon. By the way - this live record is going to blow your mind. It's a collection of the Best of Train performed live in Birmingham. As you could imagine, after playing some of these songs for years our performance is much stronger than the original recordings. Buy this one for sure! The other song is a cover of the Christmas classic, "What Child is This?" that we recorded for a holiday compilation that will be out this winter. I forget what store is putting it out - Best Buy or something - but Jimmy can tell you. He knows all that stuff, and I never do. I'm dumb...

That's a pretty juicy NTFR, wouldn't you say? I finished a whole pot of coffee while writing it and am currently jacked up beyond belief! It's kind of fun.

In closing I will send you guys some modern urban slang I have been privy to while living in NYC. Here is a small list I encourage adding to your idiolect - doing so will secure your acceptance into the most discerning of hip circles!

Word - Definition - Sentence

Grip - A considerable amount. - "She's got a GRIP of CHEDDAR in her fanny pack."

Cheddar - Currency, Money. - (see quote above)

Hater - A palpably envious, jealous or resentful person. - "Debbie is such a Hater - no wonder she has no friends!"

Jankey - Undesirable, intensely repellant or unpleasant. - "That ho is so JANKEY!"

Hoopty - An old, beaten-up, dilapidated car. - "Man, you got to move on from that HOOPTY."

Here is sentence using all these words: "Debbie needs to become a GRIP less of a HATER to earn the kind of CHEDDAR she needs in watering tips to get her out of that JANKEY HOOPTY."

Now you can try!

I'm out.
-Scott

SUMMER 2004

Monday, July 19th
Last night was nothing short of awesome. There were so many little details that added up to one night swollen with fun! Bursting with joy! Explosions of love filled the beautiful outdoor air at the Britt Festival in Jacksonville, Oregon, where we played two sets of blistering pop! I must inform all readers who are seeking a picture perfect town to visit in southern Oregon - one that is filled with history and cool people and invokes the pondering of why you toil among the throngs of busy city dwellers and towering concrete buildings, instead of moving here and letting yourself drift among the daffodils down to the local cafe and spend hours talking to friends and neighbors about nothin' much besides the beauty of existing beneath the tall Ponderosa Pines, and among the beautiful Tule Elk - that Jacksonville is in fact THE town! Maybe this only happens to me, but I feel like these people have figured something out that I have not. That they know something divine that I have yet to realize or that I may never understand. Because spending even a brief moment among them is refreshing. It's like a soul massage. Don't get me wrong I love New York City, San Francisco, LA and all the rest, but Jacksonville really touched me and the rest of us last night. Unfortunately we spent the day at a hotel near a freeway about 20 minutes away, and had no idea that the venue was located in this cool little town until the bus brought us there at about four o'clock in the afternoon. I of course had to complain to Tom, who told me that he had his reasons for putting us in a hotel along the freeway with nothing but car dealerships near by. Tom's another person who seems to have stuff figured out that I will never understand. But he is so confident in his ideas and decisions that I decide it's in my best interest to just keep my mouth shut and follow his direction. I unfortunately decide to keep my mouth shut after I open it, which is something I could work on a bit. Or not.

Backstage before the show we ate some good food while Tony put on some classic rock mix CD to get us all in the mood. Brandon and I played with a Fender Rhodes piano that was backstage, and heard comments from the guys that we looked so sweet sitting there together that we may want some privacy. Jammer, the Jimmy Jam poured himself some wine and put on one of his classic most rockinous shirts. A promise to us all that he planned on setting hair aflame with his kick ass guitar mastery! Johnny from time to time will disappear to read and meditate. Yes, that intimidating looking man MEDITATES! But then he strapped on his ax and shot me a glance to proclaim his intentions of invoking the demons of thundering rock and roll! Pat sat somewhat quietly, carefully crafting a set that would send the listeners up and down, in and out and loop-de-looping around a roller coaster of emotions. All this summer's two set a night touring has finally caught up with him. He is feeling a bit of a bronchial thing happening making it tough to sing. We should all commend him on lasting this long. We have had not much time off since we started this spring! So I sat in front of him with a compassionate look of, "can you pull this off, brother?" to which heard his response reverberate through the halls of the amphitheater and into the streets of the cute little town and out into the wild, startling the grazing Tule Elk and resting atop the great snow capped peaks of the mountains. The response was, "Bro - I was rockin back when you were still poopin green!" And with that we were guided to the stage where the lights were dimming, and began to play to beautiful people sitting on a hill in front of a setting sun and drifting clouds.

Oh yeah, and Little Buddy gave himself the most insanely awful haircut you could possibly imagine for fifty bucks! Pat brought him out on stage to show it off. I think we will do the same tonight. If you're there, please observe with caution for it is so grotesque you may toss your hot dogs!

Ciao for now!
Scott

Friday, July 9th
Good people - once again it is I, the Drummer of the ass kickin' band Train. I want to remind you all once again to register to vote. I have been looking for the responses of my last NFTR and would love to see a lot more interest. I promised the people at RTV that our fans are very socially conscious, and would not let us down! I did see one letter asking for advice on who to vote for. I do have my pick, as do the other members of Train, but we do not necessarily all agree on who is best suited for the job of leading this country, and have decided to be non partisan when representing ourselves. I would recommend looking deep into things, instead of just listening to CNN or reading USA Today. As you know most stations and papers are quite biased, and although generally are decent ways of getting to know the candidates and their platforms, they are not fully reliable. We should all try our best to weed through the "politics" of politics, and make the right choice!

As far as the food drives are going, we were not able to put it together for the July shows in California. We are going to have to hold off on that one until we tour the next record.

Speaking of the next record - I know some of you might have some concerns over how it is all going to sound without Charlie and Rob. Basing my opinion on what we have been jamming in sound check, and the new song "Natural", and some others we have written but have not yet performed, I can promise you that I think it will be Train's best record yet. It will be a little different with the new fellers, but different in a really cool way. I'm not sure exactly how things will go and how the songs will sound. We never know until we start. I just know that we have a very powerful writing team to put music behind Pat's words and melodies. I really can't wait to work on it.

Anyway. We just played Good Morning America for the first time, and it was cool. Luckily I get to stop by home and get lunch while the other poor guys are all just sitting somewhere together suffering until we tape the CBS morning show! It's good to be me.

Who saw Spiderman by the way? Pretty good flick.

Adios for now,
Scott

Tuesday, July 6th
I have not yet written a "notes from the road", but have contemplated doing so quite often. Alas, the occasional motivation I would find would quickly be stunted by the inability to conjure up anything to write about. The set lists are usually taken care of by Jimmy and Brandon as well as the occasional tale of misadventure from around the globe. This time though, I have something to talk about! We would like to encourage as many people as possible to register and vote this year. We have set up a link with Rock The Vote and ask for you to check this out and register if you have not yet done so. Also encourage your friends and family to check it out as well. We especially need the women and minorities over eighteen to register and vote, for there is a huge number who generally do not, and you have as much right and responsibility as anyone else to make yourself heard!

We are also setting up food drives at our concerts in California this July. I will update you on these as they become more established. Yum yum food for the poor and hungry!

We have realized that there is so much we can do, and we're not going to let any more time pass before doing it. We're lucky to have fans that are great people, and we know we can count on you to help us make a difference. Let's kick ass!

All the best,
Scott

Wednesday, June 23rd
today we're in lawrence, kansas for a show tonight. beautiful day here today. the show is indoors tonight, so it doesn't really matter. we've been flirting with thunderstorms for the past few weeks at our outdoor shows. now that we're back indoors there's not a friggin' cloud in the sky. oh well. the tour has been going great, so far. here are some highlights....

we started out in birmingham, alabama for four nights. we recorded the shows for a live album to be released later this year. the first night was maybe a little tense with the pressures of recording, but we loosened up the second night and are pretty certain that we've got plenty of material to release a kick-ass live record. we're still trying to decide what to call it. "frampton comes alive" is our favorite, but it's already been used. "kiss alive" is pretty good. simple yet effective. i kinda like "train - double live gonzo!". we'll figure it out. speaking of records being released....the Spiderman 2 soundtrack is in stores now. it features our song, "Ordinary", which debuted in VH1's top 20 countdown this week at number 20 (making it 7 out of 7 videos for us that have been in the top 20). the song was also the #1 most added song to radio the past few weeks! we'd love for you all to do your thing and start requesting it at your local stations, because we really like it and want it to do good.

anyway, after birmingham we played some shows in the carolina's. the best of which was a very sold-out show at the house of blues in myrtle beach. then it was south to georgia where we played a few shows on military bases. storms were following us all week long, but managed to work themselves around the showtimes. it was really great getting to perform for these large, outdoor crowds. the majority of which were military personel. these people have had alot going on the past year or so and seemed to really appreciate a night off with train. the Graham Colton Band has been opening up for us at the military shows. they're really good if you haven't heard them yet. you will. so, we got to meet a bunch of really special soldiers and even a few generals. some of the guys were invited to try out a tank simulator the other day in savanah. tomorrow we're doing another military base performance and we've been invited to tour NORAD in the morning. should be pretty cool. that's the underground nerve center for missles and and top secret stuff. we've all seen it in movies. we'll be sure to take lots of notes and pictures. maybe even snag us a few souvenirs! some maps or secret codes or something. anyway, at our show in pensacola the other night, which was very close to being rained out, we took the stage with "Free" and halfway through my smokin' guitar solo (and i mean completely solo with the entire band stopping in their tracks to let me go for a bit) the power went out. nothing. no lights, no sound. no guitar! nothing. just me standing there looking like an idiot. what do i do now?! kinda just shrugged my shoulders and headed for the back of the stage. pat made me feel so much better by getting on a bullhorn and telling the crowd that i was now going to take all of my clothes off! thanks pat. good one. funny guy. anyway, we took a short break until the power problem was fixed and then we went right back out there and picked up exactly where we'd left off. clothes on. it was all good. what else....oh yeah! last night in....where were we last night?....tulsa, oklahoma. great crowd, really fun, high energy show. our friends, Hanson, joined us onstage for an encore of "i want you to want me" and "signed, sealed, delivered". good times. they hung out with us for quite awhile after the show in the dressing room. nice guys. they're almost old enough to drink beer now! time flies, doesn't it?

anyway, that's it for now. just wanted to drop a quick note and say hello. HELLO! now beat it. we've got a show to do. talk to you later...

jimmy

Tuesday, May 25th
Mizner Amphitheater, Boca Raton, FL

Set 1:
My Private Nation
It?s About You
Meet Virginia
Hard to Handle
Natural
I?m About to Come Alive
Getaway
Get to Me
Raspberry Beret
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Heavy (acoustic)
If You Leave (acoustic)
Save the Day
She?s On Fire
All American Girl
Mississippi
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Drops of Jupiter

First Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (acoustic)
Free

Second Encore:
Dream On

SPRING 2004

Monday, May 24th
hi everyone. i know brandon has been keeping you up on set lists and stuff, but i thought i'd drop a quick line while i'm sitting in the san diego airport waiting to board a plane to florida. we just finished a run of club dates in seattle and LA, which went very well. the weather in seattle was very nice. i golfed one day while there and got stuck in an elevator one evening after a show. took them an hour to get me out! kinda sucked, but they took care of my room bill for me, so i watched some movies and drank most of the mini-bar on them. stupid elevator. you always kinda hope that if that ever happens to you that you'll be stuck in there with a couple of cute girls from the local hooters bar who'd been drinking quite a bit and were really big fans of the band. end of story...

played a little golf in LA, too. bad golf, but golf nonetheless. kinda. saw the first cut of our new "ordinary" video featuring clips from the spiderman 2 movie. it looks really great. i look particularly handsome in it. the other guys look good, too. should be on tv in the next few weeks. met Lisa Loeb at a VH1 interview the other day. she was really nice and very cute. i think she liked me. or maybe she was staring at the little zit i had on the corner of my nose. i'm pretty sure she liked me, though. on the last night in LA we were joined onstage by Butch Walker of "the marvelous 3" and Gilbey Clark of "guns and roses" for a kick-ass version of aerosmith's "sweet emotion". and then it was on to san francisco where we headlined an outdoor festival type of show right on the bay. there were an estimated 40,000 people watching us that night! quite a contrast from the 500 s eat club dates we'd just finished. i thought there were more like 38,734 people there, but i might have missed a few people in the port-o-potties. anyway, the show was followed by one of the most amazing fireworks displays i've ever seen! after it was over we hopped on our buses and drove back down to southern california for a show in temecula last night. a casino. fun show, though, in a nice theater. played a little blackjack with some of the guys after the show. everybody was winning a bit. had to talk thomas out of splitting 10's on two different occassions. had to threaten to break little buddy's arm if he didn't take a hit on a 15 with a dealer's king showing. i myself was down to my last $25, bet it, won, bet $50, won, bet $100...you get the idea. i cashed out $1500 in 10 minutes! that's gotta be some kind of record. i'll be checking into gambler's anonymous later today. giving it up for good. going out on top!

anyway.....that's all for now. heading to florida for some shows. then taking a week off before recording our first ever live album in birmingham, alabama to be released later this summer/fall. coming? talk to you soon.

jimmy

Sunday, May 23rd
Pechanga Resort, Temecula, CA

Calling All Angels
She?s On Fire
Meet Virginia
Natural
Hard to Handle
I?m About to Come Alive
Getaway
Get to Me
Save the Day
Ramble On
I Am
Ordinary
All American Girl
Free

First Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (acoustic)
Drops of Jupiter

Second Encore:
What I Got

Saturday, May 22nd
The Big Kaboom, San Francisco, CA

Give a Little Bit
Get to Me
She?s On Fire
Meet Virginia
All American Girl
When I Look to the Sky
Ramble On
I Am
Calling All Angels
Ordinary
Save the Day
Free

Encore:
Drops of Jupiter
Dream On

Friday, May 21st
Set 1:
Train
Meet Virginia
She's On Fire
Natural
Raspberry Beret
I'm About to Come Alive
My Private Nation
It's About You
Save the Day
Ramble On
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Faith
Get to Me
All American Girl
I Wish You Would
Mississippi
I Am
Ordinary
Sweet Emotion (with Gilby Clark and Butch Walker)
Happy (with Gilby Clark)
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky
Free

Thursday, May 20th
It was disorienting to see familiar faces walk into the dressing room at the Roxy who were at the Troubadour shows, because it seems like if we are at a new venue, than we all must have traveled more than just a few blocks. But that isn?t the case. We are actually on tour in LA. We have taken the show on the road without having to check out of our hotel. It is pretty great when you look at it that way.

We played both Something More and Hopeless for the first time in a while. Jimmy and Pat started off the second set with acoustic versions of Father?s Day and If You Leave. I neglected to grab a copy of the second set as I left tonight, so I?m not sure if I have it all there or in the right order. But is that really all that important? How do you know I?m not just making up these set lists every night anyway? I mean, whom are you going to believe, someone who played at the songs or someone who watched the show? I think I might know what we played a little better than someone downing beers in the back on the room, right? Maybe to take the pressure off myself, I?ll start listing the songs we played in alphabetical order. Or better yet, I?ll just list all the songs we know every night, including that nights set list in no particular order. Then I can go ahead and post the rest of the tour at one time. Thanks. This has been very helpful for me. We should talk like this more often.

Set 1:
Something More
Calling All Angels
All American Girl
Hard to Handle
It?s About You
Hopeless
Getaway
Save the Day
My Private Nation
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On

Set 2:
Fathers Day (acoustic)
If You Leave (acoustic)
Meet Virginia
Get to Me
Save the Day
She?s On Fire
Raspberry Beret
When I Look to the Sky
Ordinary
Free

Encore:
Drops of Jupiter
Dream On

Wednesday, May 19th
Set 1:
It?s Love
Get to Me
She?s On Fire
Save the Day
It?s About You
I?m About to Come Alive
Days
Calling All Angels
Natural
Ramble On
Eggplant
Free

Set 2:
Sharks (Jimmy on vocals)
Faith
Meet Virginia
All American Girl
Respect
Lincoln Avenue
Hard to Handle
Ordinary
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (acoustic)
I Am
What I Got

Tuesday, May 18th
Set 1:
Your Every Color
Meet Virginia
She?s On Fire
Natural
Hard to Handle
When I Look to the Sky
Get to Me
Getaway
Sweet Rain
I Am
Raspberry Beret
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Save the Day
It?s About You
I Wish You Would
Ordinary
All American Girl
My Private Nation
Free

Encore:
Drops of Jupiter
Signed Sealed Delivered

Saturday, May 15th
The last few days have been a blur. I think we are all still recovering from the chaos that was the Howard Stern show. The whole experience pushed at the outer edges of crazy. At the evening's peak, Howard was pulling out his best Robert Plant, while Rob Schneider was vaulting over our amps. It was a taste of what it must feel like to be a house band for the variety show at the end of the world, which is an incredible way to start a tour. The three shows in Seattle were fantastic. There is so much energy in the room during these club dates. Although the room felt like a Japanese sauna in July, no one seemed to let a little heat slow them down. Tonight we played Avery for the first time in a while. Pat and Jimmy started the second set with acoustic versions of Heavy and If You Leave. The untouchable tour manager Thomas O'Keefe joined us on bass for Cheap Trick's I Want You To Want Me, which never disappoints.

-Brandon

Set 1:
It's Love
Get to Me
She's On Fire
Meet Virginia
I'm About to Come Alive
Getaway
Raspberry Beret
All American Girl
I Am
Avery
Ramble On
Drops of Jupiter

Set 2:
Heavy (acoustic)
If You Leave (acoustic)
Calling All Angels
Save the Day
Hard to Handle
Landmine
It's About You
I Want You to Want Me
Eggplant
Free

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (acoustic)
Ordinary
Dream On

May 14, 2004 Setlist:

Set 1:
Give a Little Bit of Your Love
My Private Nation
Meet Virginia
It's About You
Counting On You
Ramble On
When I Look to the Sky
Respect
Natural
Save the Day
Idaho
Free

Set 2:
Sharks (Jimmy on vocals)
Faith
Sweet Emotion
She's On Fire
All American Girl
Train
Counting Airplanes
Get to Me
Hard to Handle
Ordinary
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
I Am
Calling All Angels
Happy

May 13, 2004

Set 1:
Train
Meet Virginia
She's On Fire
Rat
Hard to Handle
All American Girl
About to Come Alive
Getaway
I Wish You Would
Ordinary
Raspberry Beret
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Save the Day
Get to Me
Flatfoot
Mississippi
Respect
Natural
Eggplant
Free

Encore:
Drops of Jupiter
Signed Sealed Delivered

Friday, April 9th
We were faced with an unexpected dilemma tonight. Tony has unfortunately had a death in his family and couldn't play the show tonight. Are thoughts are certainly with him and his family. We moved some parts around here and there and came up with a full night of music. I didn't make it back to my room with a copy of the set tonight, but I can tell you that we started with acoustic versions of "Heavy", "If You Leave" and "Meet Virginia". We played "Faith", "Blind", "Lincoln Avenue" and the jazz standard we learned in New York, "I'm Beginning to See the Light". A technical glitch in the bass rig led to a new song all about Little Buddy that ended up on the first set CD. We ended the tour with a bang. It is shocking to think that this tour started all the way back in Conway, Arkansas. We are all looking forward to a little rest at home before we get the spring and summer touring started next month.

-Brandon

Thursday, April 8th
The set tonight was unique among the club shows. We played "The Gas", "Landmine", "Sweet Rain" and "Rat". Plus we played plenty of typical second set songs in the first set. We also covered the Supertramp song, "Give a Little Bit" which we first played at Penn State.

-Brandon

Set 1:
The Gas
My Private Nation
Ramble On
Meet Virginia
All American Girl
Landmine
When I Look to the Sky
Sweet Rain
Get to Me
Natural
Give a Little Bit
Drops of Jupiter

Set 2:
Sharks (Jimmy on vocals)
Faith
Calling All Angels
Save the Day
Mississippi
Rat
Hard to Handle
Respect
She's On Fire
Ordinary
Free

Encore:
It's About You
Happy
I Am

Wednesday, April 7th
The last few days have been a little wacky. After the last show in NYC, we trekked all the way down to San Antonio only to get rained out, which was a big disappointment. The next day, we flew up to State College, PA where we spent our night off recovering from the sprint to Texas and back. At State College, we were back to the big stage and full crew for a night. Today we drove to Philadelphia to start a run of three shows at the North Star. The venue is probably the smallest we have played on the club tour. And from the reaction tonight, is looks like we will be having a rowdy three days with the good people of Philadelphia. We played Hopeless for the first time in a while. We also learned Sweet Emotion at sound check and played it in the encore. If anyone is keeping track of this type of thing, tonight's first set (and thus tonight's CD) was the longest so far on this leg of the club tour.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Train
She's On Fire
Meet Virginia
Save the Day
Hard to Handle
Natural
I'm About to Come Alive
Getaway
I Wish You Would
I Am
Raspberry Beret
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Get to Me
All American Girl
It's About You
Respect
Hopeless
Flat Foot
Eggplant
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Acoustic)
Ordinary
Sweet Emotion

Saturday, April 3rd
Our last night in New York was a great one. The fabulous Teo Avery joined us on sax on a few songs including the opening number, an old jazz standard called "I'm Beginning to See the Light", were Pat indulged us all in a little of his jazz vocal stylings. We tend to end the run of shows in each town on a high note, and New York was no exception. Now we are off to San Antonio to entertain the fans at the Final Four.

-Brandon

Set 1:
I'm Beginning to See the Light (w/ Teo Avery on sax)
Save the Day
Meet Virginia
Natural
Hard to Handle
She's On Fire
I'm About to Come Alive
Getaway (w/ Teo Avery on sax)
Landmine
Raspberry Beret
It's About You
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Train
I Am
Respect (w/ Teo Avery on sax)
Get to Me
All American Girl
Mississippi
Eggplant
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Acoustic)
Ordinary
Dream On
Signed Sealed Delivered (w/ Teo Avery on sax)

Friday, April 2nd
Long night with lots of rock.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Counting Airplanes
Calling All Angels
Rat
Hard to Handle
It's About You
She's On Fire
When I Look to the Sky
I Am
Save the Day
Raspberry Beret
Sweet Rain
Meet Virginia
Natural

Set 2:
Drops of Jupiter
Get to Me
Flat Foot
Ramble On
All American Girl
Let It Roll
Respect
Ordinary
Homesick
Happy
Free

Encore:
My Private Nation
Dream On
Signed Sealed Delivered

WINTER 2004

Thursday, April 1st
New York is a world onto itself. All the rules are different here. It isn't that New York is the center of the universe, it is that every New Yorker believes that New York is the center of the universe. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is just unique to this city. The comforting thing is that we are able to roll into town and fill a room with the club tour atmosphere that we have had in all these other cities, making a center to our own little universe. And we starting doing just that from the first note tonight, starting the evening off with the Zeppelin cover, "What Is and What Should Never Be." Jimmy sang "Sharks" tonight and as a surprise bonus, Edwin McCain joined us on stage for the encore.

-Brandon

Set 1:
What Is and What Should Never Be
She's On Fire
Meet Virginia
All American Girl
Natural
I'm About to Come Alive
Respect
Hard to Handle
I Am
Getaway
It's About You
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Sharks (Jimmy on Vocals)
Faith
Save the Day
Get to Me
Train
My Private Nation
Ramble On
Ordinary
Eggplant
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Acoustic)
I Wish You Would (w/ Edwin McCain)
Signed Sealed Delivered (w/ Edwin McCain)

Wednesday, March 31st
It is late and we are all in need of some rest this evening, so I will keep this brief. We ended our run of shows at the Birchmere with a great show. The "Little Buddy Dance" made an appearance late in the set. Pat and Jimmy played "For You" and "If You Leave" acoustically in the second set. We have had a great stay here in DC. The staff at the Birchmere went out of their way to treat us so well. But we can't be the house band here forever. So it is off to New York starting tomorrow night.

-Brandon

Set 1:
It's Love
Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
Ramble On
I Am
Respect
All American Girl
Natural
Lincoln Avenue
Hard to Handle
My Private Nation
Meet Virginia

Set 2:
For You (Acoustic)
If You Leave (Acoustic)
Raspberry Beret
Get to Me
Flat Foot
Getaway
Save the Day
Happy
What Is and What Should Never Be
Little Buddy Dance
Ordinary
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Acoustic)
It's About You
Signed Sealed Delivered

Tuesday, March 30th
For the second night in DC we added "Out Here in the Open", "Blind" and "Sweet Rain." We learned the Beatles "Get Back" and sound check and made a bit of a mess of it during the show. Pat and Jimmy played an acoustic version of "Respect", inspired by the stripped down intro in the version from the last night in Nashville. It is interesting to see how these ideas develop from show to show. We really mixed up the set tonight which kept us all on our toes. Well, not really on our toes. Playing the entire show on our toes would certainly make for an interesting evening, but not necessarily for this band. That is more of a side stage freak show, where we are all dressed up as amphibians playing a rock opera about the glories of the Mississippi mudpuppy. But I digress.

-Brandon

Set 1:
She's On Fire
Save the Day
I Am
Get Back
Natural
When I Look to the Sky
It's About You
Meet Virginia
Mississippi
Out Here in the Open
Happy
Drops of Jupiter

Set 2:
Heavy (Acoustic)
Respect (Acoustic)
Hard to Handle
All American Girl
Get to Me
Sweet Rain
Calling All Angels
Last Child
Dream On
Eggplant
Free

Encore:
Blind
Ordinary
Ramble On

Monday, March 29th
After a restful night off here in DC, we started the next set of show tonight at the Birchmere. The venue is larger than the other clubs we've been playing for these residency shows, but the vibe is the room is as warm and intimate as any of the other venues. Many great songwriters have graced the stage there and it is an honor to get the opportunity to share that space. We played a solid show. We played "Landmine" for the first time in a while. "Natural" and "Ordinary" are getting tighter every night. We also played "What Is and What Should Never Be" into "Ramble On" again.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Train
Meet Virginia
It's About You
All American Girl
Hard to Handle
Natural
I'm About to Come Alive
Get to Me
Getaway
Landmine
Raspberry Beret
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Sharks (Jimmy on vocals)
Faith
Save the Day
She's On Fire
I Wish You Would
Flatfoot
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Ordinary
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Acoustic)
I Am
Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Saturday, March 27th
We spent the last three nights playing club shows here in Nashville. It feels great to be playing in the more intimate venues again. We added another new song, called "Ordinary" as well as a few more covers including "Last Child" by Aerosmith and Zeppelin's "What Is and What Should Never Be." Just like the last run of club shows, each night had a distinctively different feel. And each night, everyone received a recording of the first set.

-Brandon

Thursday, March 25

Set 1:
Train
All American Girl
Hard to Handle
Meet Virginia
Natural
I'm About to Come Alive
Get to Me
She's on Fire
I Wish You Would
Hopeless
Raspberry Beret
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Sharks (Jimmy on vocals)
Faith
Save the Day
Flatfoot
Free
Ramble On
Ordinary
Getaway
My Private Nation
Happy
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Acoustic)
It's About You
Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Friday, March 26

Set 1:
It's Love
Free
She's On Fire
Raspberry Beret
When I Look to the Sky
Meet Virginia
Get to Me
Come Together
Let It Roll
Save the Day
It's About You
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
What Is and What Should Never Be
Ramble On
Ordinary
I Am
All American Girl
Mississippi
Sweet Rain
Jamie's Crying
Respect
Days
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
Heavy (Acoustic)
Train
I Want You to Want Me

Saturday, March 27

Set 1:
Counting On You
Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
All American Girl
Hard to Handle
Natural
I'm About to Come Alive
Ramble On
It's About You
I Am
Your Every Color
Drops of Jupiter

Set 2:
Father's Day (Acoustic)
If You Leave (Acoustic)
Faith
Meet Virginia
Save the Day
Following Rita
Get to Me
Last Child
Dream On
Ordinary
Eggplant
Free

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky
Flatfoot
What's Going On
Happy
My Private Nation

Monday, March 22nd
Last night we finished a seven show run that has taken a toll on each of us, band, crew, and driver alike. Saturday's show in Atlantic City was a blast. After the show we all hit the casino floor where a few of us made generous donations to the casino bank in exchange for a few hours of gaming entertainment. Last night we played at the Foxwoods casino in Mashantucket, CT. The theater at Foxwoods was amazing. By appearances, they have more lighting and sound equipment than most arena tours. We had to trim the set down a little to meet a venue curfew, but we managed to have a great time nonetheless. We added a cover of "Happy" by the Stones, with Jimmy, Johnny and Pat trading off verses. The next set of club shows is just around the corner and we are all gearing up for an intense couple of weeks.

-Brandon

Foxwoods setlist:
Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
Save the Day
Hard to Handle
Natural
I'm About to Come Alive
Getaway
Get to Me
Respect
I Am
Ramble On
Meet Virginia
All American Girl
Train
Happy
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Acoustic)
It's About You
You Shook Me All Night Long

Friday, March 19th
We are at the Norva Theater in Norfolk, VA tonight. This venue's green room area is well known among touring musicians. The amenities make carnival cruise lines look like a federal prison. I can't give away the specifics, because then everyone would go out and start a band and I might never get to come back and play. But I will say that it is a pleasure to be here.

Over the last two days we trekked across Pennsylvania. The Erie show was amazing. The crowd gave Pat a homecoming befitting the rock hero that he is. But considering he is the biggest thing to come out of Erie since Ann B. Davis, we try not to let it go to his head. After the show we all headed over to a local bar to celebrate the culmination of St. Patrick's day with a few hundred of Pat's closest friends.

After Erie, we spent the day in beautiful Williamsport, home of Lycoming College. We didn't get to see much of beautiful Williamsport, but from what I hear it is truly a beautiful place. After the show we hightailed it south with a snow storm on our heels. Which brings us here, to the Norva green room.

We just finished playing a great show here. I can't say enough about how much fun we are having at these shows. And because it is now imperative that I get on the bus and ride to Atlantic City, I unfortunately can't say any more about how much fun we are having at these shows.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Save the Day
Meet Virginia
It's About You
Jamie's Crying
Natural
I'm About to Come Alive
Getaway
Respect
All American Girl
Sweet Rain
Ramble On
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Sharks (Jimmy singing)
Faith
Get to Me
She's On Fire
Train
Raspberry Beret
Mississippi
Flatfoot
Eggplant
Free

Encore 1:
When I Look to the Sky (acoustic)
Drops of Jupiter

Encore 2:
I Am
You Shook Me All Night Long

Tuesday, March 16th
Ok, first of all Jimmy and I have talked and worked out a system now so we won't be doubling up on the road notes any more. I mean, what if I had been making stuff up this whole time, and he goes and posts his own notes exposing me as a journalist with questionable ethics. But we have that all straightened out now. I am free again to spread my Train tales without fear of being caught in the act.

So I'll pick up where we left off yesterday. We spent the day in Decatur, Il. At first it seemed like a sleepy Midwestern college town without much to offer for a bunch of entertainment starved musicians. But with a little determination, I was able to find a few of the local highlights. For instance, the Milliken University indoor sports complex is very pleasant. The indoor track in particular is a nice place to spend an hour or two if you have the time. If you bring your running shoes, I discovered that 8 laps equals one mile. There is a little gourmet sandwich shop just down the street from the sports complex that makes a decent roast beef club. And while you are there, you can pick up any of your incense or skate boarding needs at the local underground lifestyle shop next door.

After an extensive tour or the local merchants, we played another marathon one set show. We added Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me", "Hopeless", "Lincoln Avenue", and "Sweet Rain" to the set. And as another carry over from the club tour, Jimmy sang "Sharks." Pat and Jimmy played "Father's Day" acoustic. We also played the new song "Natural" again and closed the night with "Dream On."

-Brandon

Calling All Angels
It's About You
I Want You to Want Me Hopeless
She's On Fire
Train
I Am
Lincoln Avenue
Ramble On
Meet Virginia
Sharks (Jimmy on vocals)
Father's Day (acoustic)
Save the Day
Get to Me
Flatfoot
Sweet Rain
Hard to Handle
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
Natural
When I Look to the Sky
Dream On

Tuesday, March 16th
we're in decatur, illinois today. about two hours from where i grew up, so i'm looking forward to seeing a few family members and some friends at tonight's show. unfortunately, our bus is leaving immediately after the performance tonight as we have a very long drive to erie, pennsylvania (pat's home town) where we'll be playing for the first time in four years tomorrow night on st. patrick's day (how appropriate!). tickets sold-out in like six minutes or something crazy like that, so it should be a great homecoming for him. all of pat's old high school buddies drunk on green beer in the crowd yelling "pat!....PAT!.....PAAAATTTT!!!...you rock dude!" all night long. really looking forward to that one.

anyway, this leg of the tour got off to a great start last night in conway, arkansas, which is about 40 minutes outside of little rock. we hadn't played in that area for years. we were scheduled there on the matchbox 20 tour a few years back, but 9/11 happened and the show was cancelled. so, last night we played in front of a very enthusiastic crowd who had waited a long time for us to come back to the area and we gave them what was basically an extension of what we've been doing on the recent club tour...a 2 hour and 35 minute non-stop show plus a few encores. on the club dates we were taking a break in the middle of the show to allow everybody to get a beer and go to the bathroom, but there was no beer for sale last night, so we played right through. the set list (if i remember correctly) was this:

calling all angels
she's on fire
hard to handle
get to me
about to come alive
i am
ramble on
respect
getaway
train
virginia
for you (me and pat)
if you leave (me and pat)
save the day
rasberry beret
natural (new train song!)
mississippi
i wish you would
jaime's cryin'
all american girl
eggplant
free
drops of jupiter

when i look to the sky (brandon and pat)
it's about you

we're doing alot of writing these days and will probably be trying out more new stuff on this tour, so be prepared. "natural" was a big hit with the crowd last night as were johnny colt's new yellow shoes, pat's dancing with three gals in "mississippi", scott's mini drum solo to end "free" and ME! what!?...no, really...i was a big hit!...ask anybody...they'll tell you...

jimmy

Monday, March 15th
As we all converged on Little Rock, Arkansas last night, I found myself caught up in the unnerving excitement of the impending tour. It is great to see everyone together again. We played a marathon show tonight. We are playing many of the shows on this tour without a support act, so we are able to play a longer set, adding in some more obscure material and covers that we learned for the club tour. We also debuted a new song tonight called Natural. Jimmy, Tony and I (aka the B Team) were able to work in a costume change during the two song acoustic set, which I like to think added a touch of Vegas class to the show. All we need are some dancers with giant feathers to make it all complete.

-Brandon

Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
Hard to Handle
Get to Me
I'm About to Come Alive
I Am
Ramble On
Respect
Getaway
Flatfoot
Train
Meet Virginia
For You (acoustic)
If You Leave (acoustic)
Save the Day
Raspberry Beret
Natural
Mississippi
I Wish You Would
Jamie's Crying
All American Girl
Eggplant
Free
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (acoustic)
It's About You
My Private Nation

Saturday, February 7th
It is hard to believe the club tour has come to an end. No one was sure what to expect when we began. Now, after fifteen shows in three cities, I feel like we are really just getting started with a new chapter in the band's life. Thanks to all the fans who have come out and shared this tour with us. We ended the tour with two great sets. In the first set we played Hopeless, Out Here in the Open and Eggplant. We started the second set with Jimmy singing lead on Sharks. After I started When I Look to the Sky with the wrong keyboard sound (for the third time this tour, if anyone is keeping track) we played an impromptu medley of Jump, Houses of the Holy and You Shook Me All Night Long. This had to be the longest show of the tour. Although we are off for a few weeks for some much needed rest and relaxation, I'm already looking forward to getting started all over again.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Train
Meet Virginia
Raspberry Beret
Get to Me
Getaway
Hopeless
All American Girl
It's About You
Out Here in the Open
Hard to Handle
Sweet Rain
Eggplant
Free

Set 2:
Sharks
I Am
Drops of Jupiter
Ramble On
Jamie's Crying
My Private Nation
Jump - Houses of the Holy - You Shook Me All Night Long medley
Idaho
Flatfoot
Respect
She's On Fire
Save the Day

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky
Calling All Angels
Come Together
Signed Sealed Delivered

Friday, February 6th
This morning, Pat Jimmy and I played another acoustic radio set. This time it was for the Alice Lounge. We played Calling All Angels, All American Girl, Dream On and When I Look to the Sky. At the show tonight, we played Following Rita for the first time this week. We also played Blind, Hard to Handle and I'm About to Come Alive. It was a solid show all around. Fourteen down, one to go.

-Brandon

Set 1:
My Private Nation
Get to Me
It's About You
Hard to Handle
Blind
Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
Train
Mississippi
I Am
Respect
Ramble On
Save the Day

Set 2:
Heavy (Pat and Jimmy)
When I Look to the Sky (Pat, Jimmy and Brandon)
Meet Virginia
My Generation
All American Girl
Sweet Rain
Following Rita
I Wish You Would
I Want You to Want Me
I'm About to Come Alive
Flatfoot
Free

Encore:
Drops of Jupiter
Sharks
What's Goin' On

Thursday, February 5th
Earlier today, Pat, Jimmy and I went over to the KFOG studios to play a short acoustic set for a small group of contest winners. We played When I Look to the Sky, Get to Me, Father's Day, Signed Sealed Delivered and Calling All Angels. After the show we all scattered throughout the city for the afternoon. I spent a good amount of time walking around, catching up on a little clothes shopping. This is an amazing city in which to people watch. San Francisco is such a diverse and self assured city. The city seems to be so comfortable in its own skin.

The show tonight was possibly the best on the club tour. We came out of the gate full force with It's Love and She's On Fire, which I have dubbed the double apostrophe bomb. We debuted Marvin Gaye's What's Goin' On, further acknowledging the evening apostrophe theme. We also played Avery, Homesick, Swaying and Your Every Color tonight. With two more shows to go, I feel like we are hitting full stride.

-Brandon

Set 1:
It's Love
She's On Fire
Meet Virginia
Flatfoot
Counting Airplanes
What's Goin' On
Avery
I Am
Ramble On
Getaway
Train
Save the Day
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Free
Homesick
Raspberry Beret
Get to Me
All American Girl
Swaying
Sweet Rain
Jamie's Crying
Respect
Your Every Color
My Private Nation
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Pat and Brandon)
It's About You
Signed Sealed Delivered

Wednesday, February 4th
There was an unusually high level of stage antics tonight. We are all having a great time on this tour and I know it shows on stage. We played lots of rare tracks including The Gas, Superstar, Fallout, Sharks and Landmine. Let It Roll and Lincoln Avenue both felt great tonight. During the encore, we slipped into an impromptu Aerosmith / Van Halen medley before closing with Dream On. Twelve down, three to go.

-Brandon

Set 1:
The Gas
My Generation
Rat
Save the Day
It's About You
Let It Roll
Days
All American Girl
She's On Fire
Superstar
When I Look to the Sky
Come Together
Meet Virginia

Set 2:
Fallout
Sharks
Drops of Jupiter
I Want You to Want Me
Train
Lincoln Avenue
Get to Me
Landmine
Respect
Eggplant
Free

Encore:
Calling All Angels
Lost Child - Jamie's Crying - Jump - Walk This Way medley
Dream On

Tuesday, February 3rd
We have all enjoyed a two day respite from the relentless schedule of the club tour. And now with fresh laundry and clean spirits, we are back at it again. It feels great to be in San Francisco again. We had a great first night at Caf? Du Nord. Being one story below street level and having the low ceilings, it is a cozy setting to play in this week. This is exactly the kind of place where you were sure to find a party during the dark days of prohibition. We played The Highway with a full band for the first time tonight. Pat and Jimmy played Father?s Day and If You Leave as a duo. Flatfoot and Sweet Rain are quickly becoming staples of our sets.

-Brandon

Set 1:
The Highway
She?s On Fire
Save the Day
Hard to Handle
Flatfoot
Getaway
Calling All Angels
I Wish You Would
Mississippi
Counting On You
Ramble On
Sweet Rain
Respect
Free

Set 2:
Father?s Day (Pat and Jimmy)
If You Leave (Pat and Jimmy)
Meet Virginia
All American Girl
It?s About You
Train
Raspberry Beret
I?m About to Come Alive
Get to Me
I Am
My Private Nation
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (Pat and Brandon)
Signed Sealed Delivered

Saturday, January 31st
Two weeks down, one to go. Our stay at Schuba's has been fantastic. This tour is shaping up better than I think we all imagined. But now it is time to break down the big top and move along to the next town. Well, there isn't really a big top. Or any monkeys, funnel cakes or clowns. But seeing as this is my soapbox, I declare the analogy must stand. We have a couple of days to rest before we start up again in San Francisco. I can't remember when I've been more excited to see a high of 55 degrees. For out last show here, we had a few surprises. We added a cover of Hard to Handle to the set. Little Buddy graced us with the Dance of Little Buddy for the first time in many months. And before Hopeless, we made up a quick song called In a Club This Size, all about how big signs to band members are not really necessary when we all share the same small space. It was a great show to end a great week here in Chicago. See you all in San Francisco.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Gas
Hard to Handle
She's On Fire
Following Rita
Days
Get to Me
Virginia
Superstar
When I Look to the Sky
I Wish You Would
Respect
The Little Buddy Dance
Dream On

Set 2:
Idaho
Free
Save the Day
Getaway
Avery
Calling All Angels
Raspberry Beret
It's About You
In a Club This Size
Hopeless
Flatfloot
Train
My Private Nation
Drops of Jupiter
I Want You to Want Me

Friday, January 30th
Ok, I'm much more prepared today. I've taken some time and reconnected with my inner road-notes monologue. What I failed to mention in my abbreviated road notes from yesterday is that we debuted Flatfoot in the show last night. This morning we awoke early and played live on The Mix 101.9 for Eric and Kathy's Morning Train Wreck. After spending the day catching up on some much needed rest, we played the fourth of five shows at Schuba's tonight. We started the set out with the piano and vocal version of When I Look to the Sky. We added a cover of Jamie's Crying. Tonight felt like the best show yet on the club tour. We certainly have a new show to beat.

-Brandon

Set 1:
When I Look To the Sky (Pat and Brandon)
Save the Day
Respect
Out Here in the Open
Ramble On
Mississippi
I Am
All American Girl
My Generation
Sweet Rain
I'm About to Come Alive
Rat
Meet Virginia

Set 2:
Landmine
Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
Train
It's About You
Jamie's Crying
Flatfoot
Lincoln Avenue
Sharks
Counting Airplanes
Get To Me
Free
Drops of Jupiter
Signed Sealed Delivered

Thursday, January 29th
If you have ever wondered if, on occasion I find it difficult to come up with something interesting and witty to write about after a show, I do. Also, if you are curious if I can remember the set list from memory if I ever neglected to come home with my copy, I can't.

-Brandon

Wednesday, January 28th
Another cold day in Chicago kept most of us entrenched in our rooms, waiting for the show. I dedicated the day to myself, a fitting decision considering it is my 31st birthday, and indulged in some of my favorite pastimes. I started with a big breakfast, wrote some music, visited the Art Institute of Chicago, got back in bed and read a book until show time. If this shatters anyone's idea of the daily life of a traveling musician, simply replace the museum visit with a party with movie stars and the book with a "professional dancer" and that should put things back in order for you.

We taped a performance of When I Look To the Sky for some local television stations before the doors opened tonight. The show was great. We played Fallout and Landmine in the first set. The guys were kind enough to get me a birthday cake at the top of the second set. This Is Not Your Life made its club tour debut tonight. The Chicago shows are in general a little more rowdy than the Atlanta shows, but just as much fun from our perspective. Two down, three to go.

Set 1:
The Gas
My Private Nation
Meet Virginia
Counting On You
Homesick
Save the Day
Come Together
Let it Roll
Landmine
It's About You
Fallout
Ramble On
Free

Set 2:
Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
All American Girl
When I Look To the Sky
Superstar
Get To Me
Train
Sweet Rain
Respect
This Is Not Your Life
Something More
I Am
I Want You to Want Me

Encore:
Drops of Jupiter
Signed Sealed Delivered

Tuesday, January 27th
These daily road notes, three hour shows and my intense beauty regiment have started to take a toll on my daily schedule. I'm going to have to give up my Ancient Greek studies, needle point and third world orphanage pen pal correspondences, but I think I'm making the right decision here. After all the show must go on, right? Well, we are in Chicago now. It is cold like we can only imagine down South. This is what I call Weather Channel cold. The people walking up and down the street outside have that stock Weather Channel footage look, like they would rather get hit by a bus than walk another block in this Siberian nightmare. Or maybe I'm reading a little into the situation.

We started out the week of shows here with two boisterous sets. With a day off to recuperate, we were all ready to play again. We added two more obscure tracks to the set; Out Here In the Open and Better Off Alive. Pat and Jimmy played stripped down versions of Heavy and If You Leave. We ended the night with a cover of The Who's My Generation, which we just picked out at sound check this afternoon. And with that, the second leg of the club tour is underway.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Train
Meet Virginia
Save the Day
Getaway
It's Love
Out Here In the Open
Sweet Rain
Eggplant
I'm About to Come Alive
Lincoln Avenue
It's About You
Raspberry Beret
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Heavy (Pat and Jimmy Only)
If You Leave (Pat and Jimmy Only)
Drops of Jupiter
She's On Fire
Get To Me
Mississippi
Sharks
Ramble On
Whipping Boy
Better Off Alive
I Wish You Would
All American Girl
Free

Encore:
When I Look To the Sky
My Generation

Monday, January 26th
We ended the week with a bang. Last night's show was the best of the whole week, in my opinion. Raspberry Beret made another appearance, as did Following Rita, Fathers Day and Idaho. Edwin McCain joined us on stage for I Wish You Would, Signed Sealed Delivered and I Want You To Want Me to close out the second set. All five Atlanta shows have been great. Big thanks to the staff at Smiths, who worked so hard to ensure the week ran as smoothly as it did. And now, as we head off into the brutal winter chill of Chicago, we are fired up and ready to do it all over again.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Counting On You
Virginia
Get To Me
Getaway
Sharks
She's On Fire
Rat
When I Look To the Sky
Sweet Rain
Following Rita
Raspberry Beret
Save the Day
Free

Set 2:
Father's Day (Pat and Jimmy only)
Let It Roll
Drops of Jupiter
It's About You
All American Girl
I'm About to Come Alive
Days
Idaho
Mississippi
I Wish You Would (w/ Edwin McCain)
Signed Sealed Delivered (w/ Edwin McCain)
I Want You To Want Me (w/ Edwin McCain)

Encore:
Calling All Angels

Saturday, January 24th
I have to admit that I haven't listened to any of the live CDs yet. But I think after tonight, I might have to reconsider. I feel like it was our best show yet. For those of you keeping stats at home, Something More, Counting Airplanes and Lincoln Ave. were the last songs from the Train CDs yet to make an appearance on the club tour. We still haven't played all of their songs yet, but we are getting close. The encore featured some unrehearsed antics when Jimmy surprised us all by breaking into You Really Got Me. Pat, always ready for a challenge, led us into Last Child before Dream On. I was ready to break out a little Bohemian Rhapsody, but we have to draw a line somewhere, right?

-Brandon

Set 1:
It's Love
Eggplant
Get To Me
Hopeless
The Gas
Respect
Calling All Angels
Landmine
Swaying
Save the Day
Something More
Ramble On
All American Girl
Free

Set 2:
Highway (Pat and Jimmy only)
Sweet Rain
Train
Come Together
Avery
Counting Airplanes
When I Look To the Sky
She's On Fire
Fascinated
My Private Nation
Lincoln Ave.
I am
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
You Really Got Me
Meet Virginia
Last Child
Dream On

Friday, January 23rd
I slept right through Pat on the radio this morning. I'm betting that among all the band and crew, I'm not alone there. This is when Pat has to pay the "lead singer" tax. Sure he gets all the attention on stage, he commands the room, and all the "oh my god I'm having such a great time I need to throw my lingerie up on stage" gifts go his way, but who was all snug in his warm bed this morning while Pat was running all over greater Atlanta? Yep. That would be me.

We had fun at the show tonight. It is great to play shows with so many familiar faces out front. We tried a last minute version of Raspberry Beret, and played Whipping Boy for the first time on this tour. We had to improvise a little at the end of the second set after the dreaded flu took its toll on Johnny. But Thomas answered the call and once again graced the stage with his punk rock bass ethos for a set closing I Want You To Want Me. I'm afraid if we keep calling him up on stage, he is going to end up taking over this band. Only time will tell, I guess.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Whipping Boy
Meet Virginia
Getaway
Get To Me
When I Look To the Sky
Sweet Rain
I Wish You Would
Save the Day
Counting On You
Homesick
Mississippi
She's on Fire
Raspberry Beret
Train

Set 2:
Blind
Drops of Jupiter
If You Leave
Fallout
It's About You
All American Girl
Heavy (Pat and Jimmy only)
Sharks (Pat and Jimmy only)
Calling All Angels
Ramble On
Signed Sealed Delivered (with Ryan from Sister Hazel)

Encore:
I Want You To Want Me (Thomas reprise)

Thursday, January 22nd
Pat spent some time at CNN this afternoon, after which he met Jimmy and I over at the Star 94 studio where they were interviewed and we played three songs during drive time. That is technical radio jargon for 5 to 6 pm. Pat will be on both Star 94 and Q100 for the morning drive time tomorrow. I'll let you figure out when that is on your own. During the show tonight, we brought our top notch tour manager, Thomas up to the stage to celebrate his 40th birthday. After a rowdy Happy Birthday sing along, Thomas played bass on Cheap Trick's, I Want You to Want Me, which happens to be one of his all time favorite songs. It was a completely different show from last night, which is a great sign for what is to come over these next three weeks. Two down, thirteen to go.

-Brandon

Set 1:
The Gas
My Private Nation
Rat
Let It Roll
Sweet Rain
Eggplant
Calling All Angels
She's On Fire
Get To Me
I'm About to Come Alive
Superstar
Free
I Want You to Want Me (w/ Thomas on bass)

Set 2:
For You (Pat and Jimmy only)
Sharks
When I Look to the Sky
It's About You
Fascinated
I Am
Days
Save the Day
Respect
Following Rita
Signed Sealed Delivered
Meet Virginia

Encore:
Drops of Jupiter
Dream On

Wednesday, January 21st
Tonight we played the first of five shows at Smiths Olde Bar in Atlanta. We spent some time yesterday and this afternoon rehearsing some of the olderand more obscure songs that we are planning on adding to the set for this tour. We taped a performance of "When I Look To the Sky" for CNN Headline News this afternoon as well. I'm not sure when it will air, or why us playing that song is considered to be news. As we were taping the song I was trying to picture news bars scrolling underneath us saying things like "There are very important news stories happening all over the world right now, but we are showing you a rock band instead." But I don't mean to take away from the news worthy-ness of our performing that song.

I'll leave the review of the show to the fans, but I will say we all had a great time. I'm already looking forward to doing it all again tomorrow night. It is great to be playing in my hometown club with these guys. And it is great to have this wacky idea for a club tour finally coming to fruition.

-Brandon

Set 1:
Train
If You Leave
All American Girl
When I Look To the Sky
Getaway
Counting on You
Save the Day
Fallout
I Wish You Would
It's Love
Free
Sharks
Get To Me
Avery
Ramble On
She's On Fire
Calling All Angels

Set 2:
Heavy (Pat and Jimmy only)
Father's Day (Pat and Jimmy only)
Landmine
Sweet Rain
Idaho
Your Every Color
Come Together (with Butch Walker)
Drops of Jupiter

Encore:
Meet Virginia
Signed Sealed Delivered

Friday, January 2nd
hi everybody. it's been awhile since i've written. sorry, but i guess i needed a break after all those years of being the only contributor to the journal. i think i'd gotten a little bored with it and felt like it might be best to get some different perspectives. and i do think it's been a good thing. brandon has been doing a great job of writing notes on a regular basis and pat has even come out of hiding! i've really enjoyed reading their notes as of late. i'm still kinda curious as to why pat has his own "corner", though! should i get my own corner? i want a corner! maybe corners are only for singers. how about a street? "jimmy's street"....doesn't really have a ring to it....how about "jimmy's lane"? maybe i'll just stay here.

anyway, i just wanted to drop a line and wish everybody a happy new year! i've been enjoying my time at home in las vegas since returning from australia (which was a great trip, by the way). spending time with my daughter who is now three and loves only the last two Train CD's. listens to them all the time. but i've been trying to brush up on the old, unreleased songs that we'll be playing on the upcoming club dates and she wants nothing to do with that stuff! "sweet rain"...hates it, "fallout"....nap time, "counting on you"...throwing up in the bathroom sink, "fascinated"...broke the cd into 30 tiny pieces, "father's day"...kicking and screaming for Barney. so, it hasn't been an all together "quiet" holiday season around my place. nice to have the kid around, though. i love her to death. and she keeps me grounded.

what else....ya know that christmas tv show that pat and brandon did with the orphan kids a few weeks back? did you see that? well, i did and it was a really inspiring show. brought more tears to my eyes than "queer eye for the straight guy"! inspired me to go visit some teens who are currently residing at a place called Child Haven in las vegas, which is a full security facility to protect children who have been abused, abandoned or taken from their parents for one reason or another. great kids who don't have much. the wonderful people who work at that place are amazing, caring people. andre agassi is actually a big local supporter and has done some great things for Child Haven like donating a school and a toddler facility. anyway, i certainly am not in a position to be able to do that, so i opted for bringing the kids some pizza and a bunch of Train CD's and sitting around answering questions and singing songs with them f or a few hours. the reason i've decided to share this with you is that it really had an incredible effect on me and made my day if not my year to visit with those kids. it took so little for me to do something that meant so much to them. there are places out there just like Child Haven in probably every major city in america that could use your help. these kids have no money to go see an occassional movie, they have no presents for birthdays or christmas and most of all they have very few people who know or care that they are there. just thought you should know that they are there. i'm really glad that i know now and plan to return to Child Haven sometime soon. there's nothing greater than to see these kids smile.

so, that was most definately the high point of my holiday season. i did get to see three amazing movies over the past few weeks. "the lord of the rings", "cold mountain" and "the last samurai" are all must sees in my opinion.

ok. i'll look forward to seeing some of you in atlanta, chicago and san fran for some back to basics Train shows. i'm really excited about it. it'll be great to play some of these old songs (and even the new ones!) in these venues. cozy. alright, gotta go. barney's on!

your friend,
jimmy

Sunday, December 14th
Last night we played our first of two shows here in Melbourne. The set started off with a single light on Pat's mic stand in the middle of the stage. Then Pat walked up and started singing some improv. He had the entire arena clapping along and broke into Save the Day. We all jumped up in time to hit the first chord of the song. The show took off from there. We played the complete version of Ramble On, which is only the second time since I started playing with the band that we've played the third verse. Pat led us in a little funky breakdown after Jimmy's solo in Free. The show took a bizarre turn for us when we started Dream On and the crowd was caught unaware. Apparently Dream On was never a big hit in Australia. We were dumbfounded to say the least. Either way the audience seemed to like it, although I have a sneaky suspicion they all thought we were covering that Eminem song with the Dream On sample in it. We have one more show before we head back to LA tomorrow. This has been a great tour, but I know we are all looking forward to getting back to the States, and eventually our own beds.

-Brandon

Friday, December 12th
I have just returned from the show to my spacious apartment home in Adelaide. I have already mentally claimed this space and I hate that we have to leave so soon. We played a strange show tonight. The energy wasn't as high as it has been, but we played well. I think we played our best versions of Free and Drops so far this tour. Jimmy's Free solo continues to rock the arena. We played Something More for the first time on this tour. The show was a little more laid back than we have been experiencing. There was a funny moment when Pat was telling the audience that while walking around today, he felt that Adelaide had some of the coolest people in Australia, which the entire audience found funny. Like they all believed they were anything but cool and we were all sharing this big joke. It was like two thousand people admitted all together that they were not cool, and they were fine with that. It was a bizarre moment of group consciousness.

Tonight I asked our monitor engineer to record Scott's drums during When I Look to the Sky. My plan is to chop it up and make some drum loops out of it when I get home. With his drawings and now is drumming, I realize that I'm slowing stock piling all this Scott stuff. Maybe I should open a Scott Underwood museum in Atlanta, downtown near the World of Coca-Cola. It could my big break into museum curating. Or at least a quick path to a restraining order.

-Brandon

Thursday, December 11th
I've learned from touring around with Train these last few months that the difference between a good show and a great one is that a great show can only occur when all the elements from production to performance line up. When we stepped off the plane yesterday in Brisbane, the trucks with all the lighting, staging and gear had not arrived at the venue yet. They were running at least 8 hours behind schedule. Everyone from the stage hands to the band crews worked at super speed to get the show on only 15 minutes late. It was an amazing accomplishment. I'm pleased to say that we stepped up and did our job equally as well. Pat was fired up. This was easily the best show on this run so far. The crowd was great, the energy on stage was fantastic. Johnny pointed out today that Australians seem to love to call things fantastic, which I'm trying out myself. This morning, Pat, Jimmy and I stopped by a radio station on the way to the airport to play a short acoustic set for the station employees. It was a very relaxed atmosphere, no mics or PA. Then we traveled to Adelaide, where I am writing this from the best hotel room in the world. Well, maybe not the world but in a word it is fantastic. I'm actually staying in a two bedroom apartment. Being surrounded by all these domestic comforts makes me feel like a human being again. I have a washed and dryer, a fridge, a stove, a dining room table, and so on. I really wanted to find a grocery store and cook everyone breakfast tomorrow morning, but my quick search around the neighborhood left me empty handed. Plus I have some early morning plans that involve a wedge, a tee and a few birdies, if you know what I mean. This is our last night off for the tour, which I'm spending in true rock n' roll style by doing my laundry, drinking seltzer water and working on my laptop. This is certainly not what I had in mind when I wanted to grow up to play with a rock band.

-Brandon

Tuesday, December 9th
The sun has finally come out in Sydney. Yesterday afternoon the clouds finally parted and this city started to show its true colors. After a walk through the stunningly beautiful botanical gardens, which are inhabited by thousands of bats by the way, we headed over to the Triple M studios to play a 6 song set for some radio contest winners. We played Blind for the first time in quite a while, as well as I'm About To Come Alive, which as far as I can remember we haven't done in an acoustic setup before. It made me even more excited about the impending club tour. After the show, we headed over to the famous Bondi Beach where we joined some fine and generous people who work for Sony Australia for an incredible meal. The amazing evening ended with Scott drawing on the waiter's ordering pad a portrait series entitled "The Members of Train in the Sauna" complete with debatable anatomical correctness. I have stored said drawings away for safe keeping. This morning Tony, Thomas and I climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge. If you ever some to Sydney, I recommend that you do this. You put on a very entertaining jumpsuit and harness and walk right up the arch of the brige until you are 400 feet above the harbor looking out over the Opera House, downtown and what appears to be all of creation. Tonight we drove over to Newcastle to play the show. There were definate highlights, as with the previous show on this tour. In addition to it being a fine show with good lighting, I'll just say that we did a good job setting ourselves up for a good show tomorrow night. Tomorrow we leave Sydney after what has been a great stay in what I feel is one of the world's great cities. I look forward to coming back someday.

-Brandon

Monday, December 8th
We are on a roll with good shows down under. We have been changing up some songarrangements, which is keeping us all on our toes on stage. We all dropped out under Jimmy during his Free solo last night creating a great arena rock moment as he stood on the stacks in the spotlight filling up the place with his screaching lead. Pat pulled a couple of women up to the stage to dance during Mississippi. The few times he has done this, the women generally let him lead, as they waltz around the stage. But the second woman last night was having none of that. She was pulling out all the moves. Suddenly it was "Girls Gone Wild - The Train Set."

This morning, Pat and I played "When I Look to the Sky" on the Channel 7 morning show, Sunrise. With all the television that we have done, it is amazing how much more laid back it is outside of the States. We walked into the building about 20 min before we played this morning. In the US, we would have been sitting in the green room for hours. We are playing an acoustic show this afternoon for some radio contest winners and then we have the night off. Tomorrow is our last day in Sydney before we start city jumping our way back to LA.

-Brandon

Sunday, December 7th
Last night we played our second Sydney show. We mixed up the set list some, starting the show off with My Private Nation and adding I'm About to Come Alive and It's About You for the first time on this run. With the risk of sounding like a broken record, it was yet another great show. I know what you are thinking, if he says all the shows are great, how do we know when one isn't great? A fine question, I'm glad you asked. You just have to trust me that I'll let you know. I'll use the proper music industry language and tell you "that show was fine" or "great lighting tonight" or some such indirect jab. But the show last night was truely another in a series of great shows. Tonight we head off to Canberra which happens to be the capitol of Australia. We are playing in a theater there, more like our US tour this summer. I enjoy playing in these enormo-domes, but the theater is really the perfect venue size in my opinion. On Monday we will be playing a series of press shows starting with an appearance on the morning show Sunrise.

On a side note, Tony and I went to the zoo yesterday and saw some kangaroos, koala bears, and wonbats. Very satisfying. Now if I only had some Vegemite.

-Brandon

Friday, December 5th
The show tonight felt like one of our best. We were all clicking on stage. We added My Private Nation and Mississippi to the set list. I think Pat, Jimmy and Scott were a little fired up from the Grammy news today, and brought that excitement to the show. I think it is incredible that Train will spend the three weeks before the Grammys playing in small clubs. How may Grammy nominated bands can you go see in a 150 seat club?

We are all fired up about the club tour. It is pretty much all we are talking about. Well that and a bunch of stuff that is really funny, but entirely inappropriate to write down here. But when we are not being inappropriately funny, we are talking about the club tour. Tony, Johnny and I have a lot of new music to learn in a short amount of time. But before we get to that, there are some sight here in Sydney that are calling for our attention. I have been in Australia for five days and I haven't seen a kangaroo yet. So that will be my mission tomorrow.

-Brandon

Thursday, December 4th
We are all together again. A few days ago, on the busiest travel day of the year, we all congregated at LAX to begin our trans-pacific journey. BY the time us East-coasters in the group landed in Perth, we had traveled more than half way around the globe, and it showed. After a nights rest, we opened the Australian tour last night. It feels great to play with the full band again. There is a perpetual motion to this group. We pick up right where we left off last. Like the last tour, the show opened with Calling All Angels and kept climbing. We played the better part of an hour to a full house. The whole band played on When I Look to the Sky for the first time since Portland, Maine, if I'm not mistaken. This was without a doubt a great way to start off our tour down under.

-Brandon

FALL 2003

Sunday, October 19th
Last night we played a small private function in Toronto. We ended up playing an acoustic set, with Jimmy and Tony on acoustic guitars. Scott played a full kit, Johnny had an amp and I refrained from breaking out the full piano and organ. The show was similar to the surprise show we played at the Sweetwater in Mill Valley back when we were rehearsing for the first MPN tour. It is great to strip off the layers of production it takes to put on the bigger shows and just play the music. The set list, as best I can remember it was:

Calling All Angels
She?s On Fire
Meet Virginia
Get To Me
Ramble On
When I Look to the Sky
All American Girl
Drops of Jupiter

Now we all head home for a while. We played 16 shows in 17 days on this tour, from Portland, Me to San Francisco and back to Toronto. It was a hectic schedule, but a blast nonetheless. It is a testament to Thomas and the great road crew that Train has that the band was able to put on such consistently great shows while working at this blistering pace. I?m looking forward to heading over to Australia in December. Keep an eye on the appearances page on the website and an ear on your radio, as When I Look to the Sky should start showing up all around us soon.

-Brandon

Friday, October 17th
It is 98 degrees in Phoenix today. We?ve been driving all over New England and the Midwest for the past few weeks, looking out the bus windows at the beautiful fall colors, watching people stroll around in scarves and wooly sweaters. Now, looking out at the blazing desert around Phoenix, I?m a little lost, meteorologically speaking that is.

Johnny rescued me from a day of exercising and getting my life together by enticing me to see Kill Bill with him this afternoon. We were both blown away. It is the definition of entertainment. Quentin Tarantino is the unchallenged king of cinema violence. It is a bit overwhelming, but artfully done. The movie has an amazing self-awareness and sense of humorthat makes it feel completely different from the standard Hollywood action stock. And as with his previous films, the music is incredible. But I am no film critic.

Tonight?s show had to be the best on this run. We played in a big arena here at the Arizona State Fair. The crowd was great and we were having a blast on stage. Jimmy topped his Free solo from last night, pulling out some arena rock. Pat invited some women up again during Mississippi. We also played the new improv song again, which is quickly taking shape and thus no longer qualifies as ?improv?. Pat gave us a few more facts about his friend?s car before Ramble On. We learned that it was rusted out and had a passenger seat prone to falling out. It was a great way to end this run. We are off to Toronto tonight to play a small private show. Then we all head home for some good rest and relaxation.

-Brandon

Thursday, October 16th
We spent the entire day on the Rock. It was a spectacular setting for a show, to say the least. The San Francisco skyline was our backdrop tonight. It is amazing that people were sent to a place with that great of a view as a punishment. We got to take the tour after sound check. It is fascinating to imagine what life must have been like both during its hay day as a prison and during the late 60s when Native Americans occupied the island.

The show was a little shorter than usual tonight since we were playing before the Barenaked Ladies. Calling All Angels was great right out of the gate. Pat surprised us all by inviting a couple of women up out of the audience to dance with him during Mississippi. Jimmy played a great solo in Free to end the set. I?m realizing that cell phones have replaced the cigarette lighter as the concert accessory of rock homage. It creates a startling view from stage when hundreds of people hold up their cell phones. It is as if all of us on stage just got a lot calls for us on other people?s cell phones. I want to pick one up and say??yes, this is Brandon. How did you know I was here??

It is great to be back in San Francisco, if only for a night. I didn?t spend much time here before I started playing with Train, but in just a few short months this city has really grown on me. Hopefully we will be back soon.

-Brandon

Wednesday, October 15th
While no day could be called typical in a touring musician?s life, today was as close as one could get. We are on stage for roughly 1 ? hours a night. How do we fill the other 22 ? hours? I?m glad you asked:

Here is what I did today:
8:30 am I woke up and sat up with the bus driver listening to the CB conversation between him, the crew bus driver and equipment driver while we rode into Lincoln, NE.
9 ? 9:30 I had a hearty breakfast of Grape Nuts, soy milk and juice while talking to Thomas about the Backstreet Boys and the current state of affairs in the Middle East.
9:30 ? 12:00 I drank a pot of coffee while sitting on the bus talking with Jimmy and Johnny about Tattoos, the benefits of daily sound checks and the possibility that the golf store across the street might be running some great sales due to the shortened golf season here in Lincoln, NE.
12:00 ? 2:30 I checked email, packed a box to send stuff home and thought a lot about how great a big stack of pancakes would be today.
2:30 ? 3:30 I realized that the Perkins restaurant across the street was serving breakfast all day and hopped over for a delicious pancake breakfast. 3:30 ? 5:00 Went to soundcheck at the venue.
5:00 ? 7:00 I walked around like a zombie, wishing I hadn?t had a giant pancake breakfast at 2:30 in the afternoon. Eventually I took a 10 minute nap on the bus, after which Johnny and I set out to find a coffee shop, only to discover that there is nothing resembling a coffee shop around the venue.
7:00 ? 7:45 Watched Holly Williams play her set.
7:45 ? 8:15 Dressed and hung out back stage before the show.
8:15 ? 9:30 Played the show.
9:30 ? now I frantically packed all my stuff and tried to get this emailed off?.

We are getting on a plane tonight in order to make it to Alcatraz on time. Moving from a bus to a plane is a complicated task for the entire group. The bus is great because it lets you put things in places, making your daily load that much lighter. Getting on a plane means everything has to fit somewhere in something you are carrying. This makes everyone, including myself a little frantic. There was lots of packing going on this afternoon. Gear had to be sorted out and luggage had to be organized. I made an effort on this tour not to put stuff all over the bus, but I am still finding a jacket here and a DVD there.

Some notes from the show:
Pat did some climbing tonight during Save The Day. He made it up the speakers on both sides of the stage. Before Ramble On, we learned some more about Pat?s friend?s car where he apparently first heard Whole Lotta Love. We know from earlier in the tour that this mysterious friend?s car cost about $75 and only had an old tape deck. Tonight we learned it also had no heat. And so the plot thickens?. The improv piece from last night made a second appearance. My Private Nation was really on tonight. And Pat gave us a little surprise Prince before Dream On. We came back for a second encore and played what I think was our best version of Drops of Jupiter so far this tour.

-Brandon

Tuesday, October 14th
A little dressing room conversation?
?Is it me or is Pat looking better??
?Better than he used to??
?No, better than the rest.?

We are playing in a dome at the University of Illinois tonight, during game 6 of the Cubs-Marlins series. A win for the Cubs would send them on to the World Series tonight, which would make Jimmy a very happy man. Either way, we have a show?.in a dome. Arenas like this are like self-contained miniature cities. The hallways go on and on and on, not unlike the Cleveland Arena that stumped the fine men of Spinal Tap. But I?ve double-checked and I shouldn?t get lost on my way to the stage tonight.

(pause here to play the show?)

Well, the Cubs lost tonight but Train didn?t. We rocked that dome. Ramble On was really strong tonight. We followed it with a little improv that we worked on at sound check. We also busted out Lincoln Avenue for the first time in this run. Tonight we head off to Nebraska on the way to Alcatraz.

-Brandon

Monday, October 13th
Today is Columbus day, and what better place to spend it than South Bend, Indiana. According to our hotel guest services book, Notre Dame traces it?s roots back to a trading post established in what was then Native American land; a little place they called Indian-ana. And so we came here to celebrate Columbus day with the great people of South Bend who surprisingly enough, seemed more interested in hearing a Train show than a lecture on Native American History.

And so we played a show. Some highlights included a groovy She?s On Fire, and I?m About to Come Alive which Pat really nailed tonight. Also of note was the fact that 3/6 of the people on stage were sporting neckties tonight. Nothing says ?professional? better than a nice necktie.

Tonight?s set list:
Calling All Angels
Virginia
She?s On Fire (w/ Sly and the Family Stone intro)
Save the Day
Mississippi
Get to Me
Ramble On (with Walk on the Wild Side / Whole Lotta Love interlude)
Respect
I Am
I?m About to Come Alive
All American Girl
Free (with ?hey hey hey, goodbye?)

First Encore:
When I Look to the Sky (piano only)
It?s About You
Dream On

Second Encore:
Drops of Jupiter

PS. Following Jimmy?s notes from the road is no easy task. I can?t speak on behalf of the band, but only as myself, a musician along for the ride. I hope I can provide a different perspective of what is like to travel around playing music with Train.

-Brandon

Monday, October 13th
hey everyone. we've just finished playing 10 shows in a row in different cities in the northeastern united states. we figured it was a nice way to break johnny colt into the band and get him used to how we do things around here. a hard working band, that's us. turns out he's a pretty hard working guy, himself. lots of ideas. johnny, brandon bush and tony lopacinsky have really provided a spark to this band. there's a sense of newness and excitement onstage and off that's making us feel all giddy. the shows have been going really well. the new guys (they call themselves "the B-team") are learning more songs as the tour progresses, so we'll be mixing things up more and more in the coming weeks/months. we're also spending more time each day developing our light show and trying to make things look as good as they can. why? because we care.

on another note...

jimmy has always been the guy who writes these journal entries and should probably start referring to himself as "I" instead of "jimmy", but he's so used to writing in the third person that he's a little confused. it might take some time for him to adjust and start calling himself "I". he's so confused that the other day he said to pat, "jimmy thinks it would be a good idea if there were more guitar solos in the show" and pat said, "don't you mean I?" and jimmy said "no, you don't play the guitar...jimmy does!". anyway, jimmy has been doing this for a long time and not that he's bored with it (he actually really enjoys doing this), but he thinks that the fans would enjoy more notes more often. the band is pretty busy these days and jimmy feels like he's slacking on the journal and thus letting you, the fan, down. his solution to this (which was actually suggested by one of the B-team) is to share the journal responsibilitie s with others. brandon, for one, has offered to write a note everyday if we'd like him to. brandon is bored and has way too much time on his hands! maybe pat or scott or even a crew member could drop a line every now and then. and, of course, jimmy would still write, too. we feel like this would give you, the fan, more insight and a different perspective of what goes on behind the scenes in the everyday life of Train. the writer of the future journal entries should probably sign their own name to the entry from now on, so that you, the fan, will know who it is that's writing. we think it might be an interesting change and might relieve some of the guilt that jimmy feels when he doesn't write as often as he'd like to. we're not sure when or how this will start. you'll probably just log on one day and there will be a note from somebody other than jimmy on there. weird. spooky even. new contributors to this page will not be allowed to use jimmy's style of writing with hardly any capital letters nor will they be allowed to be funnier than he is. in reality, the other guys in the band are all much funnier than jimmy and jimmy has enjoyed the opportunity that this page has given him to show the others that he too has a sense of humor and they should let him participate in their joking and pranking every once in awhile.

anyway, jimmy's gotta go now. he'll talk to you soon.

take care,
Jimmy

(weird...and spooky)

Monday, September 22nd
we have some difficult news to tell you today...

due to personal reasons, Train and Charlie Colin have parted ways. this decision was not a sudden one and is in the best interest of both parties. Charlie has been an important part of this band and his personality and unique playing style will be missed. this is a mutual effort to allow the band to continue to be the best it can be. we are parting on good terms and neither party is completely closing the door on the possibility of someday working together again. you never know. this is the right decision for right now. trust us. filling in for Charlie will be the very talented, good looking, former bass player from the Black Crowes, Mr. Johnny Colt. all shows will go on as planned.

on a more positive note...we recently returned to Southern Tracks Recording Studio in Atlanta and re-recorded a version of "when i look to the sky" with producer Brendan O'Brien that will be released to radio stations everywhere in october. we, the record company and all parties involved that have heard this new version are very, very excited about it. so excited that we might even add it to the next pressing of the "my private nation" cd as a bonus track or something crazy like that. maybe a free limited time download on our website or something. we're not sure yet. we just want you to have it, so we'll figure out a way. trust us! also, check out the music choice television pay-per-view special of "Train - Live in Atlanta" during the month of October...it's pretty darn good. and stay tuned to the tour page for some exciting new dates to be announced soon. we'll give you a hint....kangaroos. more U.