The band's new album, For Me, It's You showcases a revamped and revitalized lineup: founding core members Pat Monahan, Jimmy Stafford (guitars) and Scott Underwood (drums) are joined by bassist Johnny Colt (originally from the Black Crowes), and Atlanta keyboardist Brandon Bush (John Mayer, Shawn Mullins). Johnny and Brandon have both been on-board since Train's 2003 My Private Nation tour.
With Train's new line-up gelling as a unified musical ensemble working and playing as one on For Me, It's You, the group's new album emerges as the most fully realized and keenly focused collection of the band's career.
"It doesn't sound like we're trying too hard," says Train vocalist/songwriter Pat Monahan about the album's relaxed and intimate vibe. "I do think this record is more personal and more genuine. It's definitely an appropriate record for me personally."
Pat's brought a lot of his personal experience--including the pain of divorce, parenthood, and falling into a love that's both real and mature--to the table for the 13 tracks featured on For Me, It's You. "The 'you' changes in every song," says Pat Monahan regarding the sources of inspiration on the band's new studio album For Me, It's You.
The new album features the single "Cab" and according to Pat, "the metaphoric song on the album. Everything else seems to the point and literal. This whole album is about where I've been lyrically for the last couple of years, experiencing what I've had to experience. You don't choose your experiences, they choose you."
For Me, It's You was recorded over the course of an intensive seven week period in Atlanta, Georgia with producer Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Rage Against The Machine, Trey Anastasio) at the dials. O'Brien first worked with Train in 2001 on the double-platinum watershed album, Drops Of Jupiter (which yielded the group two Grammy awards: Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists) and later for 2003's masterful follow-up, My Private Nation (which earned Train two Grammy nominations for "Calling All Angels").
