IN CONCERT Train keeps rolling along

The band is including an acoustic set in its live show.
By JOHN BENSON
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
For all intent and purpose, the members of Train should still be in the studio finishing up what would be their fourth album.
"Yeah, we only went into the studio to record a song for a movie soundtrack," said guitarist Jimmy Stafford, calling from NBC studios in Los Angeles.
Instead of one song, Train started recording one track after another from the dozens upon dozens of tunes it had been working on over the past year. Soon the band's label, Columbia Records, caught wind of the group's studio output, setting in motion the release of the outfit's latest album, "For Me It's You."
In fact, Train's label even nixed the aforementioned soundtrack song, "Give Myself to You," which started the whole ball rolling in the first place, because it was too good and they wanted it to eventually be a single from "For Me It's You."
Such fortuity epitomizes how far Train has come from its coffeehouse days a decade ago to its major adult-pop status with millions of albums sold and hit singles galore, including "Drops of Jupiter" and "Calling All Angels." Despite the band's success, radio listeners have suffered for years with the latter track remaining ubiquitous with radio programmers airing the song to the point of annoyance.
Don't worry, Stafford doesn't take exception to the notion. And aside from making the band popular, he can understand the idea of a song being overplayed. He joked that while he loves the Counting Crows, he doesn't need to hear "Mr. Jones" ever again.
On track
As for Train, it appears to be right on track with "For Me It's You" selling well and its current club tour filled with sold-out live dates, including an April 17 show at the House of Blues in Cleveland. But isn't the band selling itself short by playing larger clubs over, say, large theaters or even arenas? "I guess it was a little bit planned to create a demand, and for us to go out there and give people a little taste of the album in an intimate setting with a new big show," Stafford said. "So for the people who couldn't get tickets, the word will have gotten around, and those people will probably be right up front in line next time they go on sale."
For the first time, Train is including an acoustic set in its live show, with Stafford mentioning a few choice covers -- including Led Zeppelin's "Going to California" -- being played among the band's many hits.
Stafford is looking forward to his return to Northeast Ohio. You see, for him it's Maxwell and Bingo.
"Yeah, my cats live there," Stafford said. "I wasn't able to take care of them anymore so I flew them there to a friend who was nice enough to watch them for me. It was a big decision I had to make, but they're getting much better care than I could be giving them right now."
For Stafford, there was a decision to make: Train or the cats?
"Yeah," laughed Stafford, "it was a no-brainer."