The start of Train's route can be found in an L.A. band called the Apostles, which broke up in the early '90s. Their lead singer, Rob Hotchkiss, relocated to San Francisco in 1994, and there met up with another aspiring vocalist, Patrick Monahan. The two became friends and soon launched a regular coffeehouse act--two singers, one guitar, kinda like Simon & Garfunkel. After making the Bay Area rounds for a while as a duo, Hotchkiss and Monahan decided they should get out of the folk ghetto and form a real band. For this purpose, they recruited fellow ex-Apostles Jimmy Stafford (guitar) and Charlie Colin (bass). Colin, in turn, recommended that Scott Underwood be hired to man the drums, and when a bassist recommends a drummer, you listen. Thus Train came to be.

The real breakthrough, however, came with the single "Drops Of Jupiter" from the album of the same name in March 2001. Significant airplay of the single helped Drops Of Jupiter debut at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. The single, which Monahan wrote late in the album's recording process, reached No. 5 in the U.S. and also became a hit in the U.K. Perhaps sensing the tune's commercial potential, the singer-songwriter played it for Columbia Records head Don Ienner before presenting it to the band. The song also scored Grammy nominations for record of the year and song of the year, as well as best rock song and best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal. The band took home the award in the latter category, besting such high-profile competition as U2, Coldplay, and Aerosmith.

In 2002 Train once again hired producer Brendan O'Brien and headed into the studio to cut its follow-up to Jupiter. Initially set for a fall 2002 release, Train's third album, My Private Nation, was unveiled in June 2003.