Train founding bassist Charlie Colin has passed away at 58. As TMZ reports, Colin’s mother told them that he slipped and fell in the shower while housesitting for friends in Brussels and was found when they returned.
On Instagram, Train shared a statement, writing, “When I met Charlie Colin, front left, I fell in love with him. He was THE sweetest guy and what a handsome chap. Let’s make a band that’s the only reasonable thing to do. His unique bass playing and beautiful guitar work helped get folks to notice us in SF and beyond. I’ll always have a warm place for him in my heart. I always tried to pull him closer but he had a vision of his own. You’re a legend, Charlie. Go charm the pants off those angels.”
Colin studied music at the University Of Southern California and the Berklee College Of Music in Boston, which is where he got acquainted with future founding Train members Rob Hotchkiss and Jimmy Stafford. They were in a band called Apostles in San Francisco for a while. After they broke up, Hotchkiss started making music with Pat Monahan, Train’s eventual lead singer, and invited Colin, Stafford, and Scott Underwood to make music with them.
Train got started in 1994 and toured with Barenaked Ladies, Hootie & the Blowfish, and more during their early years. They released their eponymous debut album in 1998, and lead single “Meet Virginia” peaked at #20 on the Hot 100. They followed that up with 2001’s Drops Of Jupiter, and the title track for that became one of the band’s signature songs, peaking at #5. “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)” won Grammys for Best Rock Song And Best Arrangement.
Colin left the band in 2003 due to substance abuse issues. He continued playing music, in bands like Food Pill, Painbirds (with Hotchkiss, who had left Train by that point, and the Side Deal. In recent years, he had been teaching music in Brussels.
