Founder of US Rock Band Train Dies at 58

(ReliableNews.org) – Train was one of the most popular bands in the late 1990s and early 2000s. “Meet Virginia” and “Drops of Jupiter” were in hot rotation at radio stations. Sadly, one of the founding members of the band is now dead.

Bassist Charlie Colin died in what appears to be a tragic accident. The artist’s mother said that he was house-sitting for a friend in Brussels, Belgium. While there, he slipped in the shower and fell. He died from the injuries sustained in the fall.

Colin’s body wasn’t discovered until five days ago when his friends returned home from their trip, but it’s not clear when he slipped in the shower. His Wikipedia page was updated with his date of death as May 17, but that has not been confirmed.

Colin was just 58 years old when he died. He’d been documenting his life in Belgium on Instagram, saying it was his favorite place.

The bassist grew up in Southern California and attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. When he finished college, he joined a band called Apostles with singer Rob Hotchkiss and guitarist Jimmy Stafford. When the band broke up, he lived in Singapore for a year and wrote jingles. Eventually, he returned home and moved to San Francisco.

While living there, he formed Train with Pat Monahan, Scott Underwood, Jimmy Stafford, Scott Underwood, and Rob Hotchkiss. The group released its debut album, “Train,” in 1998, and the hit “Meet Virginia.”

In 2001, Train released their album “Drops of Jupiter” and won two Grammys the next year. In 2003, the band released their third album, “My Private Nation,” and that was also the year Colin left the band.

At the time of his departure, Colin was suffering from substance abuse issues. In 2015, he reunited with Hotchkiss and formed Painbirds. Two years later, he formed another band, the Side Deal.

Train paid tribute to Colin on social media, crediting his “unique bass playing a beautiful guitar work helped get folks to notice us in [San Francisco] and beyond.” The message concluded by telling him to “charm the pants off those angels.”