Music Saved Me.
When Hay Soul Sister came out, there was a family with a highly autistic child who is eight years old and had not spoken one word in his lifetime.
The parents were in the kitchen and the television.
Was on in the other room, and obviously that video for Hay Souls Sister was on, and they heard something that they've never heard before and walked in and their son was singing to Hey Soul Sister. The first thing that they ever heard this eight year old do was sing that song.
I'm Len Hoffman and this is the Music Saved Me podcast, the podcast where we get to explore the healing powers of music with some of the biggest names in music. And we also love being supporters of Musicians on Call, which is a wonderful charity that does tremendous work using the healing power of music to make a difference for so many today. Our guest is the leader of the multi Grammy winning band and an old pal from Train, Pat Monaghan. Pat, it is so great to have you
on Music Saved Me. I think it's been a minute since I've seen you, and I actually still have the Train bottle of wine here that I have not drunk yet, so a very special occasion.
For me today.
Great it is for me too, Welcome.
To the show.
I'm not sure when the last time we spoke was, but today it's specifically about music and how it can heal. And I'm curious, do you believe that music has healing powers?
Yes, I've received emails many times that music has done wonderful things for people that I've been a part of, and I'm very grateful for those emails and conversations that I've had. One particular was when Hey Souls Sister came out.
There was a family with a highly autistic child who is eight years old and had not spoken one word in his lifetime, and the parents are in the kitchen and the television was on in the other room, and obviously that video for Hay Soul Sister was on, and they heard something that they've never heard before and walked in and their son was singing to Hey Soul's Sister. The first thing that they ever heard this eight year
old do was sing that song. So there's got to be something in music that stimulates our brains and hearts to shift or change or progress, whatever it is. But I definitely believe in it. I know music has saved my life many times.
Can you give us one example.
Well, I grew up in Erie, Pennsylvania, and music was a thing that separated me from my peers.
That I tried.
Sports to do that, to be exceptional at it, and that didn't work, and academic certainly didn't work, and there weren't many other choices. So I would just sing to everybody in class and it was usually Led Uppelin songs. And then from there I became a singer and a LEDs Upland cover band, and well, then I ended up moving to Los Angeles and San Francisco to start training.
Well, you have a very strong connection with your fans. They're called training acts. I've met quite a few of them in my day, and I want to know what it means to you when you hear from your fans about their lives and their challenges and their loss.
Well, I mean, you know, it means as much as it would mean if a close friend told you. Because these people have been with me for you know, thirty years, so we've become very close friends. We email each other and sometimes talk on the phone, and other times we meet on a cruise every other year. Which is really a great way to connect with them and for them to connect with us.
There's this trend for artists to be transparent about their lives. For example, we've had jelly Roll. We've also heard similar stories from Brent Smith from Shineedown. I wonder you've always been an open book about your life through your music.
I want to say, how difficult.
But is it even difficult for you to share what's happening in your life with people through your music?
You know, I share what feels like It wouldn't be a burden for people. You know, when I do have struggles, I don't really look to train fans for sympathy or comfort. However, I will share similar stories that people are sharing with me. But I don't feel like, you know, in a position of you know, being a successful singer in a rock band, that's hard for people to go, oh, well, isn't that so bad that that happened to you? When people are
really struggling with big stuff. If someone shares something with me, I will share a similar story if it feels appropriate, But otherwise, you know, I keep my woes to myself.
Your song Drops of Jupiter, it's one of the greatest songs of all time, if I may say, and it's a very personal song to you, it's about your mom passing. Can you tell us about how you created that, how you were able to make that and put it out there for people to hear.
We recorded an album called Something More and delivered it to Columbia Records, and they didn't think we had a first single. I was emotionally not in the mood because I lost my mother just recently and now I don't have a single for this record company. And one night I went to sleep and probably was sleep for ten minutes and woke up with all the lyrics and melodies in my head as though my mother had delivered me the message, this is what it's like when you go
to the other side. You can swim through the planets and come back with drops of Jupiter in your hair and don't worry about me. So then, you know, with the looking for yourself out there, that was the emotional part of it for me. That was like, it's it, you know, somehow had to translate into a.
Love story, and so that was that was the little bit of.
Something I gave to the song that maybe my mother didn't deliver.
That were you surprised at how huge that song was and how connected.
With so many people.
There's no reason for that song to become a hit.
It's the same thing as any other song that was big for us, Like even Meet Virginia was a quirky little song and a song with a yukulele and.
You know, drops a jupiter.
It was like four minutes and twenty seconds or something at a time, and there were you know, two and a half minutes songs on the radio. So that's so true. It was a pretty interesting that that it happened.
It was a big deal.
You had a charity that you work with, your charity house in San Francisco. Can you tell us about that and what that work means to you.
Yeah, it's a it's a place called family House that houses you know, low income families with very sick kids that are being treated at UCSF Hospital. Most of them are you know, brain tumors, eye tumors, things with the head that UCSF Hospital is very specialized in. So when we started making wine about twelve years ago, we decided that it should be a reasonable a reasonably priced bottle of wine from you know, the Bay area. Whether it was nap or East Bay or somewhere so that train
fans could get a taste of where we're from. And in the meantime, proceeds from those sales would go to family house, and then every time that another charity event happens, we just give them the money for that as well. It's an incredible program that has saved people's lives and dignity for many years.
It's amazing.
It's really exciting to hear about things that other people do to help those but it also it's you know, when you have that power and that platform to use it for good.
Things, and it's just it's a special thing. I think.
Yeah, I was obvious at the time that it was time to give back to the Bay Area for all they've done for us, So it was a pretty easy choice.
You had vocal surgery in the past, which is shocking to me because I didn't realize that until I read about it. You love what you're creating and the impact that it has. What was it like for you going through that surgery? I mean, did you think that you were going to be able to still make music?
Well, that's the you know, that's an example of things I don't share with with trained fans or anybody. I think I recently mentioned that to someone then, and here we are talking about it.
Oh, forgive me, I'm sorry.
I had no It's okay, it is what it is. I'm the one who said it. But you know it's been it's been you know, five or more years now. At the time, it was, you know, the scariest thing
that you know, you can imagine. And right prior to that, I was playing golf and pro am and Pebble Beach and I was with a guy who is also a singer and told them I was about to fly to San Francisco after the pro am to have vocal cord surgery where they actually removed scar tissue from both folds of my local chords because I couldn't there were times I couldn't sing at all.
Wow.
And he said, man.
That's like Tom Brady getting his right arm worked on. That's not really what I was hoping you'd say. But that even scared me more so. But anyway, when I came out of it, and the doctor's name is Clark Rosen, and he's originally practiced in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and when I met him, I just had a real connection to him, and he did an incredible job. And here I am able to sing in many cases better than I ever have.
There are certain things I can't do anymore, but for the most part, I can do it all.
That's pretty amazing.
I do voice work for my secondary job, and I couldn't even imagine if someone said that I had to go have that done, I'd be petrified. Did you listen to any particular music to get you through it or your own?
Well, well, you know, music is such an interesting thing.
Music wasn't going to be what was going to like pull me out of being scared, because listening to people sing is just like I want to keep being.
Oh yeah, So there's that.
It was more of, you know, just communicating with the people that I needed to about, knowing that it was the right thing for me to do at the right time. And but then shortly after music was everything because I had to, you know, teach myself to sing in a different way because I didn't want to end up having to be back there or doing the same thing. So I think singing those LEDs upland songs put me in more jeopardy than I mean. That's why Robert Plant doesn't
do it anymore makes sense. You know, he's probably like, what are you doing kids that look.
On your face?
Well, in closing, how would you like your music to be remembered in terms of the good that it spreads in the world world.
Well, that's a big answer, because I'd like it to be remembered. And you know, unfortunately, I'm a fan of comedy and I just saw Ricky Jarvay special that was incredible, and he was like, none of us will be remembered, like it's just a matter.
Of time, and so, you know, quit being an asshole. And he's right.
So I think, you know, for the short time that we'll be here on the planet, and for however many years after. I just think that music is supposed to have hope.
I always did. I remember writing.
The first few songs I ever wrote, and it was at a time of grunge music, and so people were like this sucks, like it's like it's so cushy, and but for me, it was like, I don't know, man,
I think people need to have hope somewhere. So Calling All Angels, you know, was at a time where I was really I was really at odds with myself, like we were successful, but I was incredibly unhappy and I found an incredible therapist and she told me that we are divided between angels and traders, and I had to call my angels and I was like, consider it stolen. Those are the things that gave me hope. And I feel like that was the message I was supposed to deliver.
So hope is is underrated and really helps.
Do you think writing music also is sort of a therapeutic.
Oh yeah, one hundred percent.
Like it's if I didn't have the ability to write music, then I would be a mess because it really helps a lot.
I hope a lot of people hear that and try it out. It's pretty it's pretty incredible, even if you're not writing a song, just writing in general, getting your thoughts out of the general.
Well, thank you, Pat, it was so good to see you.
Congratulations on all the continued success with the band, and thank you for joining us on music save Me and and for the joy.
That your music brings to so many. Well, thank you, thank you, you too.