AX FACTS & STATS
Vol. 23: TRAIN’s Jimmy Stafford
An Exclusive Interview/questionnaire
by Dave Roberts for Extremeguitars.com!
Welcome once again! This month ExtremeGuitars.com is privileged to welcome Grammy award winning TRAIN guitarist Jimmy Stafford as we once again ask your guitar heroes the only questions that matter in a modest segment we like to label “Ax Facts and Stats”. With numerous accomplishments under their belt, TRAIN, is probably best known for their 2001 certified platinum “Drops of Jupiter” which resided in the Hot 100 for 53 weeks! My personal opinion is that you ain’t heard nothin’ yet! TRAIN released “My Private Nation” in 2003 with amazing singles “Calling All Angels” and “When I Look To The Sky” which are, without a doubt, my personal favorite TRAIN tracks. (Train tracks, get it?). I look forward to these guys pumping out great tunes for several years to come. A HUGE thank you goes out to Jimmy for taking time out of his demanding schedule to participate in our “AFS” questionnaire and also for welcoming ExtremeGuitars.com to TRAIN’s Winston, NC show. Be sure you visit ExtremeGuitars.com later this month to check out some cool photos from this show. I highly suggest you check out TRAIN this summer as they tour supporting their “My Private Nation” release which by the way, is in stores now.. So what are you waiting for? Go buy it! Well, at least wait until you finish reading this interview.
My name is: Jimmy Stafford
Myself described in 5 words: Easy going, flowing, passionate and sexy!
My current job is: I play guitar for the rock band, TRAIN.
My hometown is: I grew up in Morris, Illinois.
My current album or project is: Our latest release was “My Private Nation”. we just released a song called “Ordinary”, which will be in the upcoming Spiderman 2 movie and soundtrack. we plan to release a live album. later this year.
Former band(s): The “Apostles” and many, many more.
My guitar influences growing up were: Angus Young, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck
The guitars I use are: PRS and Fender custom Teles.
The strings and tunings I use are: I use are: D’addario in typically normal tuning. sometimes a drop D.
My current rig setup consists of: A Bogner half-stack and a VOX AC30. i use the new VOX Tonelab at home in the studio and writing on the road.
The greatest invention for guitars is: I have invented nothing!!
My normal songwriting process: A musical idea (usually on guitar or piano) recorded and developed on pro tools and passed along to Pat Monahan (Train’s singer) for lyrics and melody.
The reason for the name TRAIN : Couldn’t think of anything better and then we got popular and had to stick with it!
My Favorite TRAIN solo is: “Getaway” from the Drops of Jupiter album.
My Favorite TRAIN song is: “Blind”, “Get To Me”, “Ordinary”.
My Career highlight is: Winning a Grammy for “Drops of Jupiter”
My most embarrassing moment on stage: I was once so deep into a guitar solo that i didn’t realize that i was slobbering all over myself! very Jimmy Page of me.
Other than my guitar, the one piece of my gear that I cannot live without is: My penis.
The first song I mastered on guitar was: “Riff Raff” by AC/DC
My first guitar was: A Gibson SG.
If I am only sure of one thing in life, it’s… Allowing things to happen to you works much better than trying to force things to happen.
My Greatest fear is: onstage is: the anaconda snake man that was chasing me in my dream while i was in the parking lot at an Oingo Boingo concert.
The one ritual I always perform prior to going onstage is: A glass of wine.
Favorite quote: onstage is: “You can’t change a tiger’s stripes”.
The exact moment I knew I would pursue a career in music was: 10 years lip syncing to KISS records.
The one thing most fans don’t know about me is: I shave my nuts with the same electric razor that i shave my head with.
The best advice I could give beginning guitarists is: Use your ears. They’re your best tool. Listen and react.
The CD(s) I’m listening to right now is: Outkast, Lucinda Williams, alot of jazz and Tortoise.
My 3 all-time favorite albums are: Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti”, Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” and Radiohead’s “Kid A”.
I’m a sucker for: Girls in hats.
Best gig: tomorrow night’s.
One of My favorite artists that I jammed with onstage: Alice Cooper.
Favorite junk food: pizza.
My biggest pet peeve is: Smokers who blow it your way.
The word or catch phrase I say way too much is: “right on”
The hardest part of my job: Being away from home.
The first thing I do when I come home from touring is: Hug my daughter.
If I could meet any ONE person living or Dead, he/she would be: Elvis.
I knew I hit the “big time” when: when “Drops of Jupiter” became the most played song in the world and got nominated for five Grammy’s.
My Favorite Website is: ESPN.com.
The worst job I ever had: bailing hay.
Right after this interview I’m going to: Get dressed.
I couldn’t imagine being on the road without: A cellphone!
If I wasn’t doing the musician thing, I could really see myself working as: A pro golfer.
My favorite movie ever: “Forrest Gump”.
My mission in life: To be happy, healthy and make music that matters.
My guilty pleasure: Sports on tv.
My first band was: “Royal Star”!
My next major step is: Touring all summer and recording a live album.
The greatest contribution guitars have brought into my life is: A job that i love with some great guys in a great band.
The coolest toy I had growing up was: A record player.
Check out my Website at: savemesanfrancisco.com
The one musician I would love to work with that I have not yet had the chance would be: Aimee Mann.
If I could have three wishes, they would be: 1) live long 2) true love 3)comfortably wealthy
When it’s all said and done, I want the world to remember me for: Being a good guitar player in a great band and remaining down to earth and being a good dad.
Points of Interest: (Bio & photos Courtesy of Trainline.com)
Train became a huge success in 2001, when their single “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me)” became one of the year’s biggest hits.
Train began in 1994 when Pat Monahan, an Erie, Pennsylvania, native living in Los Angeles, met Rob Hotchkiss (who left the band in 2003). After moving to San Francisco and appearing in coffeehouses as an acoustic duo, they added Colin (bass) and Stafford (guitar), who, like Hotchkiss, were veterans of the Apostles, an L.A. band. Scott Underwood came on board as drummer shortly afterward.
Train’s debut album was produced by the band and Curtis Mathewson. In February 1998, it was picked up by Aware/Columbia, and the band hit the road in a rundown 1987 Dodge Ram van with a little red trailer. It stayed on the road for the next two years.
In Autumn 1998, the Fox Television series, “Party Of Five,” began to feature Train’s first single, “Free,” which had already received steady radio play. By August, a second single, “Meet Virginia,” led Train to a four week stay at #1 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart. In November 1999, the album was certified RIAA gold. It went platinum in March 2000.
Drops Of Jupiter arrived on March 27, 2001, its title track, “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me),” was already a hit on several Billboard charts. The song’s undeniable hook and lush orchestration by Paul Buckmaster won over scores of new fans and radio listeners. By June, Drops Of Jupiter was RIAA-certified platinum. By April 2002, the single had spent a total of 53 weeks on the Hot 100. It won a Best Rock Song Grammy for Train, as well as a Best Arrangement Grammy.
My Private Nation was produced and mixed by Brendan O’Brien, whose resume includes Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine, Paul Westerberg, Neil Young, Stone Temple Pilots, and Train’s Drops Of Jupiter. The CD was recorded at Southern Tracks in Atlanta, Georgia, and mastered by the legendary Bob Ludwig at Gateway Mastering and DVD, Portland, Maine. Paul Buckmaster, who won the Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement Grammy for “Drops Of Jupiter (Tell Me),” returns on My Private Nation with string arrangements for the tracks “Lincoln Avenue” and “Your Every Color.”
