Rock band Train rolls into wine country

Do you know who is a cool blogger? I will spare you the suspense. I am a cool blogger.

Yes, that was me backstage at the Train concert in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago, interviewing band members about their new venture, releasing a wine. Here’s the story I wrote about that. It was one of the more fun pieces I’ve done. Side benefit: I had to look up rock star behavior for the story and came across the tale of how The Who were banned from Holiday Inns for life. What rascals.

Catching up with Train was not quite that exciting, although my evening started out briskly when I had to walk down a slightly dodgy street and encountered a fellow who reeled out of an adult emporium with his clothes in some disarray. I must have looked a little dismayed because he assured me, “Don’t worry. I’m not going to take it out.” A few steps on and another gentleman wanted to know if I had plans for the evening. “Yes, and they include men with more than three teeth,” I said.

But not out loud.

Other highlights: Whisking by the line stretching down the block outside the Great American Music Hall. Listening to lead singer Pat Monahan talk about how it’s not so surprising the band ended up being involved with a wine since they started out getting paid in beer. Learning drummer Scott Underwood’s favorite varietal: “Vodka.”

I have since tried two of the wines, a chardonnay and a red, both priced at $9.99.

Calling All Angels 2010 Chardonnay: Light, fresh, a little bit of vanilla in there to keep things sweet, a nice wine that can be sipped alone or served along cheesy, creamy dishes.

Drops of Jupiter 2009 Petite Syrah: This was a surprise, I was expecting something more generic but got a red with a lot of personality. Started with a jolt of black berries and finished very smooth and mellow.

I posted a while back about a video the band made at Shafer Vineyards for their song, “Drive-By.” Here’s a behind-the-scenes short they released about the 15-hour day that went into the video.