Pat Monahan from Train talks about the “hard” time before success and the new song “Long Yellow Dress”

Pat Monahan, lead singer of Train, has put an “Easter Egg” on the cover of the band’s latest single, “Long Yellow Dress”: the Golden Gate Bridge.

“We’ll always be a San Francisco band, no matter where we live,” Monahan, 55, tells USA TODAY. “It’s just home. And yes, it’s a throwback to the ‘Save Me, San Francisco’ album.” Monahan is from Erie, Pennsylvania, and lives with his family in Washington state. His band will tour the country on a co-headlining “Summer Road Trip” tour with REO Speedwagon, which includes 45 dates from July to September. But no matter where the band lives or plays, the signs always seem to point to the 2009 LP that spawned “Hey Soul Sister,” “Marry Me” and “If It’s Love.” “Save Me, San Francisco” will be released this October 15.

“I’m going to take the album to dinner,” Monahan jokes about the anniversary celebration. “We’re going to buy a very expensive bottle of wine. I’m going to drink it.”

“I don’t really know if we have any big plans. I think it’s mostly a thank you to the Train fans for welcoming us back after a few years of disappearing and then continuing the tradition.”

Monahan recalls the “tough” time that led to the band producing the album.

“We tried to write pop hits. It was about maintaining our popularity and that failed,” he says. “And then I did a solo record that didn’t do so well either. I learned a lot. And then it was kind of like we had to get back to what was important to us.” The band’s consensus was that they were interested in San Francisco and “the music that people wanted from us.” “Save Me, San Francisco” was certified three times platinum in February.

Whenever Monahan writes a song, whether it’s “Meet Virginia” or the recent “Long Yellow Dress,” he tries to “write something unusual.” “‘Hey Soul Sister’ was weird with a ukulele. ‘Marry Me’ was weird; it was just me and an acoustic guitar,” he says. “(‘Long Yellow Dress’) doesn’t sound like something young people are trying to do. It sounds like it should be sung by someone my age. And so I want to make sure I act my age.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Train’s Pat Monahan explains why the band’s hits are ‘weird’