Monahan began his musical career singing with
cover band Rogues Gallery from 1988 to 1990. The band consisted of Monahan (lead vocals, percussion), Mark Emhoff (lead guitar, vocals), Mike Imboden (bass, keyboards, vocals), John McElhenny (drums, vocals) and his brother Matt (rhythm guitar, keyboards and vocals), in his hometown of
Erie, Pennsylvania. After the dissolution of the band, he left Erie in late 1993 and moved to California, where he met Rob Hotchkiss. While progressing from the SF coffeehouse circuit to the LA club scene, Monahan and Hotchkiss added Jimmy Stafford (guitar), Charlie Colin (bass), and Scott Underwood (drums) to their lineup, thus officially forming
Train. From 1994 to 2006, Monahan released four studio albums with Train. In 2002, the band earned two
Grammys, one of them for the song "
Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)", which was written by Monahan and inspired by his late mother, who had died of cancer. Aside from his work with Train, Monahan also sang additional vocals on the song "Shimmer" with the band
Fuel in 2001. In November 2005, he appeared as a guest vocalist on
VH1's
Decades Rock Live!, where he covered
Cyndi Lauper's hit single "
Time After Time". Later, he took part in
Storytellers – The Doors: A Celebration, paying tribute to
the Doors by performing "
Love Me Two Times". From 2006 to 2009, Train was on a three-year hiatus. Monahan released his first solo album,
Last of Seven, on September 18, 2007, and began a nationwide tour supporting it. He followed that tour with a small, intimate acoustic tour, which inspired his
Last of Seven Acoustic compilation, available via digital download only. His first solo single, "Her Eyes", made the top 10 of
''Billboard's'' Hot AC chart. The album's second single was "Two Ways to Say Goodbye". On
Last of Seven, Monahan duets with folk rock musician
Brandi Carlile, with special guest appearances by
Richie Sambora and
Graham Nash. Monahan worked with
Guy Chambers to co-write two songs for
Tina Turner's hits album,
Tina!: Her Greatest Hits. In 2009, Train returned to the studio with the album
Save Me, San Francisco. That same year, Monahan and some of his fellow Train bandmates landed small acting roles in the
CSI: NY episode "Second Chances". Monahan played a former homeless drug addict Sam Baker (dating Debbie Fallon, portrayed by
Kim Kardashian) who becomes involved in a murder investigation. Train performed the song "
Hey, Soul Sister" from their new album, and "
Calling All Angels". in 2011 Despite the success of their new album, Monahan found time to collaborate with other artists in other projects. On April 4, 2010, he performed with
the Hollies at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, as the Hollies were inducted. He sang lead vocals on the song "
Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress". The following year, he contributed a cover of
Buddy Holly's "
Maybe Baby" for the tribute album,
Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, which was released on September 6, 2011. Monahan also recorded a duet with
Martina McBride, singing Train's song "Marry Me". This version of the song is on McBride's eleventh studio album
Eleven, released October 11, 2011. He also performed several times with
INXS during 2011; first on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and then at a concert at Chateau Ste Michelle. Monahan also appeared on the show
The Voice, where he performed "Drops of Jupiter" with contestant
Vicci Martinez. In 2013, he started
Patcast, a
podcast in which he interviews people in the music industry and talks about his work with Train. Monahan has sung the
US national anthem at various events: • August 5, 2007, at the
Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in
Canton, Ohio • April 8, 2011, at a home opener of the
San Francisco Giants at
AT&T Park • February 26, 2012, at the
2012 Daytona 500 in Florida • April 24, 2014, at
Oracle Arena for Game 3 of the playoffs between the
Los Angeles Clippers and
Golden State Warriors • September 14, 2014, at
Levi's Stadium in
Santa Clara, California for the home opener between the
San Francisco 49ers and the
Chicago Bears • January 18, 2015, at
Gillette Stadium in
Foxborough, Massachusetts for the
AFC Championship Game between the
Indianapolis Colts and
New England Patriots • June 12, 2016, at
SAP Center in
San Jose, California for Game 6 of the
2016 Stanley Cup Finals between the
Pittsburgh Penguins and
San Jose Sharks • June 1, 2017, at
Oracle Arena in
Oakland, California for Game 1 of the
2017 NBA Finals between the
Cleveland Cavaliers and
Golden State Warriors • June 13, 2019, at the last
Golden State Warriors game at Oracle Arena, for Game 6 of the
2019 NBA Finals between the
Toronto Raptors and the
Golden State Warriors • June 20, 2024, with his son Rock, at Game 4 of the
American Hockey League’s Calder Cup Finals between the
Coachella Valley Firebirds and the
Hershey Bears at
Acrisure Arena Monahan inducted
Journey into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017. ==Other projects==