Charlie Colin, a founding member of the band Train, has tragically passed away at the age of 58.
Colin's mother has revealed to TMZ that he slipped and fell while in the shower. He was house-sitting at a friend's house in Brussels, Belgium.
It is unclear when the deadly fall occurred, but he was not found at the house until his friends returned back to their home five days ago.
Colin had been residing in the city while he taught a music master class at a local conservatory, his mother continued to reveal. While teaching, he was also frequently in the recording studio to work on new music, as well as finishing up music he was creating for a film.
The bass player was instrumental in the creation of Train in the mid-1990s. Formed in San Francisco, the early members of the group included Pat Monahan, Rob Hotchkiss, Jimmy Stafford and Scott Underwood.
Throughout his time with Train, he helped write their self-titled debut album, which included the hit single "Meet Virginia." He then worked on their sophomore record, Drops of Jupiter, in 2001. The success of the album, specifically its title track, skyrocketed the band to stardom.
"Drops of Jupiter" was nominated for five Grammy Awards, winning two for Best Rock Song and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).
The band's third album, My Private Nation, was released in 2003. However, following the release of the album, Colin was forced to leave Train due to his struggles with substance abuse. It is alleged that he was a "mess," which led Monahan to offer the band an ultimatum. During a meeting after a faulty presentation in Oregon, he told the group that they could keep their bass player or lead singer, which led the other members of Train to dismiss Colin.
He followed the departure of Rob Hotchkiss, who left for creative differences. Johnny Colt took his place until 2006, when Hector Maldonado - who is still with the group - stepped in as their bass player. In 2022, Colin revealed that his "ego" and "identity were all at stake" when he left the band.
"I did play with a lot of different groups. When I left Train, I went out because my ego and my identity were all at stake and I was thinking about that too much," he told Dan Clark. "I went out and played with all these hard rock bands. I went on a tour with Slipknot. You can imagine the guys wearing masks and stuff. These are the hardest rock bands in the world."
After a brief stint with a collaborative music group called Food Pill, he and Hotchkiss teamed up for a new band. Forming Painbirds with Luce, they released six songs on a self-titled EP in 2015.
Aside from his musical talent, he was an avid art curator. He frequently took to his Instagram to share a look inside his artistic process, posting works that he created or had encountered.
The remaining members of Train have yet to speak out on his passing.
