Whitman alumnus rocks out as new drummer for Train

Drew Shoals '05 had a dream career in music until he gave it all up to pursue another passion: law.

Then, Shoals had an offer he couldn't refuse.

The lead singer from Train, Pat Monahan, invited Shoals to play drums for the Grammy Award-winning band.

Shoals joined Train as it began to record its newest album, Bulletproof Picasso, released earlier this fall. He went to Instagram to announce that he's "super excited to be playing drums for the band @train!"

A former Garrett Scholar and African American studies major at Whitman, Shoals' post-college run as a professional musician was hugely successful. He toured all over the U.S. and recorded with artists like Monahan, Nu Shooz, Tony Furtado, Curtis Salgado and Dan Balmer; then, after a few years, he was ready for a different path.

"I had done everything I wanted to do in music," Shoals told Whitman Magazine in 2012.

"I got to do that rock star thing, but law school was always in the back of my mind since college. I figured if I waited too long it would be hard to transition from my music life to graduate school."  

Shoals traded in his sticks for a spot at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law. After law school, he was hired as an associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP.

Shoals replaced former drummer Scott Underwood, who had been with Train for 20 years before departing to work on other projects.

Train rose to stardom with the hit album Drops of Jupiter in 2001, which included the hit "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)."