Rockin’ New Year’s EVE
Collective Soul is still making music after peaking in the grunge years
Ed Roland continues to move forward. Twenty-two years after bursting into mainstream rock music, Roland’s band Collective Soul is still making music because each member enjoys the process.
“(Over the years) fans have come to expect a lot from us,” he says during a recent phone interview. “There’s still lots of guitars and a fun attitude from these southern gentlemen of rock and roll.”
Collective Soul was born during the rise of grunge and alternative rock during the early 1990s. The band’s single, “Shine,” in 1993 catapulted them to the list of “who’s who” in alternative music.
The band formed in Stockbridge, Ga., and consists of Ed Roland, Dean Roland, Will Turpin, Johnny Rabb and Jesse Triplett.
It also released the album, “See What You Started by Continuing,” on Oct. 2 and it marks the ninth album for the band — and the first album for Rabb and Triplett.
“The band feels more solid now,” he says. “We’ve been able to grow as musicians, live this life in music and develop the way we’ve wanted to. It’s like I’m in a dream band.”
Over the years, Collective Soul has remained one of the bands that defines the ’90s sound. This was also the decade it found most of its success.
The band’s self-titled second album was a triple platinum juggernaut and would define its sound with guitar driven songs and passionate vocals. The album produced five top 10 hits, and two of the singles — “December” and “The World I Know” — charted on the Top 40, which spoke to the band’s crossover appeal.
“We never expected anything like this,” he says. “We knew that if we worked hard and put out music that connected with people, that we would have a chance to perform for a long time. The new record is an example of us never losing our edge. It’s a pure rock record.”