Collective Soul is the 90s band featuring sibling duo Dean Roland (rhythm guitar) and lead vocalist Ed Roland, along with bandmates Will Turpin (bass), Johnny Rabb (drums), and Jesse Triplett (lead guitar). They are touring with 3 Doors Down and special guest Soul Asylum. These bands have played one-off shows before, but this time marks their first full-fledged rock and roll tour together.
The tour has been dubbed the “Rock and Roll Express Tour.”
Collective Soul is known for their 1994 radio hit “Shine” from their 1993 debut album “Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid.” That song quickly became the rock anthem of the 90s. They exploded with other hit singles “December” and “The World I Know” which topped the Top 40 charts. They later released other albums including 1997s, “Disciplined Breakdown,” 1999s “Dosage,” and 2000s “Blender.” They also released a greatest hits collection, “7even Year Itch: Collective Soul Greatest Hits 1994-2001.”
The Stockbridge, Georgia band obtained their name (Collective Soul) from a passage in a book called “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand.
One of the phrases in the book reads: "Humanity is meant by collective soul and that in the less favorable sense.”
All aboard the ‘Rock and Roll Express’
I had a conversation with rhythm guitarist Dean Roland on the phone from their show in Austin, TX. He discussed the tour and new live album titled “Collective Soul Live.” It was recorded on the band’s tour in various cities. Their current tour is presented by Live Nation. There’s VIP ticket packages available for meet and greets with the fans on select dates.
“I don’t look at (the music) from a 90s perspective—but regardless of all that, we’ve played together over the years (with 3 Doors Down and Soul Asylum) but the music seems to fit and it just seems to work out that way,” explained Dean Roland.
“The live album, we recorded it in a span for about a year. We recorded all our shows and picked our favorites of each out of the shows in different cities. This is our first live album.”
“We have a good time meeting the fans—it’s a good opportunity for us to meet some folks. We enjoy it—the best part for us is to get on stage and play music. The downside is the traveling and being away from family and your home for an extended period of time. We used to tour for 11 months at a time and now it’s more paced out.”
Collective Soul will release a new studio album in the Spring of 2019
Collective Soul has a new studio album being released in the Spring of 2019. The album was recorded this year and is being wrapped up in time for its release.
Dean said that the band has played with 3 Doors Down and Soul Asylum previously, but never toured with them. There’s still a market for 90s and early 2000s bands.
“We’ve played with them on one-off shows, but this is the first time we had a tour together. There’s about 10-15,000 people that come out to the shows every night. We will be in Chicago and Minneapolis which are always fun. The audience has been receptive, we just go out and have fun. There’s no mishaps; the tour is going smoothly so hopefully we can keep it that way. We’re just excited to do what we love and appreciate people coming up and celebrating the music with us.”