Get A Hit Record, Then Form A Band
When Ed Roland, singer/guitarist for the Atlanta-based alternative rock sensation Collective Soul, entered a studio two years ago to record a demo, he didn’t expect that he would strike fame with the recording.
But he did. A college radio station started playing a raw guitar anthem with a syrupy chorus called “Shine” from the tape. And almost overnight, the song erupted into the most widely played song in Georgia last winter.
That’s when Roland, who recorded the demo by himself, formed Collective Soul. A record deal with Atlantic Records immediately ensued.
Because “Shine” was already shaping into a national hit, Atlantic decided to release Roland’s demo as Collective Soul’s debut album, “Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid.”
“Shine” eventually vaulted to the No. 1 song in America last summer, tying Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2” for most weeks - eight - atop the pop charts.
Now, more than a year later, Dean Roland feels that Collective Soul is finally a collective.
He, along with the rest of the band, calls the group’s newly released eponymous second album Collective Soul’s debut.
“We look at it as our debut record as a band, the first record … the band influenced instead of one person,” said the guitarist. “That’s why we self-titled it.
“The first record, to me, seemed one dimensional and sterile, because it’s demos that were done in a cheap studio. This one has a lot more thought put into it, and it’s coming from different angles instead of just Ed.”
The rock band plays The Met on Sunday. Also scheduled to appear is up-and-comer Rusty, a new band from Toronto.
Just north of the border, the band is being touted as one of Canada’s best and brightest new bands.
Rusty, which rose from the ashes of the 8-year-old One Free Fall, stirred up interest from numerous labels after it released a self-titled album last winter.
Atlantic Records new subsidiary TAG (The Atlantic Group), signed the group and has just released Rusty’s debut long-player “Fluke.”
xxxx COLLECTIVE SOUL Location and time: The Met, Sunday, 8 p.m. Tickets: $13.50. SOLD OUT