Edgar Eugene Roland, Jr. (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the rock band

Collective Soul Collective Soul is an American rock band originally from Stockbridge, Georgia. Now based in Atlanta, the group consists of lead vocalist Ed Roland, rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, bassist Will Turpin, drummer Johnny Rabb, and lead guitaris ...

. He is also active with his side project, Ed Roland and the Sweet Tea Project.

Career

One of the first records that influenced Roland to explore rock music was

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

, which he purchased as a child. After finishing high school, Roland studied songwriting and guitar at

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cou ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

for one year. He was the lead engineer and producer at Real 2 Reel Studios in

Stockbridge, Georgia Stockbridge is a city in Henry County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census the population was 25,637, up from 9,853 in 2000. Stockbridge is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. History The area was settled in 1829 when Concord Met ...

for eight years. In 1985, he joined a band called Ed-E and another during the late 1980s and early 1990s called Marching Two-Step. Marching Two-Step included future producer and music executive

Matt Serletic Matthew Michael Serletic II (born 1970 or 1971) is an American record producer, songwriter, and music executive. Career As a teenager, Serletic joined a band with members of Collective Soul, a group for which he would later produce. Serletic h ...

, future executive Michelle Rhea Caplinger and longtime Collective Soul drummer Shane Evans. Roland released an indie album called ''Ed-E Roland'' in 1991, under the independent label Core. The album is meant to showcase his abilities to compose, record, and produce his own original music. After using the name Brothers & Brides briefly, Roland changed the name of his band to Collective Soul with hopes of finding success in the music business. Not finding success, however, Roland became frustrated and almost gave up on the music industry. He had been active in the local

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

music scene since the early 1980s. Despite the initial rejections, Collective Soul independently released '' Hints, Allegations & Things Left Unsaid'' in 1993 on an independent label called Rising Storm. It was a compilation of some of Roland's songwriting demos created when he worked at Real 2 Reel Studios. This collection eventually caught the attention of WJRR 101.1 in Orlando, Florida. Several other college radio stations began to play " Shine" and it became an underground hit. The popularity of the song and band was convincing enough that

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...

signed Collective Soul in 1993 to a long term major label contract. ''Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid'' was re-released worldwide in early 1994. The band experienced a sudden rise from obscurity to fame. Ed Roland's brother Dean is also a member of the band. Their father was a

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wo ...

minister which influenced their spiritual background; however, Roland has cited that Collective Soul is not a

Christian rock band Christian rock is a form of rock music that features lyrics focusing on matters of Christian faith, often with an emphasis on Jesus, typically performed by self-proclaimed Christian individuals. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly ...

. Roland formed a new act in 2011 with a group of friends and musicians, titled Ed Roland and the Sweet Tea Project. In 2012, the Sweet Tea Project's

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

of "

Shelter from the Storm "Shelter from the Storm" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on September 17, 1974, and released on his 15th studio album, '' Blood on the Tracks'', in 1975. It was later anthologized on the compilation album ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' in 2000. Co ...

" was released on '' Chimes of Freedom: Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International'', a four-disc compilation of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

covers. The Sweet Tea Project's debut album, '' Devils 'n Darlins'', was released on September 3, 2013. The album's first single, "Love Won't Bring Us Down," was released on August 13. On October 6, 2017, Ed Roland and The Sweet Tea Project released their second album, ''Alder Lane Farm''.

2014–present: ''See What You Started by Continuing'' and ''Anniversary''

Between February and October 2014, Collective Soul recorded their ninth studio album, ''

See What You Started by Continuing ''See What You Started by Continuing'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band Collective Soul. It was released on October 2, 2015 by Vanguard Records. The album represents a return to the classic guitar-driven rock sound that the band ...

''. The album was released on October 2, 2015, by

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City. It was a primarily classical label at its peak in the 1950s and 1960s, but also has a catalogue of recordings by a nu ...

. In December 2014, Roland recorded a solo album with current

bandmates

Will Turpin William Ross Turpin (born February 8, 1971) is an American musician. He is best known for being the bassist of the rock band Collective Soul. He is also a solo artist, and tours with his backing band, the Way. His debut EP, ''The Lighthouse'', w ...

and Jesse Triplett, along with former Collective Soul drummer Shane Evans and guitarist Peter Stroud. The album, ''

Anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saint ...

'', was dedicated to Roland's wife, Michaeline, to celebrate their 10-year wedding anniversary.

Personal life

Roland met his wife Michaeline Matteson when she delivered football tickets to his Atlanta apartment. Initially, Roland was intrigued by her and insisted they meet up at a local restaurant. They bonded off their mutual love for family and Michaeline admired how "

e showed E, or e, is the fifth letter and the second vowel letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''e'' (pronounced ); plura ...

integrity, generosity and loyalty to family over all the things that could have easily trumped his value system." After dating for three years, the couple married on February 17, 2006. The date is significant to Roland because of its close proximity to his father's birthday on February 18 and his parents' anniversary on February 19.

Discography

External links

Official Collective Soul website
*
Career retrospective interview with Pods & Sods, September 2015

References