Collective Soul is one of the most prolific bands of the modern rock era. Not only has the group released a trove of stellar material, it’s also frequently in the process of writing more new music. Its members are always excited about the group’s next project, often a new double album of tunes.
“We do have a lot of new stuff ready to go now. In fact, we just started a new album last fall,” said bassist and co-founder Will Turpin from a recent stop on a tour that will bring the band home to the Atlanta area (Ameris Bank Amphitheatre in Alpharetta) on Saturday. “We may even have a single out by Christmas, but we aren’t under any pressure to churn anything out at this point. We just still love to do it.
“But right now, we have this documentary that’s out and another big summer tour to do. When all that dies down, then we can think about putting out another record. We have a blessing of riches when it comes to material and the fans who still want to hear us play. We don’t take any of it for granted, that’s for sure.”
Credit: Photo by Jennifer Troche Walsh
Credit: Photo by Jennifer Troche Walsh
After three decades together, Collective Soul has sold more than 15 million albums worldwide. Best-known for alternative rock radio staples “Shine,” “December” and “The World I Know,” the band has an impressive catalog of music that continues to evolve and expand.
Formed in Stockbridge, Collective Soul has issued eight full-length albums. Now, fans will be able to get an exclusive glimpse into their creative process via the new documentary.
“Give Me A Word: The Collective Soul Story,” released in July by Pfonetic/Trinity Content Partners, captures the band at work in the studio in 2023. The documentary follows co-founders Turpin, vocalist-guitarist Ed Roland and his brother and fellow guitarist Dean Roland as they worked on “Here to Eternity,” the band’s 2024 double-album, in California.
But the band wasn’t just recording at some random studio in Los Angeles.
“For this one, we wanted to do something a little bit different,” Turpin said. Through “a friend of a friend,” Collective Soul secured the rights to record in the Elvis Presley’s one-time Palm Springs home.
“It was so inspiring,” Ed Roland said. “I mean, the place pretty much hadn’t been touched since Elvis lived there, so just walking inside there was like going back in time. We could really feel his spirit in every room. I know it sounds corny, but I really do believe it made it to the record. We weren’t on a big schedule, so we had plenty of time to stretch out and get comfortable with the house and each other, and all that went with it.”
“But,” Turpin added, “this time we had a camera crew filming everything while we worked on the record. That was definitely a first for us.”
He said Collective Soul had been in talks for a while about a documentary detailing members’ lives and the band’s career. With the availability of the Presley property, the group jumped at the chance to be photographed as they made the music that eventually became the album’s tracks.
“We’ve never had any sort of label pressure from the bosses,” said Turpin. “Even when we were on Atlantic, we were somehow allowed to do things on our own terms. Now that we can call the shots, it’s really not all that much different; we just want to get music out to people. Now they can kinda see how we do it.”
Directed by Joseph Rubenstein, the documentary is not a linear look at the band.
“I like the way it bounces around from working in the Elvis house, back to archival footage,” continued Turpin. “We’d been thinking about it for a while, then we’d been gathering up stuff to include in it. When we got the house in Palm Springs, it all made sense to include footage from there, too. Working on the album out there basically tied it all together.”
At first, the band members served as the production company for the feature. “But we kinda got bogged down with all of it,” remembered Roland. “We’d done some interviews for it, but it was just overwhelming, due to how much time had passed and how much stuff we had to sort through.”
Finally, the idea was hatched to bounce between past and present (circa 2023), including many old video clips and photographs. “By the time we got to Palm Springs,” Turpin said, “we had the basic idea of what all the documentary might include. Basically, it’s dudes hanging out and recording good music. I’m not afraid to say it, because I think we know how to record good music at this point.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Joseph Rubinstein and Frank Rios
Credit: Photo courtesy of Joseph Rubinstein and Frank Rios
“There’s a part in there where Ed is talking about how he probably hasn’t even written his best songs yet. His brain is ‘on’ all the time, and it doesn’t just stop with music; he’s always coming up with new ideas. We just have to keep up.”
Turpin said having the filming during recording sessions caused remarkably little tension. “You’d think it might, but we’re kinda used to cameras being around, plus Joe, the director, was like a fly on the wall. He did his job, and he didn’t try to inject himself into what we were trying to do.”
The documentary reveals a band “open to possibilities,” as Turpin terms it, during the songwriting stage. “A lot of times, Ed will come in with an idea and then we all work on it. We work on the good parts and discard the bad ideas. We bounce around the room for ideas. It’s like, ‘Hey, that part will work for the intro,’ or ‘Let’s make this a whole new section.’ We’re still a democracy that way. We try to do these songs as a band, and, if it makes the hairs on our arms stand up, then cool, that’s the right direction. I’m just glad people will be able to see that process in the documentary. It’s all real.”
Now that the film is released on physical media, with streaming planned for later this year, the band is back on the road for another summer tour. This time, their cross-country journey is called the “Summer Unity Tour” and features friends Live as well as Our Lady Peace.
Collective Soul and Live go way back, the bands having connected at the Woodstock ‘94 festival, then doing summer tours together in 2007 and 2008.
Roland’s memory of meeting Live at Woodstock remains a favorite. “We were all in the van on the way to the venue grounds,” he said in a 2008 interview. “We’d been labelmates, and by then we’d all gotten guitar picks with our names on them. We were all just swapping picks on the way to show, like kids collecting baseball cards. It was great!”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Collective Soul with Live and Our Lady Peace
Doors open at 6 p.m. Saturday. $54.50-$158. Call the venue for availability. Ameris Bank Amphitheater, 2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta. ticketmaster.com.
The documentary “Give Me A Word: The Collective Soul Story” is available on DVD and Blu-ray from givemeawordfilm.com.
Credit: ArtsATL
Credit: ArtsATL
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ArtsATL (artsatl.org) is a nonprofit organization that plays a critical role in educating and informing audiences about metro Atlanta’s arts and culture. ArtsATL, founded in 2009, helps build a sustainable arts community contributing to the economic and cultural health of the city.
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