Collective Soul

When Ed was thirteen years old, he began listening to Elton John's Greatest Hits. That is when he decided that he wanted to be a musician. Ed went on to study guitar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston (Melissa Etheridge also attended the Berklee to study guitar).

Ed is currently married to Stephanie Boley. They also have a son named Lindsey Chris who was born on August 8, 1998.

Other favorite artists of Ed's (besides Elton John) are Bernie Taupin, The Beatles, and Elvis. One of his favorite actors is Val Kilmer.

Dean picked up guitar at nineteen. He was never in a band before Collective Soul. He took classes at Georgia State University.

Neil Young has been Dean's most musical influence. His favorite actor is Harrison Ford.

On June 13, 1998, Dean married Shannon Reynolds.

After high school, Will pursued a higher learning of percussion, especially on marimba and timpani, at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

Will claims that it is too hard to choose who his major musical influence is. However, his favorite actor is Jack Nicholson.

Will is married to Donna Dillard. They have a son, Tristan Ross, who was born on November 17, 1997.

Ross began playing guitar when he was nine years old when his parents bought him an acoustic guitar. By junior high school, he was playing electric guitar and became totally obsessed with music.

Ross' favorite artist is The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.

He is not married.

His interest in music arose when he was ten years old and received a bass guitar for Christmas. He is also a very talented drummer (I sure hope so since he plays drums for Collective Soul). He played concert percussion throughout middle school and high school.

I don't think Shane is married (I have read nothing about it).

Growing up together made it easy for them to bond and make music. Will says: "It's kind of funny how our growing up together has made it so we even think alike. There are times we'll all show up to dinner wearing the same shirt. We're individuals, but we communicate on this weird unspoken level. Musically, it makes for the ideal situation. Our strength is our chemistry." Their debut album, Hints Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid, was released on Atlantic in 1994. Collective Soul was virtually an instant hit with "Shine."

In 1995, their self-titled sophomore album was released. It had many hits including "December," "Where the River Flows," "The World I Know," and "Gel."

In 1997, Disciplined Breakdown was released. In 1999, Dosage was released. Collective Soul also did a track, "Run," on the Varsity Blues Soundtrack.

"People want so badly to label this band, and I refuse to be labeled."--Ed Roland

"I have a few country tunes that I'd really like to sell. One is called 'Now You Got Me Drinking, Don't Let Me Drink Alone.' Some of them, I'll play to the guys, who are usually sitting their with their mouths open going, 'What is that?.'"--Ed Roland

On his country songs: "One day I'll do something with them, but I have no time yet. I just love writing them. I'd love to do some scoring too, but Collective Soul consumes so much of my time."--Ed Roland

"At first we thought that the most important thing was getting a record deal, but now that we're passed that. We realize that there is so much more to it."--Shane Evans

On the name Collective Soul: "He read it in a book, 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand. She Describes man kind as a 'collective soul' and the phrase always stuck with him. And it describes our relationship pretty well."--Dean Roland