My experience with Collective Soul dates back nearly 27 years to the day - Sept. 30, 1993 - when the fivesome from Georgia was direct support for Aerosmith on the "Get a Grip Tour" at The Summit in Houston. While many were there to see the iconic Aerosmith, Collective Soul had already begun to turn heads with their debut song, "Shine," which went on to become the No. 1 Album Rock Song of the year and winner of Billboard's Top Rock Track. It was only the beginning.
Ed Roland (vocals), Dean Roland (rhythm guitar), Will Turpin (bass/background vocals) alongside Johnny Rabb (drums/background vocals) and Jesse Triplett (lead guitar/background vocals) have sold millions of records thanks to the massive jukebox sing-a-longs like "December," "The World I Know," "Gel," "Heavy," "Precious Declaration," "Listen," "Counting the Days" and "Better Now."
Collective Soul continues to grind away and will perform at the Grand Event Center inside the Golden Nugget in nearby Lake Charles, Louisiana, this Saturday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m.
Tickets for the 21 and older show can be purchased online at goldennugget.com.
Turpin spent a few minutes on the phone with The Examiner. We talked about the secret of Collective Soul's longevity, their hits, their solo projects and new record, "Blood."
Chad Cooper is the Entertainment Editor. Email cooper@theexaminer.com