A shot from the new documentary, “Give Me the Word: The Collective Soul Story.” (Photo by Joseph Rubinstein/Frank Rios)
A new documentary captures the band at work on their latest album. They’ll play at Ameris Bank Amphitheatre next weekend.
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One of the most prolific bands of the modern rock era is Collective Soul. Not only has the group released a trove of stellar material, they’re also frequently in the process of writing more new music. Every few years, when this writer has had the opportunity to speak with members of the band, they are always excited about their next project, usually 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 on August 9. “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,” he continues, “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.”
After three decades together, the Atlanta-bred musicians have sold over 15 million albums worldwide. Best-known for fan-favorite commercial-alternative radio staples “Shine,” “December” and “The World I Know,” the band has an impressive catalog of music that continues to evolve and expand.
Originally formed in Stockbridge, Collective Soul has issued eight full-length albums. But now, as Turpin explained, fans will be able to get an exclusive glimpse into their creative process with the contents of a new documentary.
“Give Me A Word: The Collective Soul Story,” released last month via Pfonetic/Trinity Content Partners, follows the band at work in the studio. Captured 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, their 2024 double-album package, in California.
But the band wasn’t just recording at some random studio in Los Angeles.
“Nah, man, that’s been done,” laughs Turpin. “For this one, we wanted to do something a little bit different.” Through “a friend of a friend,” Collective Soul secured the rights to work and record in the former West Coast home of Elvis Presley in Palm Springs.
“It was so inspiring,” continued singer and chief songwriter Roland. “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,” continued Turpin, “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 film detailing their life and 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 tracks on the album.
“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.”
The result of the project, directed by Joseph Rubenstein, is not a linear look at the band.
“Right. 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 [as a place to record], it all made sense to include footage from there, too. So it’s been sorta kicking around for a while. I think working on the album out there basically tied it all together.”
At first, the members of the band were 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. “By the time we got to Palm Springs,” remembered Turpin, “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.”
“There’s a part in there where Ed is talking about how he probably hasn’t even written his best songs yet,” said Turpin. “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.”
“Yeah, it’s got history, through the old stuff and interviews and so many clips and pictures,” countered Roland. “And we can’t complain too much about it because we knew what we were getting into when it all started.”
When asked if the filming of the recording sessions created any tension or uneasiness within the band, Turpin is quick to reply. “Not really! 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.”
When pressed about Collective Soul’s main method of songwriting, Turpin is circumspect. “As you’ll see in the film, we just sort of stay open to possibilities. 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 documentary is released on physical media and streaming is 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.
“We’ve been doing tours with bands we’ve known for a long time,” explains Turpin. “And this summer is no different. We met Live at Woodstock in ’94. Then, in ’07 and ’08, we toured summers back-to-back with them.”
Roland’s Woodstock memory of meeting Live remains a favorite of the like-minded friends. “We were doing Woodstock and we were all in the van on the way to the venue grounds,” he recalled during an interview in 2008. “We’d been label-mates, 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.”
Where & When
Collective Soul with Live and Our Lady Peace. Doors open at 6 p.m. Saturday, August 9. $37-$191. Call the venue for availability. Ameris Bank Amphitheater, 2200 Encore Parkway, Alpharetta. ticketmaster.com. The band’s documentary is available on DVD and Blu-ray from givemeawordfilm.com.
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Lee Valentine Smith is an Atlanta-born artist, writer and musician. Currently a regular contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, his work has been syndicated internationally. He has appeared at Music Midtown, on CBS Radio and on Air America. He also served as art director, consultant and archivist for projects with ’80s hitmakers The Go-Go’s.
