MUSICIAN

Ed Roland could never be accused of resting on his laurels. Besides his top-shelf duties as frontman and chief songwriter for Collective Soul (“Shine,” “December,” “The World I Know,” “Right as Rain”), Roland also spearheads a number of solo-driven projects and performs solo gigs whenever he can because, well, music is his life. “Making music is all I ever want to do,” he declares.

Not too long ago, Roland was able to, as he puts it, “fulfill my dream of recording and playing songs in the Americana vein” with the refreshing, down-home sounds of The Sweet Tea Project. More recently, Roland got by with a little help from some of his friends during the pandemic by laying down more than a few energizing and somewhat experimental tunes under Alien Attitude moniker that resulted in The Living Room EP, a direct homage to the sounds and sensibilities of one of his absolute favorite bands growing up. “I wanted to make a record like The Cars,” Roland readily admits, “and that’s exactly what we did.” All signposts point to a second Alien Attitude release on the horizon, so keep your ears peeled accordingly.

In the meantime, Roland plans to continue venturing out on his own whenever the mood strikes. “Doing solo projects like these really helps cleanse the palate,” he believes. All of it serves to ultimately make him a stronger, more well-rounded artist overall. Come one, come all, and see Ed Roland flex his creative muscles the only way he knows how — by constructing and performing new music that soothes the soul, collectively or otherwise.

—Mike Mettler, official Soulographer