Ed Roland

Ashley Monroe Shares Songs at BMI Office

2008-05-16T18:32:00-05:00

Ashley Monroe stopped by the BMI offices in Los Angeles to greet and serenade staffers with a handful of songs from her catalogue of hits. Some of Ashley’s well crafted work can be heard on Carrie Underwood’s new album, Carnival Ride; The Little Willies, which included Norah Jones; and Kellie Pickler’s Small Town Girl. In addition, Ashley is also writing for John Shanks, Patrick Leonard, Pat Monohan, Richard Julian, Busbee, Ed Roland, Anders Bagge, Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert, Kellie Pickler, Heidi Newfield, Ronnie Dunn and Guy Clark.

GRAMMY Professional Development Event: Atlanta

2007-11-08T19:18:00-05:00

BMI is a proud sponsor of the Atlanta Chapter of The Recording Academy's GRAMMY Professional Development Event, "Behind the Song: Conversations with Daryl Simmons & Ed Roland," being held at Crossover Studios (1310 Ellsworth Industrial Drive, Atlanta), 7:00-9:30 p.m.

Live performances begin at 9 p.m. featuring Below Tha Surface, Janelle Monáe and the Swear.

Admission is complimentary for current Recording Academy members plus one guest. Call (404) 816-380 or email atlanta@grammy.com by November 2nd to RSVP.

The Atlantis Music Conference

2003-07-31T02:00:01-05:00

Collective Soul’s Sound Has Been Through the

2000-11-30T17:00:01-05:00

Atlanta quintet Collective Soul has proven to be one of the era's most durable and resilient bands, withstanding the fickle whims of popular musical taste to maintain a consistent level of musical growth and commercial success over the course of a seven-year recording career. The band's winning streak continues with its fifth album, Blender, which maintains the group's trademark blend of sonic aggression, melodic guitar hooks, and the articulate songwriting of frontman/songwriter Ed Roland.

The assemblage of Atlanta club-scene veterans - which also includes guitarists Dean Roland (Ed's brother) and Ross Childress, bassist Will Turpin and drummer Shane Evans - first caught the public's attention with its double platinum 1994 debut album, Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid, which spawned the ubiquitous hit "Shine." The triple platinum follow-up, Collective Soul, spawned such popular numbers as "Gel," "December," "Where the River Flows" and "The World I Know." 1997's Disciplined Breakdown featured the successful tracks "Listen" and "Precious Declaration," while 1998's Dosage yielded one of the band's biggest radio hits ever with "Heavy," underlining Collective Soul's impressive staying power.

"We were supposed to be the one-hit wonder of '94, and then the two-hit wonder of '95, but we never paid any attention to that stuff," Ed Roland says. "We always knew that we could do it as a band."

True to its title, Blender - whose first single, "Why Pt. 2," debuted as the most-added track on rock and alternative radio stations - finds Collective Soul expanding its sound via some adventurous rhythms and exotic sonic textures. But despite the album's introduction of new sonic frills, Roland insists, "We're a guitar band. That'll always be the cornerstone of what Collective Soul does. And you can expand from that."

Indeed, the recording sessions that spawned Blender were deliberately designed to take place in a laid-back, organic manner, with most of the material written and recorded during loose, laid-back jam sessions at the band's rehearsal space.

"We had an absolute blast making this one," says Roland. "It was the most enjoyable one to make, mostly because everyone was in a good mindspace; there was no real drama going on in anyone's life. Where we were recording was just a big room, so it kind of had an open vibe. We set up couches, people would come in and watch us... It was a real loose vibe, which was good, because with the last record, we spent a lot of time in the studio making sure everything was performed perfectly and arranged perfectly. This time we wanted to have a little more fun. We wanted to enjoy the process."

The sessions' loose, informal atmosphere resulted in some prominent local musical figures dropping by to lend their talents, including Atlanta resident and longtime band admirer Elton John, who contributes duet vocals and piano on "Perfect Day," singer/songwriter Shawn Mullins, and Marvelous 3 members Jayce Fincher and Bruce Walker. In keeping with the communal vibe, Blender was chosen as the album's title as the result of a local radio-station contest, which attracted over 12,000 entries.

While the less regimented birth cycle resulted in a looser, performance-oriented vibe, the 11-song Blender maintains the band's original appeal, with songs like "10 Years Later" and "Skin" offering the fivesome's trademark combo of hard-edged guitar riffs and supremely catchy melodies, while "After All" and "Turn Around" embrace an introspective bittersweetness. "Over Tokyo" takes a stab at synth-pop, and a cover of Morphine's "You Speak My Language" showcases a more playfully eclectic side.

As Roland recently commented to Billboard, "I think it shows maturity, and I think it's a little bit more of a fun record for it, maybe 'cause that was the attitude we had making it."