Collective Soul – Blood

By starrymag | June 21, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) My influences go way back from being a young kid in the late 70’s and early 80’s – pop, rock. The Bee Gees, The Cars, Rush, Devo and then into fusion Jazz stuff like Herbie Hancock to Chick Corea. It’s really broad because I definitely started studying music and getting into the drumming side around age eight. So, I started to get influenced by my teachers and things like that. But early on, the big one for me, the mindboggler for me was Rush because I couldn’t believe it was three people. When the drum solo came on, I literally said to my buddies, “Okay, there is a bass player, a guitar player and a drummer. So, that is all three of them. The lead singer is playing the cowbell part? Is that what?! No, that’s Neil.” I always laugh at that because it’s a true naïve and innocent story. To this day there are so many influences because on the bus we share old music and new music. It’s funny, when you play something from the past you have to feel safe to admit, “I know that song, but I don’t know the artist. Rush and Yes were a huge band for me because they were the progressive rock stuff, but in the 80’s it was really anything that came out from Phil Collins and Tears For Fears was massive for me. Devo, INXS and Howard Jones – all that stuff.

Q) What age did you discover your passion for drumming?

A) I know it sounds crazy. When ever I read my bio it says, “John started at age three…” And I’m like, “Is that real?” It kind of is in the sense of not necessarily knowing what I was doing on the drums, but knowing I loved them. My parents would take me to Christmas parades and the marching drums would go by and I would be like, “What is that?!” Early in high school jazz band concerts they’d take me to and ironically, I’d end up doing all of that and competing in that stuff. Then, I went off to college for kind of well-rounded drumming. Age three started. I do remember the moment and the place I was in about second or third grade where after realizing Rush was a band I went, “Wait a second. Those guys are getting paid to do that! Oh! That’s what I want to do.” Not knowing how hard it is to make a career out of it, but that was the passion side. That was when I started trying harder to learn how to do that.

Q) Your new single out is “Right As Rain.” Please talk about the message behind it.

A) We all have an easy way of…which I like about it. On the whole album you can listen to things and things might affect you differently with the message. You can count on “right as rain,” as Ed’s mom used to tell him. “Right as rain,” like that’s sure going to happen. Then, the message tomorrow you can bet on it – it’s right as rain. We basically have hope and also sometimes if there is tough times…I just think that term, whenever I hear that song, you can sure count on it that hopefully tomorrow the sun is going to come up type of thing. Honestly, I’m back there just loving that riff of the guitar, Ed’s lyrics and Ed’s vocals on this album has been super inspiring. It’s catchy. To me, these songs mean a lot just because we went into the studio together and did them and that song in particular Ed showed us on the road. Then, we did it on the road a few times before we even decided to go track it. To me, that’s just a driving rock song with a solid rock song. You bet that is going to happen. The sun is going to come up. The grass is going to grow. Right as rain. Whatever you got going on, if it is negative or positive, you can count on it getting better. That’s what I like to think about when we’re playing that song. It’s just a driving track. Love that one.

Q) What kind of response to the track have you gotten from fans?

A) It’s funny because I play cowbell only in that song. Sometimes I laugh, my drum set has a cowbell on it. I’m a professional drummer and then I just look over and laugh like, “There it is.” Within this 90-minute show, that thing is going to get rocked during “Right As Rain.” It’s a driving song. You’re stomping your feet and it’s just cruising along. I think the chorus is so catchy. People have really enjoyed it before it was even recorded. We did put it on the live record and I’m glad it’s a single because people seem to join right in with the chorus and sing along with it. It’s one of those songs that almost plays itself. That sounds a little silly, but it does. When Ed starts to riff, there is just question. You’re just in. You’re like, “Yep, this how it goes.” It’s a lot of cliché answers I’ve given, but when you look out and people are full hands in the air clapping…The radio stations that have heard it and done reviews on it really enjoy the single. I love what it sounds like on radio. I’m proud. It’s a solid song. Very catchy.

Q) How much of a hand did the band have in the production of this new album?

A) All of it. Ed [Roland] will write the songs. We all write on our own, but Ed is such a wizard when it comes to songwriting. He’s got just such a solid voice. He’ll come with an acoustic vocal version and then he’ll produce and give us a direction of what he’s thinking. That can even be a direction on drums. He’s an all around great professional engineer, musician, songwriting and vocalist. Then, add all of that to our experiences working in studios separately, we all know what we’re doing as studio musicians as well and as writers in our right. So, when we get together, we are producing the music. Ed is head producer and Sean Grove has been in there the last two albums. He’s also an amazing musician. So, we are in there as us as a band. There are no other people to that team. Sean Grove is the sixth member, as you will, during engineering and we play as a band. We come up with the arrangements of the songs and the sounds we’re looking for. And we just go. We play just like old school rock recording it. It really is fun watching Ed do his work and watching the guys bring what they bring to it – whether it is original bass lines from Will [Turpin], Jesse’s [Triplett] lead parts or Dean’s [Roland]rhythm parts. And then the magic happens when we have the freedom to add some backup vocals. Ed is open to that. Whatever works for the song. That’s what has been awesome. It truly is what the band’s title is – a collective soul, a group of folks/friends that are making music. So, when you hear those records that’s the band.

Q) We’re getting to hear the new album Blood out now. Where does the title come from?

A) For me, what I think about it…We’ve never sat down and all said, “This is what it means,” so I’m just going to tell you to me it’s family. Blood runs thicker than water and family is close – family meaning like direct blood related. Like Dean and Ed are brothers, but they are definitely brothers with Will. They’ve known him since he was young. Then, Jesse and I now. We’re in it. It is a family. We go through all sorts of stuff, whether it is at home or on the road, together. I rely on them even when I’m at home. I have my lovely wife and children and they are amazing. So, that’s that family. I think it’s like that. Also, to me, “blood” is such a strong word. If you get cut there is blood. If you work hard there is blood. They always say, “Put your blood into it.” So, I love the double meaning of, to me, what it stands for. Last year we had family members that passed away, which is very unfortunate, but kind of with that this album reminds me of how important it is to have that family and that blood. I think the initial idea about the record was the moms and how obviously important mothers are and our family are. So, not to get dark, but I lost my mom during tour and if it wasn’t for the guys and my wife and close family it would have been impossible to pick up and go forward. But I really was on the road with the guys and we had other things like that happen and they made it possible to get through that. It’s huge! So, that means a lot to me and to me that’s kind of what the title means.

Q) Which songs off the album are you most looking forward to performing live?

A) Yeah, we’ve been performing “Observation” a lot. It’s also a big one for me because it reminds me of my mom and those moments on stage. But I love just the message of these songs and the emotions behind them and the grooves behind them. We’ve been playing a little bit of “Crushed,” which is a very interesting arrangement and interesting drum part. It’s syncopated and kind of an off beat and that song just rocks. We have two more off the album that are heavy driving songs. So, we do get the chance to perform the songs off the record too – at least four of them. It’s a really, really cool thing to be able to do that and go play the hits as well.

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform?

A) We have a lot of fun playing both smaller venues and also larger. We have gotten to do Red Rock a couple of times over the past couple of years. It’s a nice, amazing looking and sounding venue. We’ve been all over. We played at Boston at an outdoor thing and I think it meant a lot to me because I went to college in Boston. So, it kind of reminds me of what I worked towards. We dig it. We also played Belly Up in Aspen, a small club there with skiers coming in. Then, in Canada there are lots of great theaters there. We played the Capitol Theatre in Clearwater, FL. That’s a great small-medium sized theater. But it’s endless! It’s also really fun to play in Atlanta. We got to play the Tabernacle in Atlanta and the Fillmore in San Francisco. I know, again it’s a little bit like “here’s the answer,” but anywhere that will let us play! [laughs]

Q) What is your current favorite album or a band you’re currently listening to on repeat?

A) I am rolling back to 80’s. I’m constantly checking out more 80’s pop, just past stuff I might have missed. I do have a fifteen-year-old daughter so there are some bands that I think are cool doing some stuff. Unfortunately, I don’t totally follow it because with satellite radio it just comes on. I think there is some cool stuff, but I just can’t get into it as much as the past. I don’t know what it is. I think it’s because it marked your time. I’m constantly listening to stuff that reminds me of growing up. I’m also interested in the electronic music scene and I listen to drum, bass, jungle and house. Gigamesh is an artist I’ll listen to. And it ranges! It can be from Aerosmith to Gigamesh. It’s pretty well rounded.

Q) The band is a part of social media. Why is that such an important way to connect with your fans?

A) I think you would agree that stuff like Instagram is the go-to. I have to fight myself to not open the Instagram app on my phone to see what everyone is up to, whether it is other drummers, other artists or other friends. Everyone is connecting there and it’s become a platform that combines like YouTube and Instagram (in my opinion). I’m not saying Twitter doesn’t exist – Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are huge! It’s where people go to spend their time. It’s the modern-day way to listen and watch music videos and music. We love Apple Music and that’s the platform I have and use. But to get the message out, it’s who is checking your Instagram. If I have a new drum idea, I’m getting more attention on Instagram using it as a video platform than I am even YouTube these days. And I cross promote on Facebook. So, it’s a huge way to get that message out there. I think that’s where people are paying attention, to be honest. And it’s very important for us to be active. Also, it lets people see behind the scenes. I’ll do Instagram Live and do a little question and answer thing or a drum lesson live. So, I really enjoy it. I think it’s important to keep up with folks. Then, you add in if someone direct messages you then you can answer maybe a question they have about a song or tour. You get to read your wall of comments and that can help also to reach more select questions and things like that. All platforms are important, I think you would agree. We don’t ignore them. We love it.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and the band?

A) Thank you for being a fan because without you doing it, we won’t have shows to play. In other words, when we have that live crowd come out and it’s repeated, we don’t take it for granted that it’s built in. We want to keep making music that makes people want to come back. I, obviously as the drummer not being the original drummer, think it’s very important that we also know that these hits that they grew up and loved from the early start of the band mean a lot to us and a lot to me. I was also a fan. So, it’s exciting for me to perform and play for the crowds, but we need the crowds out there. We are going to keep doing it because we love that you guys come out and support us. It really is it for us. Making music and playing live, we love playing live for our fans. Seeing familiar faces and also new faces whether they are young and old. We have been noticing that. So, thank you to the crowd, honestly, and the fans.

 

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Drummer Johnny Rabb

 

“Right As Rain” lyric video:

“Now’s The Time Tour” Trailer: