‘We’re a strange rock ‘n’ roll band,’ and they are playing the Strip
Within moments of a conversation with Collective Soul’s Ed Roland, you learn something.
He’s an Atlanta Falcons fan, and he’s an impulsive gambler.
The start of our chat on Dec. 16:
Johnny Kats: “Hello, Ed. Are you out here yet?”
Ed Roland: “No. But my brother, Dean is. He’s there for the Raiders-Falcons game tonight.”
J.K. “Ah! I’ll be there. I’m heading out right after we talk.”
E.R. “Really? Let’s make a bet on it. I’ll take the Falcons. Who do you want (laughs)?”
J.K. “Well, I’ll have to take the Raiders. We need the number.”
E.R. “I’ll find it … Falcons minus 6½.”
J.K. “I’m in. Lock that in.”
E.R. “This is a great way to start an interview, right?”
J.K. “This has never happened in my career. But we’ve gotta do it. We have to do this. I have 6½, and you’re going to owe me dinner.”
Results of the wager, for those who have not committed the Raiders’ season log to memory, is at the end of this item …
Soul to Venetian
The reason Mr. Roland and I are tied together in this phone chat, and this wager, is Collective Soul’s first appearances at The Venetian Theatre on Friday and Saturday.
The Roland brothers formed the band in 1992. “Shine” was issued that year, sold modestly, then became a hit on re-release in 1994, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard singles charts. Their self-titled, second album was their major break, spending 76 weeks on the Billboard album charts, going triple-platinum and is still the band’s highest-selling album.
“December”, “The World I Know”, and “Where the River Flows” all reached No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock charts.
Baptists, and $500
But long before that, Ed Roland visited Las Vegas when he was in Angie Bowie’s band. Angie was David Bowie’s wife in the 1970s, and influenced Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust glam-rock persona. Angie Bowie needed to move from L.A. to Atlanta, where Roland is from (hence the Falcons’ devotion).
Roland opted to drive a van from Atlanta to Los Angeles, then rent a car for Angie and drive everything back to Las Vegas.
As the subplot, Roland’s father was a Southern Baptist minister. Coincidentally, at the time the elder Roland was planning to be in Las Vegas for a Southern Baptist convention.
“So I got out bass player in the band at the time to ride in this 1970s, rock ‘n’ roll van all the way to Las Vegas,” Roland says. “God, I’ll never forget it — the guy’s name was Skip Godwin, our bassist — and we roll into Las Vegas to find my dad.”
There was no room booked for these two rockers, or for Roland’s family.
“Dad hadn’t reserved a room, so they said, ‘You’re here for the Southern Baptist convention? Five-hundred bucks.’ I said, ‘Dad, I’ve got this,’ and they looked at me and Skip, both of us with long hair, looking like we looked, and said, ‘All right, 75 bucks.’ And we all got rooms.”
As an epilogue, the guys made it to L.A., but Angie Bowie wasn’t prepared to leave town.
“She didn’t have her (stuff) together, so after all that we wound up being stuck in L.A.,” Roland says. “True story. My life is filled with those kinds of stories.”
A later Vegas trip
Roland’s most recent trip to Las Vegas went a lot more smoothly than the Atlanta-to-L.A. saga. The entire Collective Soul crew hit a U2 show at Sphere in late 2023.
“We had finished touring and everyone in the band was going to go home, but I took them to the Sphere to see U2, and it was really amazing to share that experience with them,” Roland says. “We’re a strange rock ’n’ roll band. Not only do we like each other, we love each other. We really love each other’s company, we talk to each other, if not daily every other day. It’s one of those really weird, rock ’n’ roll dynamics.”
Dinner’s on him
The result of the Dec. 16 tilt at Allegiant Stadium: Falcons 15, Raiders 9. The home team covered the 6½ points as I “hooked” my way to dinner. Roland said Tuesday, “I should have bought the half-point from you!”
Nope. We will be dining during the band’s stay, at a restaurant named for a Las Vegas rock star (or, former mob attorney and mayor). We’ll be easy to find. Our table will be the loudest.
May we recommend …
The next Jazz Vegas Orchestra show is Wednesday night at Vic’s Las Vegas. “Jazz at the Movies” is the theme. This is an 18-piece, force of nature that fills but doesn’t overpower Vic’s dining room. This outfit is formerly known as the Jazz Outreach Initiative orchestra, formed in 2020. The big band features A-plus players across the stage.
The show is presented on the third Wednesday of each month, two sets of an hour apiece starting at 7 p.m. Dinner charge is $65 for a choice of five entrees, and a soup or salad. All proceeds go to the Jazz Outreach Initiative.
Cool Hang(s) Alert
Clint Holmes returns to Myron’s at the Smith Center at 7 p.m. Thursday, his “Icons Reimagined Part II” advancing the original theme from last October. A Vegas icon himself, Holmes summons iconic artists, films and Broadway musicals.
Same night, same time, Kelly Clinton-Holmes hosts “The Sit In,” her rowdy variety show at The Composers Room at Historic Commercial Center. This dual booking for the husband-wife has happened at least once before. I remember it well; I flipped a coin and wound up with …
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
