SB: Did you ever think that the success of Hints....Allegations would lead you to where you are today, on your third successful album?
ER: No, you never think about things like that. It sticks in the back of your mind but you never think, "Well, this is it". For 12 years I kept thinking it would happen but finally I thought.....Well, I'll do the best that I can and try to write good tunes.

SB: Did you independently write and produce the album Ed E. Roland? You were quite young at that time, right?
ER: Actually, that was from some demos I was doing when I worked at the studio in Stockbridge. An ex-manager, when all of this was happening, decided he would put those out. I really had no control over it. Some of those songs were ten to thirteen years old.

SB: Did you like that album?
ER: You know, it was a growing experience for me. I'm not going to say I was ashamed of it because you have to grow. Nobody starts out writing to the best of their ability. Writing is like any other craft or anything else you do in life. The more you do it, the better you get at it and the more you become comfortable with it. I'm not saying I am a good writer, I'm saying that I am more comfortable with writing now. That was back in the early stages. It was embarrassing in a sense, but in the same sense, Paul McCartney's first song wasn't "Hey Jude". It took a point for him to get at the level he was and the same for Elton John. I look at those two as my heroes and so it's nothing I can control. I don't really think about it to be honest with you. All I worry about is what we put out as Collective Soul.

SB: I think Disciplined Breakdown is your best work to date. I think it holds special meaning for you and the other guys in the band. Was making this album therapeutic to the band after what all you were put through with the law suit?
ER: Yes, it was very therapeutic. It was our therapy because when we were recording, we didn't set out to make an album. We were just trying to escape everything that was going on with the legal hassles and legal problems we were dealing with. When we were playing the guitars, drums and bass, we were doing what we love to do. But then the phone rang and it was a lawyer waking us up in the morning. That's not music, that's business. Therefore, it was something we had to go through and we learned a lot. We grew a lot as a band and as individuals. It was very much therapy. We sat in a cabin for nine months recording. Afterwards, we sat back and thought, "Wow, I can't believe we actually did what we did". I think most bands would have broken up. But we stuck together. I'm really proud of the work we did. And once again, I'm not saying it is good or great. It's not about that. We were just very proud of it and still are. When I look back on this twenty to thirty years from now, I will be just as proud of it then as I am now.

SB: This album was recorded in a cabin. Where did you find the cabin and where is it located?
ER: It's located in our hometown, Stockbridge. When we got done with our tour, we all basically had to move back in with our parents. It wasn't because we wanted to. I mean we love our family, but it was out of necessity. We had no money. So, what money we did have, we threw together and got this cabin. It's on a 40 acre cow farm. That way we wouldn't disturb anyone and we could play at anytime. I had a computer and basically what we did was recorded all of the ideas on the computer. The engineer was upstairs in the bedroom and he would stomp on the floor to let us know when he was recording. We set Shane's drums up in the kitchen and kinda horse-shoed around them. We didn't set out to make an album. We didn't say, "Ok, we are recording track three on our new CD". We were just recording and writing. Once again, it was therapy and if it was a beautiful day outside, I promise you, we didn't sit in the cabin working. We did whatever we wanted. There was no pressure, no time table as far as the making of the CD. All of it was in dealing with the law suit.

SB: You ended up recording about thirty songs, twelve of which are on this album. Are you going to use some of the other songs on your fourth album?
ER: Yeah, we probably will but I'm not sure. I always write but then I may use something from a batch that I write in a month. Whatever the band likes. It's very diplomatic. Just because I write the songs, doesn't mean it's about Ed and what he thinks. If one person doesn't like a song, we don't do that song. A song is not complete unless it has the bass in there and a song is not complete unless it has the drums. So for me, there is no more or no less importance on anybody's job. It just so happens that I write the songs. We will play it by ear and then pick and choose.

SB: Would you say that "Precious Declaration" is about the legal papers that granted you freedom and separation from your old manager?
ER: For me it was, but I tried to write it in a sense that anyone could interpret it to be any kind of freedom. Not just a piece of paper, but any act of emotion that allows you freedom and that gives you freedom. For us, at the time, it was dealing with the legal problems. The whole CD was about that. We are very honest with our lyrics. I can't quite make things up yet. I'm trying to be more of a storyteller but I'm not comfortable with that yet, so I still write by experience. Things have to happen to me either directly or indirectly and this being a very emotional time, that's just where I drew all of the lyrics from. It wasn't aimed at one person, but it was in dealing with the emotions that not only I was going through but everyone else in the band. Having seen my brother go through the same thing was just as difficult as me going through it. The same thing for the other guys. They are my friends. That laid heavy on my mind. So, lyrically, that was the only place I honestly could go.

SB: Why is "Forgiveness" your favorite song on the album? Is it about forgiveness for the people who had done you wrong?
ER: Yeah, and also asking for forgiveness from people that I had done wrong. I could sit there and say "Oh, I forgive you" and so many people throw it off and say, "Yeah, whatever". Forgiveness is a serious act and emotion and a serious thing to deal with and I've never really dealt with it to be honest. It was such a hurt and pain that we went through as a band and I don't know if I have forgiven yet. It is still something we deal with daily. There are days I think I have forgiven and then I wake up thinking something and it throws me off and I sit and think, "Wow, you know what, I really haven't forgiven yet". So I wouldn't say that the song is me directing it at someone else....actually, it's directed at me. I've done a lot of stupid things to people that I feel horrible about. So, in a sense, I was asking for forgiveness from people that I had done wrong.

SB: Do you attribute your lyrics to your faith and upbringing?
ER: Oh yeah, I will never deny my upbringing. My father being a minister, church was daily for seventeen years of my life. My whole mindset was based around the church. It's not now because I've become my own individual but it still played a big part in growing up. I can separate myself from the church for the rest of my life but that doesn't mean that it goes away because it was so embedded and I grew up in that environment. Not only that, I had incredible parents that to this day are unbelievable and that always supported me. Not monetarily, they never have that, but supported me and said, "We are behind you in anything you do". I was twenty nine years old before I ever got a record deal and most parents would be saying at that age that it's time for a real job. But they were just as supportive when I was twenty nine as when I was eighteen.

SB: I predict that your next single will be "Blame". Do you agree?
ER: (laughs) Yeah, we wanted it to be our last one. "Blame" seems to be one that everyone mentions. "Blame" and "Forgiveness" seem to be the two that everybody really grabs hold to and that's fine with us. We are happy with any song that people want to hear. We are especially proud of it as it was the first that we laid down to record, so it holds a special place in our hearts.

SB: Is there a specific question you wished you were asked by the press? Maybe to rebut any bad press.
ER: There is always bad press but there isn't a specific question that I want to be asked. There is no revenge we want to take out on someone. Everyone's entitled to their own opinion. We want to be loved by everyone but we also understand that we won't be. So, once again, it boils down to us being proud of what we do and doing the best that we possibly can and after that, it's really out of our hands. What we are responsible for is putting out the best product that we can and being honest. I think we do an incredible job on that and that's not being egotistical, that's being honest. Once again, we are honest and we work our butts off and we take immense pride in what we do.

SB: Thank you...(Hand shakes)