Before forming Collective Soul, singer Ed Roland studied music composition and guitar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Since the mid-1980s, Roland was involved in Atlanta's underground music scene making demos and performing. He also worked at Real 2 Reel Studios in Stockbridge, which was owned by bassist Will Turpin's father, Bill Turpin. Roland's duties were producing, mixing, and engineering for local Atlanta artists. He recorded his demos and released an independent solo album "Ed-E Roland" in 1991.