Collective Soul Shines Again : With one platinum album behind them, the hit-making Georgia rock band is pushing its second effort.

Collective Soul, a small-town Georgia band, hit the Big Time big time in 1993 when their song “Shine” garnered substantially more airplay than “Marching Through Georgia” ever would at William T. Sherman High School.

The five long-haired Georgians plus label-mate Rusty will perform Wednesday night at the Ventura Theatre.

The first album, “Hints Allegations and Things Left Unsaid,” went platinum, and now Collective Soul is pushing their second effort, apparently named after their favorite band, “Collective Soul.”

The band plays superbly crafted corporate rock that makes them sort of a hit-making machine, an INXS with a twang.

“December” and “Gel” are the hoped-for “Shine” off the new one, and both have been getting substantial airplay. Those to praise and blame include singer and guitarist Ed Roland, brother and rhythm guitarist Dean Roland, lead guitarist Ross Childress, drummer Shane Evans and bassist Will Turpin.

In the midst of a West Coast concert tour, Ed Roland spoke by phone from British Columbia.

So, what’s happening in Stockbridge?

Well, I couldn’t tell ya because I haven’t been there for so long. It’s a small place, only about 20,000 people--it’s a suburb of Atlanta. There’s nowhere to play there, but it’s close enough to Atlanta, which is really a cool place. The music scene is very diverse. There’s the R&B; scene, the Indigo Girls folk scene and a rock scene.

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Were you surprised by the success of the first album?

Oh yeah. The whole thing was done as a songwriting demo by my brother in a basement studio. Once the album was made, it took off, which surprised us all. It all has its good and bad side, I guess. The good side, of course, was that we got our foot in the door. The bad side is that the album misrepresented the band because it was basically an Ed Roland solo album. The new one has everyone on it.

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How does a band get a deal?

I dunno. I think you have to get something out there with your name on it, a CD, tape or whatever and hope the right person hears it and likes it. A station in Orlando, Fla., WJRR, started playing “Shine,” and it just took off from there.

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What can you afford now that you couldn’t afford before?

It isn’t what people think; it’s really not. It’s not even close. We all still live at home. Actually, we all live on the tour bus--we’ve been on the road since March of last year. We came off the road, went into the studio to record our second album, then went back on the road.

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What do you think Collective Soul music sounds like?

Just rock ‘n’ roll music that’s totally natural. Nothing is forced. Whatever comes out, comes out. We’re not trying to be something we’re not. We just do what we do.

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What’s Southern rock and where does Collective Soul fit in with all that?

When I think of Southern rock, I think of Lynyrd Skynyrd or Molly Hatchet, but not Collective Soul. It’s a stereotype that somehow we got pigeonholed into. As an influence, we couldn’t help but hear it growing up. I mean, just because R.E.M. is from the South doesn’t mean they’re a Southern rock band. I don’t know where we fit in. We’re just doing it and it is what it is.

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What does alternative rock mean this week?

There’s no such thing. It’s time to come to a point where people quit labeling music and just listen to it. We’re just rock ‘n’ roll and not anything else. If people like something, then buy it; if not, then don’t.

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What’s the difference for an opening band as opposed to headlining?

It’s more difficult to open because the people aren’t there to see you, so that’s in the back of your mind, and you work harder because you have something to prove. We opened for Aerosmith and Van Halen, which was great. The guys in Van Halen were the greatest, and it was the best thing that ever happened to us to hang out with those guys. They were real people. When you headline, people come to see you and you can feel the energy and feed off that energy.

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Tell me about the recent Woodstock gig.

We had been playing 500-seat theaters, then, all of a sudden, we were playing to 200,000 people. It was just overwhelming. We went as fans and got to see and meet Live, Sheryl Crow, King’s X and Blues Traveler.

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Most bands have no good guitar players, but you guys have three. How did that come about?

I dunno. It just kind of happened. We use different tunings, so it’s not always three electric guitars at once blaring in your face. Sometimes, I play acoustic. We just try to make it as diverse as possible.

Details

* WHAT: Collective Soul, Rusty

* WHERE: Ventura Theatre, 26 Chestnut St.

* WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday

* COST: $13.50.

* CALL: 648-1888