Ever since his band's debut album, "Hints, Allegations and Things Left Unsaid," Collective Soul [ tickets ] lead singer Ed Roland has had a reputation for being a perfect Southern gentleman. Interviews are riddled with courtesy titles and appreciative "Thank you"s.

But there�s one thing that really annoys Roland: the recent slew of articles about Collective Soul that imply that the band is a Christian act. It's something many writers assume because Roland's father is a minister.

"I think a lot of it comes from the lack of knowledge, the lack of asking questions," Roland explained.

"Am I spiritual? Yes I am. Can I claim the band to be anything more than a rock and roll band? No. We�re made up of five very individual people. We�re a rock and roll band. No more. No less."

These days, he particularly wants to be asked about Collective Soul�s latest album, "Blender." Roland once said that he wanted to be more like Pink Floyd but the band wouldn�t let him. Instead, he has dribbled several different influences into each record. Collective Soul�s last release, "Dosage," was heavy on strings, while "Blender," especially the song "10 Years Later," carries a techno feel.

"Shane [Evans], our drummer, really enjoys working with loops. Most drummers are threatened by it, but he embraces it and loves it and wants to work with it. He sees it as another dimension, a different level of sound," Roland explained. "It�s a lot of fun to work with, [but] it doesn�t work great in every song."

"Blender" was recorded in the band�s rehearsal space in its hometown of Atlanta, Ga., which made for a comfortable working environment, Roland explained. While "Dosage" was labored on for six months, "Blender," was wrapped up in about eight weeks.

"It was a real relaxed atmosphere," Roland said. "Nobody had any real drama going on in their life. When I look back on it, it was probably the most fun I�ve had making a record.

"�Dosage,� when we made that, we purposely spent six months in the studio. We wanted to spend time in the studio. We wanted to make it the best record we possibly could. I feel that we did. It�s a really, really great record. It�s an end result I�m very proud of, but it also wore me out. It literally physically and mentally wore me out, wore the band out. This time around, we didn�t plan on making a record. We just wanted to have fun and we came out with an album."

While "having fun," Collective Soul took full advantage of Atlanta's music scene by recruiting singer Shawn Mullins, the band Marvelous 3 and part-time Atlanta resident Elton John to work on the album.

"That�s like my trophy for being in music," Roland said of pairing up with John on the rollicking, relentlessly addictive "Perfect Day." "Him, being my hero in music and my introduction to rock and roll--to get to know the man is reward enough, but to have him come in and play, it's hard to put in words. All I can say is, all five members of the band were saying, 'Is this for real?'"

In keeping with the "Atlanta community feel," Collective Soul collaborated with a local radio station to hold a contest to name the album. The eventual name, he said, was the perfect choice.

"I think 'Blender' worked out great because there�s so much different variety of music in there. I think it works perfectly. It�s a blend of different sounds."