With the intricate use of strings, horns, piano, and vocal harmony, The Collection offers rock music with a distinctive sound derived from their undeniable connection. They began by creating their own sound. Their music has been streamed tens of millions of times, they have logged tens of thousands of miles on the road, and they finally signed a recording contract in 2022. No matter what life throws at you, “Love At The End Of The World” gives us a powerful message of overcoming it. There can be beauty in painful moments. This is what The Collection told us during our interview:
Q:With your new release, “Love At The End Of The World,” inspired by love, can you tell us what was one of your favorite tour experiences you loved the most and why?
THE COLLECTION:A few years back, we had a tour that left our van dead, our trailer busted, and us driving through a blizzard in a rental all in the course of a day, trying to make a show in Madison. We got there late and set up. People greeted us with so much kindness, giving us money to fix our vehicle, offering us a place to sleep, free beer and weed, and free food.
It was so difficult to experience so much loss in just a few hours. However, it was incredible to see the ways in which kindness and love were sparked by our fans. This gave us experiences we would’ve never had otherwise.
Q: As the Collection Band demonstrates, you are able to mix energy and show love and peace. What were the three elements you used to achieve this goal?
THE COLLECTION: The first is that we prioritize our relationships with each other as much as possible first – making sure we are really clued into each other’s emotional states and giving each other encouragement and support where it’s needed. We do our best to be family to each other.
The second is that we try to focus on how much fun playing music is – while parts of this thing are a lot of work and difficulty, getting to play music is one of the greatest joys of our lives and we really like to be present with it and each other on stage. The third is that we care so deeply about creating a space that lets people open up and be their vulnerable selves. We try our best to live authentically in hopes that others will follow suit and do the same.
Q: Can you tell me a little bit about each member of the band and their role within the group?
THE COLLECTION:I’m so honored to work with these wonderful musicians! Hayden Cooke specializes in bass and has been in the band since the beginning. Graham Dickey plays horns and came on shortly after Hayden. Joshua Ling plays electric guitar and sings the lowest hobbit vocals you’ve ever heard. He started with us running merch on tour but transitioned over to guitar shortly after. Joshua Linhart came on as our drummer a few years later, followed by Sarah McCoy on keys, both amazing classically trained musicians. And I (David) play guitar and keys and sing and write the songs.
Q: What do you think is the state of the music industry today, and where do you think it will develop in the future?
THE COLLECTION: The industry is complicated today; there’s such an enormous platform for everyone to be heard whether it’s via tiktok or instagram or spotify – anyone can make an album for cheap and put it out themselves. But it also means there are so many other people doing it, and it’s more challenging to be heard in some ways. It’s a blessing and a curse – music is more democratic in many ways, but there’s a lot more noise. We’re doing our best to just be authentic in it and put out things we believe in. Trends always seem to expand and shrink. I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point, the current platforms collapse and we experience a bit of a shrinking down of what we have now.
Q: What was your creative direction and inspiration on your new EP, “How To Survive The Ending”?
THE COLLECTION: I’ve written a lot about loss and change in my songs, but usually from the standpoint of the struggle. After quite a few decades of it, I realized I wanted to put out an EP that came at those situations with confidence and resilience. The songs started to congeal around that – sort of instruction manuals for surviving endings.
Interviewed by Shertara Brazil
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