Since the release of their multi-platinum-selling album, “Hints, Allegations, and Things Left Unsaid” back in ’94, Collective Soul has enjoyed over a decade of success with several albums and 19 singles on the Billboard charts, including the catchy smash hits “Gel,” “Shine,” and “The World I Know,” just to name a few. The band is currently gearing up for a tour to promote their new album, “Afterwords,” due out this August.

I caught up with guitarist Joel Kosche and bassist Will Turpin backstage at the Temecula Wine Festival recently, and they talked about the tour, how BOSS pedals help them get their heavy, lush guitar sound, and more.

Joel, tell me a little bit about your background and your influences.

JK: I started playing guitar around age 13 – I’d air-guitared for the longest time, and finally I picked up a guitar. As far as the band, some of our big influences are bands like U2, and R.E.M. – we are from Atlanta! [laughs]

What pedals are in your rig?

I use a handful of BOSS pedals. The (AW-3) Auto-Wah with Humanizer effect, and the OC-2 (Octave) in particular. On my solo during “Listen” and on “Home,” I get this distinct sound. I set the Auto-Wah to static – almost a half-wah sound. It’s a really cool way to get a filtered sound.

Any other Roland gear you use?

I’ve used the 1080 and 2080 sound modules forever, and I still love some of those sounds. The Melotron, and a lot of the pads are great!

Will, what BOSS pedals are you using on stage?

WT: I use the BOSS Bass Equalizer (GEB-7) and Distortion (DS-1), and the Stereo Chorus (CH-1), and Dean (Roland – rhythm guitar) uses the Digital Delay (DD-6) quite a bit. All of us use the TU-2 tuner. That is definitely a must-have!

What’s coming next for you guys?

WT: Our seventh studio record, “Afterwords” comes out on August 14 th. On this record, we used some different production and drum sounds than in the past – it’s a somewhat new sound for us, working with producer Anthony J. Resta. We start touring in July with Live and The Counting Crows.

For tour dates and more information on Collective Soul, visit their website at www.collectivesoul.com.