Ben Ross
Hear it Now
"I think about the millions of people doing the same thing as me. I think of this as a full-time job. I really like to work and give it my all. It gets exhausting, but it's really all I really want to do."
Ben Ross is talking passionately about his work ethic during a phone interview. The Florida native moved to San Diego (after some time on an Alabama farm in high school) a couple of years ago to pursue his dream. After getting a start sometime early in high school, "I was 12 or 13 and I was socially awkward at the time," when a friend suggested they start a band, "mostly, for the girls." He was also "set on being a drummer." However, when his new band actually got together, another guy had already picked up a set of drums -- leaving Ben -- "stuck with the bass."
That early challenge with that first band, which he has certainly put behind him now, was great practice for when he wanted to move to California at 17. Before the move, his mom insisted he not only finish high school, which meant cramming three semesters of school into just one, but that he also write and produce five songs before he could go. Ben did, and now, of course, he plays the bass (and likes it), guitar, piano and yes, even does some drumming. More often than not, however, he plays with Daniel Yune (guitar) and Jeremy Turner (guitar), as well as Scott Mcglathery (bass), on songs like "Sunflower" and "City Dreams" that a have a singer-songerwriter vibe with a rock feel -- Ben claims Third Eye Blind, Blink 182 and even The Beach Boys as influences. The idea behind them, however, is to "affect someone's life" or to have someone say to him "your music really helped me."
"It's the reason I do this," he explained. And it's the reason that work ethic of his keeps coming up. His EP, "What They Say" (available on iTunes) was self-produced at home, which is "a whole other art in itself" as well as "a double-edged sword because you get to have control, but you also want it (the album) to be perfect." Now that he's completed the writing, recording and producing, all that's left is a tour, which is coming up this summer. If that works out as well as the first few steps, we expect -- and want -- to hear a lot more from Ben. Check out his songs and the video for "Sunflower" below.
Ben Ross is talking passionately about his work ethic during a phone interview. The Florida native moved to San Diego (after some time on an Alabama farm in high school) a couple of years ago to pursue his dream. After getting a start sometime early in high school, "I was 12 or 13 and I was socially awkward at the time," when a friend suggested they start a band, "mostly, for the girls." He was also "set on being a drummer." However, when his new band actually got together, another guy had already picked up a set of drums -- leaving Ben -- "stuck with the bass."
That early challenge with that first band, which he has certainly put behind him now, was great practice for when he wanted to move to California at 17. Before the move, his mom insisted he not only finish high school, which meant cramming three semesters of school into just one, but that he also write and produce five songs before he could go. Ben did, and now, of course, he plays the bass (and likes it), guitar, piano and yes, even does some drumming. More often than not, however, he plays with Daniel Yune (guitar) and Jeremy Turner (guitar), as well as Scott Mcglathery (bass), on songs like "Sunflower" and "City Dreams" that a have a singer-songerwriter vibe with a rock feel -- Ben claims Third Eye Blind, Blink 182 and even The Beach Boys as influences. The idea behind them, however, is to "affect someone's life" or to have someone say to him "your music really helped me."
"It's the reason I do this," he explained. And it's the reason that work ethic of his keeps coming up. His EP, "What They Say" (available on iTunes) was self-produced at home, which is "a whole other art in itself" as well as "a double-edged sword because you get to have control, but you also want it (the album) to be perfect." Now that he's completed the writing, recording and producing, all that's left is a tour, which is coming up this summer. If that works out as well as the first few steps, we expect -- and want -- to hear a lot more from Ben. Check out his songs and the video for "Sunflower" below.
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