Ryan Ross
Ryan Ross |
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George Ryan Ross III (b. August 30, 1986 in Summerlin, Nevada) is the lead guitarist and back-up vocalist for the band Panic! at the Disco. He is notably the original and only lyricist for songs on the band's debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.
Early life
George Ryan Ross was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. He attended Bishop Gorman High School. He studied at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas but dropped out after a semester to focus on music[1].
Two songs, "Camisado" and "Nails For Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks", on Panic! at the Disco's debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out were written about his personal experience with his alcoholic father, who died on July 28, 2006 [2]. His father was a Navy Seal, who fought in the Vietnam war. "I wasn't close to my dad." Ross says. "He disliked my life decisions." The record has sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide, and counting.
Recently, Ross had gotten his first tattoo, following bandmate Brendon Urie. Ryan has got the lines, "Mad as a hatter, thin as a dime" on his wrists. These are lyrics from the song "Diamonds and Gold" by Tom Waits and Brendon had an image of piano keys on his left arm.
Early musical beginnings
When Ryan was twelve, he asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas, thus starting his first collaborations with Spencer who was given a drum set. In the first few years, Ryan and Spencer mostly covered blink-182 songs with Ryan on vocals. Their band was called Pet Salamander at that time.[3] When the band originated, Ryan was in college that was practically paid for completely with a scholarship and decided to drop out to concentrate more on the band, which his father disapproved of. Later on, Spencer recruited school friend Brent Wilson on bass. When Brendon Urie joined the band, the others heard him singing back-up vocals and unanimously decided that he would be the lead singer, therefore making Ryan the backup singer and lead guitarist.He now plays several instruments on the record and seldom plays keyboard. He is famous for decorating his face with lighting bolts, bats, birds, or other objects at concerts. "I don't feel like I'm playing. I'm like a narrator even though that's Brendon's job," Ross states. He is currently taking piano and voice lessons. He performed a guitar solo in the song "You're Crashing, But You're No Wave" by Fall Out Boy for their new album, Infinity On High.
References
- ^ "Biography for Ryan Ross (III)". IMDB. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
- ^ The Express, August 9th 2006, p2. [1]
- ^ "Panic! at the Disco Bio" (PDF). Fueled by Ramen. Retrieved 2006-09-03.