Andy Ross

Infobox musical artist

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Name = Andy Ross
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Andrew Ross
Alias = Secret Dakota Ring
Born = Birth date and age|1979|3|8|mf=y
Died =
Origin = Worcester. Massachusetts
Instrument = singing, guitar, bass, keyboards
Genre = Indie rock, Indie pop, Electronica
Occupation = musician, songwriter, producer
Years_active =
Label = Serious Business Records, Capitol Records
Associated_acts = Unsacred Hearts, DraculaZombieUSA, Cold Memory, OK Go
URL = [http://secretdakotaring.com Secret Dakota Ring]
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Andy Ross (born March 8, 1979), is the guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist for the American rock band OK Go. He is also co-founder of Serious Business Records.

Biography

Ross was born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts. He attended Tatnuck Elementary School, Forest Grove Middle School, Doherty High School, and the Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science at WPI, where he was captain of the robotics team. He then majored in electrical engineering (with a minor in computer science) at Columbia University and graduated from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in 2001.

Ross became a member of OK Go at a tryout for the role of guitarist in New York, New York. They liked his playing and made him the guitarist.

Ross is the former bassist for the band Unsacred Hearts and guitarist for DraculaZombieUSA. His band, Secret Dakota Ring, has published one album, "Do Not Leave Baggage All The Way". A follow-up of this album, named "Cantarell", will be released. Ross was also the bassist for a brief stint in vaunted early 2000s indie band Cold Memory, and was also the headliner for one of Columbia University's most popular student bands, The A-Ross Experience. Early bands include Phter, D-Funky and the Beechmont Chilles (featuring the acoustic stylings of B-Smooky and his musical horn of plenty), and Conjugal Visit.

Discography

Secret Dakota Ring has made one studio album:
* "Do Not Leave Baggage All the Way" (2004)

Andy announced on his social website that a second album, entitled Cantarell, would be released October 28th on No Office/Serious Business Records.

Miscellaneous facts

*Andy's primary guitar influence is Jimmy Page. So inspired by Page, Andy received a violin bow for his 16th birthday so he could perfect Page's guitar bowing technique.

*In addition to OK Go, Ross also works as a programmer for the Participatory Culture Foundation and the Participatory Politics Foundation (specifically, opencongress.org). When asked, "How can you possibly find time to do it?", Ross replied, "A lot of car-sitting".

*His mother's name is Karen and his father's is David Ross.

*OK Go fans know Andy is a huge baseball fan. He is especially a dedicated and loyal fan of the Boston Red Sox. He was even interviewed for the Fox show This Week in Baseball for the Red Sox edition on September 16, 2006.

*Is descended from Mayflower passenger John Howland, who fell off the boat and lived.

*Has earned the nickname "Rusty" by his bandmates.

*Drummer Dan Konopka has claimed to experience an "A. Ross" fantasy whenever Andy's family shows up for a concert.

External links

* [http://secretdakotaring.com/ Secret Dakota Ring Official Website]
* [http://seriousbusinessrecords.com/ Record Label]
* [http://draculazombieusa.com/ DraculaZombieUSA]
* [http://okgo.net/ OK Go Official Website]
* [http://okgolatino.foroportal.es/ Foro de Ok Go en Español]
* [http://www.participatoryculture.org/ Participatory Culture Foundation]
* [http://www.myspace.com/okgo myspace.com/okgo]
* [http://thewilltorock.blogspot.com/ Band Blog]
* [http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061112/NEWS/611120415/1110/ Worcester Telegram]