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Stephen Ross who sometimes goes by the name Stephen Rogouski, depending on what
kind of mood he is in, has been told that he has a knack for plucking, picking,
twisting, and breaking guitar
strings. Beginning his quest for musicianship at age 5, his parents soon
realized that Stephen had some talent for this kind of thing. Using his five
dollar no frills axe, Stephen began exploring what this strange object that was
given the name "guitar" was capable of doing. By age 9, Stephen and his friend
Chris Harding were recording original compositions on a cheap tape recorder
pretending they were the beatles.
By age thirteen Stephen began formal training with jazz virtuoso, the late
Harry Leahey. Because Stephen had such a ravenous appetite for knowledge Harry
would push Stephen to the limit. After his first year, Stephen had a firm
handle on the modal concept of improvisation, chord sets, and reading music.
Harry would comment quite frequently on Stephen's finger dexterity and speed.
"That boy is going to get a speeding ticket if he keeps playing like that," he
once said to Stephen's mom after one of their many jams.
A few year later Stephen joined his first
professional band “Gems Edge” with Robert Mason, formerly of The Lynch Mob, and
began playing throughout the New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania area.
Stephen's gained world exposure by appearing in Guitar Player Magazine's
Spotlight Column after sending guitar guru Mike Varney a demo tape called
"Guitars From Space", which featured several of Stephen's original
compositions. Shortly afterward, Stephen also appeared in Guitar for the
Practicing Musicians profile column.
By the age of twenty three Stephen Ross released his solo debut
recording, "Midnight Drive." on the Shrapnel Label. The
album received favorable reviews from many major publications (See Press) and
helped Stephen land a Carvin and an ADA endorsement. Recently Stephen has
appeared on the "Warmth in the Wilderness Pt II" Jason Becker tribute
album,"The Alchemist" and recorded with the bands "Silent Witness",
"Vaughn" and numerous other local and national acts.
Stephen is currently in the studio finishing up his latest CD
under the name Rogosonic. Rogosonic presently consists of Stephen Ross,
Ron Cannella, Dale Toth on vocals and Rich Mattalian on drums. He also
completed his first book called "Arpeggios for the Modern Guitarist" which is
being published by Hal Leonard.
Links of interest:
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