Brady Ross and the Route 23 Band: Never Give Up
Striking Chords and Hearts All Across the Tri-State
Sasha Bush
The Ashland Beacon
April showers bring May flowers. April is often the month that most people associate with springtime, rain, and that cool Spring weather that is just the right temperature. The month of April is so much more than just that. What many may not realize is that April like most months is packed full of an entire plethora of unique holidays and awareness events. International Guitar Month is observed in the month of April and is the perfect time to strike some chords and produce some exquisitely sweet melodies.
Brady Ross is a local musician who has been playing the guitar since he was just five years old and even started his own band at the age of 13. “My grandfather Bruce Roar was always such an inspiration to me growing. He taught me how to play at a very young age. As I got older, my main inspirations for writing songs and playing guitar would be Stevie Ray Von and Joe Bonamassa,” Ross reminisced. Axis was the name of Ross’s old band, and they played in and around the Tri-State for many years.
Over the years, Ross’s musical talent continued to strike chords in the hearts of those throughout the community. Recently Ross decided to create a new band… The Brady Ross and Route 23 Band. Ross noted that the inspiration behind the naming of his band came from a famous artist along Route 23 and that he and his bandmates hope to one day follow in their footsteps. The band is made of five members: Brady Ross- lead singer and lead guitarist, Jacob Willis- rhythm guitar and vocals, Logan Cooper- slide guitar, fiddle player and rhythm guitarist, Steve Entler- bass player and vocals, and Ian Gehringer- drummer. “We play a mix of Americana/southern rock. We have an album of 10 originals called True Identity on EVERY platform such as: Apple Music/iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, Amazon, etc. Our personal favorite song is ‘Pray For Me,’” shared Ross.
The band’s favorite thing about performing on stage is being able to see the crowd and feed off their energy. For Ross personally, his favorite thing about performing on stage is being surrounded by his band, performing under the lights and monitors, and just having that moment where everything is “in sync.” Ross added, “My favorite thing about the music business is most people work all day, including myself, but you can play music, doing what you love, for fans… for everyone, and you get paid to do something that you love. What’s better than that?”
Since the band’s formation, they have been able to record a new album at 1705 Studios that was released in February of this year. “We have a few upcoming gigs planned. A local tri-state BBQ brawl in Raceland Ky, Library Con for the Greenup Library, and Old-Fashioned Days in Greenup, Ky. We have others in the process but not yet confirmed,” declared Ross. “Often times the hardest part about getting involved and staying in the music business boils down to being able to find the right gigs at the right times. Getting noticed by people is a big part of it,” added Ross. For anyone who is just starting out, Ross had a few words of wisdom to share, “First off… NEVER give up on your dreams! The path to success is like a long and bumpy dirt road, but you just gotta keep traveling and never give up on what you love doing.”
