Just like the folks at Area 51, we have an official story, and we're sticking to it. Come to think of it, ours is probably a bit less plausible than theirs, but here it is anyway. For a glance deeper into my musical origins, go here.

Coffee shops. Open-mike nights. Acoustic guitar. Facial hair. Combine all ingredients. Yield: one average singer-songwriter.

ACOUSTIC ROSS, however, is anything but your average singer-songwriter, and much more than the sum of those parts.

ACOUSTIC ROSS’s fiercely original take on life is a one-man assault on all things stale and boring. Equal parts folk, punk, rock, blues, country and pop, it’s highly energetic Service with a Smirk. Nothing is safe as ACOUSTIC ROSS skewers his targets – obsessive lovers, pet causes, pop culture, rampant stupidity – with a biting wit and a wild irreverence seldom seen in the post-PC era.

Except, of course, on the AntiFolk scene. Founded two decades ago in NYC by AntiFolk patriarch LACH, and still centered primarily in the northeast, AntiFolk has long been a haven for a unique brand of folk music that’s as much Joey Ramone as it is Woody Guthrie. AntiFolk’s mix of biting social commentary, satirical humor, heartfelt sentiment, punk rock attitude, counterculture idealism, and do-it-yourself work ethic has made it one of the most unique movements of the late 20th century.

Raised on comedy records (and, later, punk rock), ROSS develops his own twisted songwriting style early on. “I was always a smart-aleck, and I got sent to my room without dessert a lot,” ROSS explains in a fake interview conducted for this bio, “but all that taught me was that I had time for exactly one joke before getting in trouble, so I should make it a really good one.” That instinctive sarcasm, combined with a natural skepticism and a built-in B.S. detector, molded his acerbic wit, honed his pointed sense of humor, and prepped him for a future in AntiFolk.

In the mid-90s, ROSS moves from his native Ohio to Springfield, MO, establishing a standing gig at a local coffee shop, soon discovering he could get compliments and complaints about exactly the same material, and decides he must be doing something right. He would soon move to Oklahoma and begin making appearances both in clubs and on TV, and even made it onto the nationally-syndicated Dr. Demento radio show in 2000. Soon, the stage name is launched - a miscommunication that sticks - and in 2002 the newly christened ACOUSTIC ROSS self-releases his first CD, News From Around the Bend, which garners him a nomination from the Tulsa World’s Spot Music Awards (“Best None of the Above”). In November www.acousticross.com is born, and ROSS makes an AntiFolk pilgrimage, playing a tribute medley at Philadelphia AntiFolk lynchpin Adam Brodsky’s CD release party, and making a splash at Lach’s now-legendary NYC AntiHootenanny.

Two years later comes The 918 UFN EP, cementing ROSS's status as the Court Jester of the Tulsa music scene, and his night job begins merging with his day job (TV producer/director) when he is named Executive Producer of Tulsa’s edition of the American Idol-esque “Gimme the Mike!” program. Soon come shows in Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, and in the fall a week-long tour with several indie press authors (“no boring readings or your money back!”) of the southeastern states, where he shares songs, stories, and issues of his ‘weird news’ zine (also called News From Around the Bend), which he founded in 1991.

Soon after the tour, ACOUSTIC ROSS starts a side project, a four-piece rock band called MATH LAB, which sounds nothing like him. In the next few years come another Tulsa World Spot Music Awards nomination (“Best Singer-Songwriter”), the debut EP from MATH LAB, sporadic shows, and a channel change, as he moves on to become Production Manager for Tulsa's NBC affiliate, KJRH. The new job brings new challenges, and in 2007, ROSS's first regional Emmy award. ACOUSTIC ROSS continues to move forward, with high-profile shows at Tulsa's International Mayfest, the D-Fest Music Conference & Festival, and a brand-new ACOUSTIC ROSS album due in July 2008.

ACOUSTIC ROSS continues to perform regularly at a variety of venues around northeast Oklahoma, and around the country, to prove that solo acoustic music doesn’t have to be boring, quiet, or mellow.

Award Nominations:

Tulsa World Spot Music Awards 2002, “Best None of the Above”
oklahomarock.com Music Awards 2003, “Best Singer-Songwriter”
paynecountyline.com Music Awards 2005, “Acoustic Band of the Year”
Tulsa World Spot Music Awards 2005, “Best Singer-Songwriter”