By Lauren Eudy
Features Editor ’05

“The headstock of my Hohner 6-string was broken in a car accident…I was actually more upset about my bass being broken than my car being totaled,” admitted Lassiter’s resident bass addict. This statement is a typical one for Ross Arney, who has been teaching himself to play for over five years. “[Teaching yourself] forces you to learn more about what you’re doing on the fretboard,” he claimed, explaining his choice to skip lessons.

On the other hand, he is more than willing to give lessons to the would-be bassists of Lassiter. When asked how he goes about teaching his own peers a craft which he originally taught to himself, he was thorough in his explanation: “I usually start the ‘future virtuoso’ where they want, but I make sure to teach the fundamentals, along with the cool techniques.” His main student is junior Bryan Carlton, who has been learning for almost a year. After seeing each of them perform at Open Mic Night, everyone there was impressed by both the musical abilities and enthusiastic attitudes which led them to play in front of potentially critical peers.

The passion that possesses Ross was evident when he was asked about why he gets such a high from playing his music. Lighting up at the mere mention of it, he said, “Bass is the way for me to release my musical expressions; I really enjoy writing and performing my music because I love the feeling of accomplishing something that makes people stand back, look at the big picture, and say ‘wow’.” Not only does he meet the criteria for inspiring music, he also holds his own as a third degree black belt at Starr’s Tae Kwon Do. “That is definitely not as important to me as playing bass though,” he admitted frankly.

Every aspiring musician holds an admiration for those incredible players who continually inspire him to improve his music. Ross cited Ryan Martinie of Mudvayne fame, along with Victor Lamonte Wooten, and two Lassiter students, Nick Jenkins and Joey Weigel. “Check them out,” encouraged Ross.

“I hope to become famous in a band one day, and later, after the band has ended, I would like to do some recording work for various artists, as well as release some solo CD’s,” he confirmed candidly. While his lofty goals may seem unrealistic to the common person, there is no doubt that Ross is driven, possessing both the grit and the essential skills necessary to fulfill every one of them.

Thinking that perhaps other hopeful musicians could pick up some tips from this determined guy, I asked him what advice he would give to others. Without flinching, he said, “Don’t play bass with a pick!” Moving on to a general piece of guidance, he said, “ Don’t settle for what’s easy to achieve… try to break away from what’s easy, and push yourself to become great.”
There’s no doubt that he’ll accomplish all that he strives for and blow mediocre musicians out of the water on the journey.