Biografie Ryan Ross

George Ryan Ross III (b. August 30, 1986 in Summerlin, Nevada) is the lead guitarist, lyricist and back-up vocalist for the band Panic at the Disco.

Early life

George Ryan Ross was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada to parents Sandra and George. He attended Bishop Gorman High School. He studied creative writing at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas but dropped out after a semester to focus on music.

Ross has said that his father, who died on July 28, 2006, disliked his life decisions, and that they were not close. Ross grew up with his father who was an alcoholic after his parents divorced when he was about 3 years old. In an earlier article of the Rolling Stone magazine, Ryan mentioned that he used to listen to country music. As he grew up, Ross started listening to more mainstream rock with his close friend Spencer Smith.

Ross and Smith met when they were 5 and 6 years old, respectively. Smith recalls in the January 2007 issue of Rolling Stone that Ryan was hitting golf balls across the yard into the neighbors' yards. Ever since then, the two were best friends.

Early musical beginnings

When Ross was twelve, he asked his parents for a guitar for Christmas, thus starting his first collaborations with Smith who was given a drum set. In the first few years, Ross and Smith mostly covered blink-182 songs with Ross on vocals. Their band was called Pet Salamander at that time.Their earlier bands were named Summer League and Pet Salamander before being changed to Panic! At The Disco.