Ross Freedman
Chicago, Illinois, United States | SELF
Music
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Discography
"Hold Fast" / LP / 2011 / Streaming at Last.FM and Spotify.com. Full CD is available at CDBaby.com, and as a download at the iTunes Store, the Amazon.com MP3 store and Digstation.com.
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Bio
Artist Information
Biography
Ross Freedman began his songwriting career as a precocious eight-year-old with "The Martian Street", a big hit in Mrs. Aposolides' third grade class. Piano lessons—and an indifferent attitude toward practice—soon followed.
In addition to piano, Freedman picked up the bass guitar in high school, as well as a whole percussion section worth of instruments in concert and marching bands. At college, he got his first acoustic guitar, and he spent too much time in the recording studios in both the music and theater buildings.
After moving to Chicago, Freedman hooked up with the Old Town School of Folk Music, where he's continued to hone his songwriting skills with recording artists Ralph Covert and Steve Dawson. In fact, Freedman worked closely with Dawson, who helmed the production of "Hold Fast" and shared playing duties.
Influenced by the showtunes and standards his parents would listen to and sing around the house, 70s AM radio and the New Wave and College/Alternative LPs his sister played, Freedman's sound owes a debt to Burt Bacharach, Joe Jackson, Neil Finn, Aimee Mann and Ben Folds.
"I've always been drawn to dichotomy," says the Chicago-based singer/songwriter. "And this album, somewhat unintentionally, reflects that. Freedman has crafted a song cycle rich in lyrical detail, seamlessly shifting back and forth between a lush power pop aesthetic and expansive, spare openness.
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