Former FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES Guitarist Survives Near-Fatal Accident, Prepares New Release

February 17, 2009

Scott Gross, who came to national attention as the founding guitarist of FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES, will enter the studio sometime over the next month to begin production on an as-yet-unnamed new project. While Gross wrote all of the music and the bulk of the lyrics, he considers this a group effort. "I recruited my friend Kia, who is an amazing musician, to handle vocals," he said. "I met him while he was a fill-in guitarist for UNEARTH. I also have a keyboard player named Jeff who adds all these layers of sound to the songs."

Although Gross is primarily known for his heavy-music contribution with FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES, this new project has shades of rock, pop and singer/songwriter material. "When I left FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES, I took a break from heavy music and began to explore the acoustic guitar," he said. "I got turned on to artists like ELIOTT SMITH and JACK'S MANNEQUIN. I took a break from writing and searched for inspiration."

However, it was not until a life-altering situation that Gross found the impetus for the new music. "It was September 13, 2007 and I was on I-95 in New Jersey," he revealed. "The rental car I had broke down and I pulled over to the shoulder of the road. I got out of the car to walk to the back and that's all I remember." Another car had crashed into his, pining him between and causing massive injuries to his leg, back and head. "They were going to call me in as deceased," he said. "For the past two years, I have been chained to a bed, going to physical therapy daily and undergoing multiple surgeries for my leg which is mostly metal at this point. I also have two torn rotator cuffs which I still have to have surgery for. 98% of the time the pain is off the scale, music definitely helps to take my mind off of it. I've also been producing bands in my home studio and that's been great."

He continued, "When I left FROM AUTUMN TO ASHES, I was tired of the rock lifestyle, the endless touring and I didn't want to do music just to be popular. I spent three years before the accident just taking things in. It wasn't until after the accident that I began to write but now the music just flows from me and I'm really excited to share this music with other people."

Look for studio updates over the next few months followed by the full-length on 567 Records later this year.

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