Former PHANTOM BLUE/VIXEN Bassist Passes Away

May 6, 2003

Former PHANTOM BLUE/VIXEN touring bassist Rana Ross passed away on May 3 due to liver failure. She was 34 years old.

Rana joined PHANTOM BLUE in 1994, shortly after the release of their second album, "Built To Perform", and toured with VIXEN in 1997 before forming SINBOY with singer/programmer Elysa Grey, whom Ross had dubbed "a female Trent Reznor." Rana, who was said to be seriously considered for a Janet Jackson tour in the early '90s, lived bass, and was proud to have had a journalist call her "The Female Flea." Tired of being a sideperson, she spent her last days concentrating exclusively on her solo project, which was in the process of recording an album.

The following is a statement issued by Ross' family regarding her passing:

"As many of you know, Rana Ross passed [on May 3]. Despite how you may now her (as a writer, a musician, a friend, a business associate),she was so much more than that. She leaves behind her husband John Ross, her mother Anne St. George, her sister Reesa St. George and brother-in-law Bill Cuffari, her aunt and uncle, Louisa and Ted Klopsis, and cousin Eugenia Klopsis.

"She was a great bass player. But more than all of that, she was a Brooklyn girl from way back — tough, cool, she had this voice that would knock your socks off... oh, she was the best.... you know that, though.

"She was our best friend. We loved her completely. Now we know she doesn't need anything else. She is free.

"Rana was and still is in our eyes a SUPER person who has been incredibly strong for many years. She is talented, intelligent, amazing, awesome, and every descriptor and superlative that can be thought of. She was always a very strong figure in our lives as far as we can remember.

"She was working on her first solo CD for some time now and was very appreciative of the gestures her producer, Jeff Moleski, made as he basically moved his studio into her house and committed to work on her CD with her at her own pace until completion.

"Rana will be missed completely by so many people who recognized her beauty, worth, talent and spirit. This is such a GIANT void in our lives that we can't even begin to work through. We're hoping that all of you will have a chance to visit us and let us know in what way she influenced your lives."

Rest in peace, Rana.

For more information on Rana Ross, visit her official web site at www.bassgirl.com.

Find more on

Prev More News Next

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).