Scholarship

This scholarship is a culmination of almost a decades worth of remembrance concerts set up to honor a good Friend, Boyfriend, Son, Brother, Cousin, Nephew, Grandson, and Musician gone too young. It’s a community effort on everyone’s part: Will’s Family; Will’s Friends, Girl-friends; the local bands who perform, some are his old friends; the artists who perform, which include Will’s Sister and many of Will’s friends; anyone who attended the show, even just to donate money towards this cause.  Thank You!

I was personally involved and performed every year that Will’s shows were held. Some years I was on the stage only once or twice, some years I was in up to 90% of the acts. Every year there were difficulties (venues, PA, dropped bands, etc.), but this whole thing is near and dear to mine and my friend’s hearts.

I’m a semi-private person and I appreciate everyone’s help with the shows, but have to commend Will’s Family, Will’s Girlfriend, and some of Will’s Best Friends; they’ve been there for the shows when they could and they’ve been strong the whole time.

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Truth be told I didn’t know Will for too long, not compared to some of his friends.  I was four years older than Will, which in high school can be like we were opposite ends of the universe. Nonetheless, I resonated with Will a lot though and he was absolutely a good friend and band mate of mine. We went to see many shows together (I even have his ticket stub from one of the last shows we saw together: April 12, 2005, my only time seeing a band that we listened to daily in high school entitled, As I Lay Dying) and being 16-18 when I really got to know and hang out with Will, I was most likely driving. One show in particular we saw Every Time I Die and it was a mess: Will was so tired he slept through a band, meanwhile Bryan hurt his back pretty bad, and even further I got kicked in the face, lost my glasses, and being the oldest had to drive because no one else knew how to. So, I drove home from Saratoga with horrible vision, between two blurry white and yellow lines, with a bunch of 14-15 year old friends who had just experienced an epic show.

Another time Will rode with me up to watch GMAG play our only show at Saratoga Winners.

It was a raining day and once we got there Will and I were running when I started slipping. Will turned around, pointed and laughed at me, but I regained my balance while Will lost his balance, fell, and was covered in mud. At the venue he was just walking around in his boxers, with a Santa blanket barely covering his skinny body (Someone had a picture of him…).

I’ll just never forget how honest, blunt, and real Will was. Case in point, same show GMAG played, we did pretty bad and as soon as Will and I sat down to drive home in the car, Will states: “You guys were horrible tonight” – using a more colorful adjective to describe our performance. Which was true, maybe hard for some to say, but it was the complete honest unbiased truth and I respected that so much.

Will also sang for a band I was in with Craig Jaufmann, Bryan MacCormack, and Jeremy Kerr (and later Cody Christensen) on Drums entitled, Smile Cheyenne. We played a show at Joe’s Bar on the Sixteenth of May, 2004 with Penchant, Westfailia, Red Handed, and GMAG.

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After seven successful years of benefit/remembrance shows, decided to take the next step and set up a scholarship with the money we have collected and saved. After contacting Will’s family and Hudson High School in Hudson, New York, on the Sixth of June, 2013, Nicole Tranchita, Bryan MacCormack, Craig Jaufmann, and I finally gave out the first ‘William Parker Ames Scholastic Award’ scholarship.

I hope this has been a positive twist to an unfortunate tragedy.

Below is our write-up that has been submitted to be kept on record for Will’s scholarship:

William Parker Ames Scholastic Award

Prior to his passing, William Parker Ames was an inspiring and talented musician who would have undoubtedly continued to excel. Many of those who played with and learned from Will continue to stay active musically. Since 2006, Will’s family, friends, and local musicians have kept Will’s spirit alive with annual memorial shows. We believe that music was a positive and creative energy in Will’s life, and that he would want a portion of the proceeds to benefit a young musician. The student receiving this scholarship demonstrates exceptional musical talents and aspirations. It is our hope that this award will inspire him or her to excel as Will inspired us.