2008 Woodie Awards
The people you know... David Ayres
Introducing you to the people of Webster
By: Stephanie Kiazczak
Issue date: 4/21/05 Section: Culture
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Ayres, a vocal music education major, said he had a strong musical influence growing up.
"My dad also plays a bit of everything," Ayres said of his father, who plays the piano and the saxophone.
His mother was a singer.
Ayres currently sings, plays the electric and acoustic guitar, the piano and the ukulele.
He started playing the guitar in the seventh grade, shortly after his transition from home school to a public junior high school.
Ayres said he could play only select songs on the electric guitar.
"It was like the cool kid thing to do," Ayres said of how he played songs from Blink 182 and other popular bands on guitar, minus the voice to back it up. "Usually, you have to associate the guitar with the singing. I didn't enjoy singing, especially in public."
He took only one year of private guitar lessons.
"He tried to get me to play country, so I quit," Ayres said of his former teacher.
Hitting the right notes
As far as vocal talent, Ayres said he had no interest of joining choir his sophomore year at Washington High School, but auditioned anyway.
"My sister made me, so I didn't really go in expecting me to like it," Ayres said.
He sang in choir for three years, singing in the Meister Singers for two years and Chamber Choir for one year.
"I was something in between the choir nerd and the choir slacker," Ayres said.
He also experimented with friends in high school and formed a band, J.O.E., where Ayres played the electric guitar and sang vocals. His brother, Sam, 16, was the band's drummer.
"We never really came up with an acronym," Ayres said. "It was a mystery. We just liked the name Joe."
The four-person band played at local venues like their high school and competed in several Battle of the Bands competitions. Ayres said the band had 11 original songs, including the genres of rock, jazz and folk.
The band parted ways as members headed off to college.
"I have no aspirations of becoming a rock star," Ayres said. "It's not quite the right build." While juggling school and a band, Ayres decided he wanted to play the piano like his father.
"He showed me two finger patterns for chords and I just took it from there," Ayres said. "It took a couple months to pick up."
After the piano, Ayres got a hankering to try another, more unusual, instrument - the ukulele.
"I just bought one at random," Ayres said. "It was something to do."
Last semester, on his way to an 8:30 a.m. class, Ayres would keep himself busy by strumming an instrument while sitting in the morning rush hour.
"I had my ukulele in my car every morning so I could play in traffic," Ayres said.
Other influences
Ayres brings his love for music to his religion by singing and playing instruments with the church choir and teaching Sunday school to 5- and 6-year-olds at his church, Christ the King.
On Sundays, he spends about 45 minutes with the children, teaching them songs like "Our God is an Awesome God" and "I'm in the Lord's Army." Ayres said he usually sings the verses and has the kids sing the chorus.
"I enjoy watching kids sing," Ayres said. "I'm immature. I get along with them great."
To prepare for a mission trip to Costa Rica with his church this summer, Ayres has to learn 20 Spanish songs to sing with the Costa Rican children. He said he already knows five of them.
Ayres is the "music leader" for the trip. It is his responsibility to translate the Spanish songs and record them onto a CD for the other people going on the trip.
Even though he took four years of Spanish in high school, Ayres said the vocabulary remains a challenge. The pastor's wife from Christ the King is fluent in Spanish and helps him with the translations.
While in Costa Rica, Ayres and other church members will spend time in schools playing games and working on projects with children. They will also visit Spanish churches at night and the pastor will give sermons, which will also be translated. Ayres said members will sing songs with the children and perform puppet or mime skits.
A balancing act
With 18 credit hours, a job at Webster's Academic Computer Services (ACS) and as a busboy at An American Place, a restaurant downtown, Ayres retired his ukulele and sings Spanish on the way to school instead.
"I get some strange looks," Ayres said. "But I sing relatively nonstop, if I'm not talking."
Music isn't the only thing that runs in his family - Ayres' dad graduated from Webster, his uncle works in ACS and his aunt is a voice teacher. His grandparents also just retired from working at Webster and his sister is looking into attending the university.
Ayres, who said he sings "in the car, in between classes, at work," dreams of teaching high school choir.
"You don't have to be the most amazing singer in the world to teach," Ayres said. "I know I have a decent voice, not amazing."
While teaching is his choice profession, he's waiting to see what's in the cards; he hopes it will be something that has to do with music.
"I'm kind of leaving it open for what God wants me to do," Ayres said. "I can't imagine me not being with music. I don't know what I'd do with myself."