Writing the journey: Moses Lake writer, performer and musician ready for the road
Jeff Ames holds up a collection of his writings in one of his favorite writing spots in his backyard in Moses Lake on Tuesday afternoon.
Jeff Ames, center, performs on stage at Masquers Theater in Soap Lake.
Jeff Ames plays a tune on his keyboard in his backyard in Moses Lake on Tuesday afternoon, the instrument where his love for music was born.
Jeff Ames, left, plays Freddie Berger in a performance of “Aces are Feverish” at Masquers Theater in Soap Lake.
MOSES LAKE — For Jeff Ames of Moses Lake, COVID-19 sort of threw everything in his world up in the air.
As an active member in the local theater and music communities, Ames took advantage of the time away from his shows and musicals this past year to get his goals and plans in order.
He said his creative pursuits all boil down to a passion for performing and storytelling.
“Writing is my real passion that’s slowly starting to take more presence in the community,” Ames said. “For Columbia Basin Allied Arts, I’m going to be doing a kid’s theater camp, an adaptation of Sherlock Holmes for kids I’ll be writing.”
Ames said he has also written short things for Masquers Theater in Soap Lake, which he’s been involved with since graduating from Moses Lake High School a decade ago.
He said he’s been drawing picture stories in notepads since before he learned to write, performing little songs for his parents. Ames said his parents were always encouraging him growing up in all the things he pursued.
His musical background began playing keyboard as a kid. Ames said he first learned ear training to play songs by ear, a skill anyone can do. From his keyboard, he said he graduated to a piano his parents bought for him.
“Being given those opportunities to play instruments by my parents was a big thing,” Ames said.
In middle and high school, Ames was involved with the band and drama program. He said writing a musical in high school based around the folk tune “Big Rock Candy Mountain” was huge for his growth as a young writer.
“Just being able to do that at an early age, where just having the audacity to write a musical, no matter how it comes out; it’s really valuable to write something,” Ames said.
Ames said he’s written and put on four productions through high school and Masquers Theater in addition to taking part in the other high school performances. He said it’s very easy to start writing something and he’s started millions of projects, but putting something in front of other people takes courage.
“It’s so gratifying to get to share writing with people and it’s hard, challenging, because you make yourself really vulnerable,” Ames said. “There’s a lot of merit to not caring what other people think and just putting it out there.”
Music has been one of the biggest avenues for Ames to feed his creative passions since graduating, he said, playing with a variety of local bands. Most recently, he said he’s played with friends in a band, Casino Queen, and is set to play with a friend this summer at the local farmers markets.
Ames has also been in the orchestra pit at productions for Basin Community Theater and the MLHS drama program, playing electric guitar in a few productions for the high school, including “Grease,” a few years ago.
“It was really fun, but challenging, too, because it took learning to play reading standard notations, which is totally not something I knew how to do at all,” Ames said. “It took a lot of practice, but was very gratifying.”
During the pandemic, he said he kept up the “endorphin rush” of performing through Facebook Live performances. Ames said having the pressure of any type of performance helps overcome the fear of getting up in front of people that can build up when not putting himself out there.
Masquers is where he said he’s been most involved with performing since graduating, but took some time away from the theater after losing a close friend who was influential in him becoming involved with the theater.
He said he believes it’s important for any performer to be honest and upfront with their emotions. Coming out of the pandemic, Ames said he’s had time to focus on his mental health and figuring out where he wants to move forward.
“I figured out how to organize goals and outline and plan my writing so it’s not an enigmatic blob of projects that I’ve been accruing,” Ames said.
When he’s not working on creative projects, Ames said he has two freelancing gigs that keep him fairly busy. He works for a transcription service from home, transcribing audio files on a variety of topics. He also works as a freelance writer for a content outsourcing site, ghostwriting web content.
Moving forward, he has a few creative projects he’s looking to focus on, including his upcoming kids theater camp. Ames said he’s also working on a science fiction novel, a comedy adventure akin to “A Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.” He said he’s not focused on money with this project, and just wants to share an idea he’s had in his head for too long with the world. Ames said he’s hoping to also have a radio show-type podcast to accompany the story.
Musically, Ames said he’s working on penning his best 10 or 11 songs for a future album. He said he’s been fine-tuning his recording process as he gets his songs ready to share with other local musician friends for help and ideas.
