Eight years later, Downes is still making music and playing the bass. In high school, Downes played in two bands: "We just started hanging out and playing for fun and it turned into something that I really enjoyed doing," he said.
At Amherst, Downes has played with Full Service and Exactly. Founded by lead guitarist Tim Kepner '00 his freshman year, Full Service is rounded out by Downes on bass, Bert Moreno '00 with lead vocals and David Kepner on drums. Full Service spent last Interterm recording an album with many of their old tracks.
"We wanted to get our sound down on CD format and send as many of the CDs to record companies and radio stations as we could. Since then, we've written many new songs, but few have lyrics yet," said Downes. Last semester he also played with another Amherst band, Exactly, and he hopes to play bass for their upcoming recording.
Full Service reappeared on campus this past weekend with Warren Seubel '01 singing lead vocals. "It was great to have Full Service back on campus this weekend," said Emily Keiter '03. "It made for a great Saturday night; they really know how to liven up a crowd."
In addition to his musical accomplishments, Downes is also the number one starting pitcher on Amherst's baseball team; despite a current injury, he hopes to continue last year's strong performance into the 2001 season. Last season, he boasted a nine-and-one record and led all team pitchers with a 1.36 ERA.
Where will Full Service go from here? No one is quite sure yet. According to Downes, "Tim and Dave hope to pursue music as a career. If baseball does not work out following graduation, I am strongly considering living in Philadelphia, which is also where Tim and Dave are from, and staying with the band."