Let There Be Rock School Panhandle

Hey everyone, Scott Devours here.

I ask those who have followed my drumming career and supported me through the years to please take a second and check out this worthy cause I'm supporting.  If for no other reason, please indulge me.

Many of my hometown Maryland area friends, family and fans know that every year that I’m able to make it home, my old friends/bandmates and I always try to raise money for music education in public schools.  Now even though we haven’t been able to do so in a while, this year we’ve decided to something different.  
 
This year we’re going to try and focus our semi-annual holiday show as well as this Go Fund Me Campaign on a special and very worthy cause. The focus for the fundraiser is to benefit the "Let There Be Rock School Panhandle."


This School is located in Martinsburg, WV, which one of the poorer areas in the MD/VA/WV/PA region, and is also the passion project of one of the most amazing people I know and dearest friends I have, William “Butch” Rice.   

THE SCHOOL:
I had the unique opportunity a few years back to do an impromptu seminar at the LTBRSP.  The experience was a memory that I will cherish forever. The young, impressionable, young kids I met reminded me of when I was 5 years old and wanted my first professional drum set.  But the significant difference I noticed right away is that nearly every child I met was eager to play.  It didn’t matter what their skill level was, their age, their social maturity or their background.  Every kid seemed ready and willing to strap on a guitar, grab some sticks or a microphone and make music.  The thing that resonated the most inside of me is how much I would have loved to have had this school when I was young.  I probably would have LIVED there, lol.
 
I saw kids that were so small that their feet could barely reach the pedals on the kit, but it didn’t stop them from laying down a beat.  I saw kids freestyle on the mic and rap “stream of consciousness” without a hint of hesitation. I saw kids with guitars that seemed heavier than they are, and still they just played.  I guess the preferred nomenclature would be, they ROCKED.
 
Some of the kids who played with the most confidence, when I met them later, they turned out to be the shyest in person.  This definitely reminded me of my childhood the most.  I remember only feeling confident as a person when I had sticks in my hand.  To this day that still has a bit of truth to it.
 
There are many music schools out there and I’m sure they are all worthy of people’s generosity, but what makes this particular school special is the people who help keep it going, but mostly because of the “man behind the curtain”.  William has sacrificed every ounce of energy, time, and every penny he has to spare, all just to help give kids in one of the poorest areas around a place to grow, to learn, the share and to play.


Here is a pic of my friend and I from a few years back:
And here is an incredibly embarrassing one from when we were kids:
And one of William and his two beautiful daughters:

THE STORY OF WILLIAM RICE:
First, a little background.  William and I grew up in Middletown, MD; back then, a town with only one traffic light.  William and I have known each since kindergarten.  We were both drummers and in the same grade.  I remembered being inspired by William first because of his ability to read music and drum charts, a language I never really spoke that well, but then life would show me again and again just how incredibly strong, driven and amazing my friend was and would continue to be. 
 
One time many years ago I spent the time night over at his family’s house across from our old Elementary School when we were both young kids, and I got to see something I knew nothing about; the disease known as Cystic Fibrosis.  William was diagnosed with this disease long before I met him (when he was only 5 months old) and I only learned about the seriousness of it when he and his family opened their home to me.  I remember hearing horror stories about operations, transplants, treatments, countless visits to the hospital, massive amounts of medication as well as watching him do long tedious therapies just to help extend his life, which wasn’t expected to be that long.  It’s worth noting that William continued to defy those odds by being one of the longest living people with this awful disease; yet another way my friend is a true bad ass.
 
Even after gaining insight about all of these struggles and more, the thing that struck me the most about William is that I never heard him complain, not once.  Still to this day even after all of these years, I have yet to hear him complain at all. 

Side note:
William has had a double lung transplant, kidney transplant, he survived a heart attack and now suffers from diabetes.  It’s also worth noting that William is also one of the longest living recipients of a dual lung transplant too.  Now back to when I was first at his home learning about his physical struggles. 

After he would spend hours on a therapy table, he’d pop back up and be ready to pick up a tennis racket and do his best “Ace Frehley” impression while we both played Kiss records in his bedroom, lol.  This is a memory I cherish to this day.
 
To me, it always seemed as if William just couldn’t catch a break.  But again, I still never heard him complain about any of the bad hands that he’d been dealt, and he has been dealt more than his fair share.   Despite the heaviness that seemed thrust upon my friend at an early age, William has grown to be one of the most kind, loving and giving people I know and has been a true inspiration to me in drumming, in friendship and in life.  Whenever life has beaten me down, I always pause and think about the mountains of struggle that he has been through and still fights those uphill battles, and then it always gives me a little extra fight to keep moving forward.  I'll always love my friend for that too.
 
Years later William opened a music school in one of the poorest communities in our area, Martinsburg, WV.  Again, it is called the:


William has spent an enormous amount of time, passion and money trying to give local children of all ages a place to play music.  Somewhere they can experiment, learn about themselves, learn from others, learn to work with others, get off the street, hone their passion, their craft, or just simply to have fun without stress or judgement. 
 
But the building where the current school is located has a leaky roof, a less than sympathetic property owner and an inefficient archaic heating system that produces electric bills that dwarf the rent many, many times over. These unfortunate factors over time have affected William’s ultimate goal, to finalize his school’s non-profit 501c3 status (which is currently in process) and give local kids a safe place to play. The goals include reducing and/or eliminating the considerable debt the school (and William personally) has accrued from the past utility bills, but the ultimate goal is to give William enough financial breathing room to move to and ultimately buy a better building for his school and his amazing students.
 
So, this year my friends and I are going to try to do everything we possibly can to help our dear friend William Rice and the incredible students at the West Virginia area Let There Be Rock School Panhandle by trying to raise a considerable amount of money.  Our goal is...

$20,000

Now this figure may sound high to some, but we feel it may not be totally out of reach.  I liken it to lifting a massive weight.  Alone, it’s impossible.  But with enough hands and enough people helping lift, the impossible isn’t just possible, but very doable.
 
William spends most of his waking hours working his ass off to help local kids.  He gives everything he has even when it takes time away from his own family.  Let’s give him and his students what they deserve. The freedom to grow.  William has two beautiful young daughters that he sees less than he’d like to, and that’s because of the debt the old building has become. 
 
In true William style, he has not asked me to do this.  I’m trying to help do something because he has given everything.  I realize money is tight and the holidays are fast approaching, but these kids need help and William is there for them.  Let’s be there for William.

Here are some of the amazing children from the
VIDEO:
and the kids...

And here is William with his beautiful family:

I'm reaching out worldwide and asking for your donations, either small or large, to help one of the most giving people I know; to give back to kids who could really use your help.  Every cent you donate (minus GoFundMe's 5-8% fees) will go directly to helping the Let There Be Rock School Panhandle.  

*Note*
As their Non-profit status 501c3 application is in process, once the status gets approved, we've been told that your donations can be declared as a charitable donation after the fact.  Upon approval, we will happily provide the information needed to do so. * * 

William, his instructors, his family, his students and their parents as well as myself, we all thank you in advance for your generous donation.

Sincerely,
Scott Devours/Roger Daltrey's Band

Addendum:

For those in the MD/DC/VA/WV/PA area.  We are combining this Go Fund Me Campaign with our annual Holiday show in Middletown, MD.  This year's event will have prizes, a silent auction of various Rock n Roll memorabilia and live performances featuring John Sharrer, David Morreale, Shaft and of course myself and many more special guests. But the real headliners this year will be the students from the Let There Be Rock School Panhandle.  

It is an all ages event and scheduled in the early evening just so it doesn't interfere with people's pre-holiday plans.  Bring yourself, your family and your friends and come support a worthy cause and celebrate an amazing person at the same time.  

Here are the show details:

DATE: 
Saturday, December 22nd, 2018

TIME:
2:30 pm -6:00 pm

VENUE:
RICHLAND GOLF CLUB
(Above the Valley Sports Grill Bar)
50 Glenbrook Drive
Middletown, MD 21769