Kenny Ames was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 8, 1967. He moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia when he was young and spent his childhood there. Ames originally played the guitar, but one day picked up the bass when a band needed him, and discovered he had "found his instrument." As a teenager, Kenny's musical tastes ran the gamut from hard rock to progressive jazz. He originally found rock and roll as an outlet for rebelliousness, but gradually found he had discovered his calling in life. Playing bass allowed him to express himself in a way nothing else could.

Ames hit the road with a number of different bands from the time he was twenty. He played for three years with the Road Ducks. The bands with whom he spent time ran a full stylistic range, as do Ames' tastes. In 1996, he settled in Nashville because he "liked the vibe" there. He found out about the vacancy in Jason and the Scorchers through a friend in February 1997. Kenny asked if he could be the first bassist during the auditions, as CJ Ramone was the first when he replaced Dee Dee Ramone in 1990. The Scorchers chose Kenny for his musical expertise, youthful energy, and balanced temperament. His first show with the Scorchers was in March in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Ames is an aggressive and physical bassist who attacks his top-notch gear with the pedal to the metal - making him a good fit with guitarist Warner Hodges. Often, one sees him spin in place on stage, as Warner does. Kenny plays a five-string bass and does not use a pick, giving him ample flexibility to lend inflections and different tonal qualities to even the most ordinary bass patterns. He takes daring runs up and down his fretboard, showing reverence for the Scorchers' songs only to a certain point. Kenny is also approachable and friendly, and possesses a wicked and wise sense of humor honed from his years of travel.

In 1999, with the Scorchers' future undetermined, Ames joined the venerable alternative country band Dash Rip Rock. Dash Rip credit the Scorchers as a major influence, and their brand of party-til'-you-drop speed-through-Americana resembles "Thunder and Fire"-era Scorchers crossed with Nashville Pussy. Dash Rip Rock have undergone through a number of personnel changes through the years, but their songs and message seem to have weathered the changes. They play frequently in the South. When Dash Rip played at the End on Kenny's birthday in June 2001, he was joined onstage by Warner and Scorchers drummer Perry Baggs for some impromptu jamming.

In 2001, Kenny left Dash Rip Rock after they decided to find a bassist who was not in as high demand as Kenny. Ames' commitment to the Scorchers and to broadening his musical horizons through playing with others sometimes left Dash a bit jealous for his time.

Kenny ended 2001 with several high-profile auditions in the works and continuing to learn by gigging with weekend cover groups. He also experimented with a stand-up bass, an instrument which might turn up at a Scorchers show some day "to knock everyone for a loop," as he puts it.

Kenny is endorsed by Sadowsky basses, Washburn basses, SWR amplifiers, La Bella strings and Monster Cables. He is single and lives in Nashville.