David "Dave" "Stage" Williams (February 29, 1972 – August 14, 2002) was the lead singer for the band Drowning Pool. He was born in Princeton, Texas to Charles Edward and Jo-Ann Williams, and was a fixture in the Dallas music scene throughout the 1990s playing in well-known clubs. In 1999, he joined Drowning Pool. The band released the album Sinner in 2001.

[edit] Personality

Despite the hardcore, grungy attitude that he was known for during concerts, Dave Williams was highly known for his positive, friendly attitude. A statement from his band mates during his funeral states that he was a gentle man who always made a point to give at least one person a gift and was very friendly - especially to his fans.

[edit] Death

On August 14, 2002, Dave died in his sleep on his tour bus. The autopsy results revealed that he had cardiomyopathy, a disease of the heart muscle. He was not previously diagnosed with the disease, and the cause remains unknown.^[1]

[edit] Aftermath

A public funeral was held in Plano, Texas, on August 18, 2002 at 10:00, and a DVD called Sinema chronicling his life has since been released. His lifelong dream that he wanted to accomplish before he died was to buy his parents a house. The sales from Sinema fulfilled his dream posthumously.

The Dallas Texas music community honored Dave and his legacy with a multi-venue music festival aptly named "Stage Fest". Stage Fest was held in downtown Dallas' Deep Ellum district on Tuesday, August 14, 2007, the fifth anniversary of his death, and played in seven Deep Ellum venues including Club Dada, The Curtain Club, The Liquid Lounge, The Darkside Lounge, Red Blood Club, Reno's Chop Shop, and Tomcat's.

Dave's microphone was given to Cristian Machado from Ill Niño.

[edit] References

The Band Memento (consisting of mostly members of Vast) dedicated their set to Dave on the Ozzfest 2003 stage.

[edit] External links

• Find A Grave Entry
• Stage Fest Myspace page