..........................PRESS
RELEASES
For Immediate Release
Contact: Shane Reichardt
Public Relations Coordinator
(909) 735-2440
info@fendermuseum.comYoung Hearts Flock to Corona for Benefit Concert by Steve Miller
at Fender Museum of Music and the Arts®
CORONA, CA (Sept. 13, 2003) - Fender Museum of Music and the Arts® hosted nearly 2000 guests for a concert to benefit the Museum's Kids Rock Free program. The diverse crowd was made up of young and old and included television and movie actor, David Spade, Corona Mayor, Jeffery Bennett, Congressman Ken Calvert, and executives from Capitol Records. Well-known Arrow 93 FM DJ Joe Benson, who recently interviewed Steve Miller for the station, MC'd the event.
With Sheryl Crow-like sounds, Corona musician Kirsten Proffit warmed up the audience with her original tunes, as well as, a musical tribute to the late Johnny Cash. It wasn't long before Proffit had the crowd dancing in the isles.
Steve Miller graciously agreed to perform for free to support the Museum's many great programs. Miller's schedule was jam-packed leading up to his September 16th greatest hits release titled Young Hearts. The previous night Miller had played on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, days later he was scheduled to be a guest on the Jimmy Kimmel show. Miller played many of his well-known hits and a few not often heard tunes. Showcasing the Museum's Kids Rock Free® program was 16-year-old Alex Zimmer from Corona and 17-year-old David Fujinami from Ontario who joined Mr. Miller onstage, guitars in hand, to show off the skills they honed in the program. Fujinami and Zimmer played guitar like pros and appeared unfazed by the crowd or by sharing stage with some of the greatest musicians.
Fender Museum president, Jeff Marshburn commented, "Steve Miller was our first concert of this size. With incredible dedication and hard work by our small staff and a great group of volunteers who put in hundreds of hours helping out, we were able to raise money to continue our programs into the future. Of course we can't thank Mr. Miller, his band, Kirsten Proffit and her band, Joe Benson, the Corona police and fire departments and all of the Museum's supporters enough for all of their time and effort tonight. This was a great event for the Fender Museum and the community, and hopefully one of many to come."
For additional information go to www.fendermuseum.com, call (909) 735-2440 or stop by. The Fender Museum of Music and the Arts is located at 365 North Main Street, Corona, California 92880 and is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 am-4 PM, with 8 PM closing on Thursdays.
The Fender Museum of the Arts Foundation is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit public benefit corporation that was founded in 1997. On July 13th, 2002 the Fender Museum of Music and the Arts carved a place for itself in music history with the official opening of its brand new 33,000 square foot building located at 365 N. Main Street in Corona, California. The museum and education facility houses Kids Rock Free® classrooms, Studio FM a 48-track digital recording studio, outdoor TLC Amphitheater, Visual Arts Gallery and the Celebrate the Legacy ... the Fender Story exhibit which presents a 50-year history of the famous Fender electric guitar and its impact on the world of entertainment. Currently, more than four hundred children in ages from 7 to 17 per week take advantage of these free and low-cost Kids Rock Free® educational opportunities, which now include piano, guitar, drums, bass, vocal performance and combo band classes. The Foundation envisions expanding these offerings, over the next few years, to include additional multi-cultural musical instrument, dance and theater instruction. For more information about the Fender Museum of Music and the Arts, call (909) 735-2440 or visit their website at www.fendermuseum.com.
Performance & Auction Preview: George Harrison's $250,000 Guitar
What: Display of and jam session with George Harrison’s fabled “Let It Be” guitar from the last public performance by the Beatles.
A custom-made Fender Rosewood Telecaster, it is expected to sell for $250,000 or more in an auction, September 13 and 14, to be conducted in Hollywood and on eBay by Odyssey Auctions (www.autographs.com) of Corona, California.
“This guitar was used by Harrison during filming of the movie, ‘Let It Be,’ and he played it on January 30, 1969 on the rooftop of Apple Records in London, the last time the Beatles performed together in public,” said Bill Miller, President of Odyssey Auctions, a division of Santa Ana-based Collectors Universe, Inc.Who: Legendary musician Delaney Bramlett, who received the guitar as a gift from Harrison in December 1969 and later used it in a concert tour with Eric Clapton, will perform with it.
When: Wednesday, September 3, 2003, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Where: Fender Museum of Music and The Arts
365 North Main Street, Corona, CaliforniaContacts: Bill Miller, Odyssey Auctions, (909) 371-7137
Fender Museum, (909) 735-2440