Little Kids Rock benefit to include rocker auction and concert

Little Kids Rock (LKR), an innovative non-profit music education program that provides free instruments and rock & roll lessons to public schools, celebrated March’s “Music in Our Schools” month by announcing today that it will be the sole beneficiary of the SIX-STRING MASTERPIECES memorial tribute, auction and benefit concert honoring the late Pantera/Damageplan guitarist, Darrell Abbott. The event takes place on May 17 at the Hollywood House of Blues, and will feature an auction of electric guitars that were designed and hand-painted by a "who’s who" of rock ‘n’ roll, including Ozzy Osbourne, Rob Zombie, Tommy Lee, Ace Frehley (KISS), Marilyn Manson, Dave Navarro, Billy Gibbons and Slash as well as world-renowned tattooists and modern artists. A complete list of artists participating in the auction appears at the end of this release. For those who are unable to attend the event but would like to participate, the full catalog will be available online prior to the auction at http://www.littlekidsrock.org/6string/flash.html, where bidders can leave absentee bids beginning the week of April 16th at www.LiveAuctioneers.com , as well as bid live as the House of Blues benefit concert is taking place.
Tickets for the auction and concert will be available at the House of Blues web site (http://www.hob.com) beginning the week of April 16th. The ticket price is $33.00 for general admission to the concert. The ticket package for both the auction and concert is $100.00. Doors open at 5:30 for the Auction. Auction starts at 6pm sharp to 8pm. Doors for concert open at 8pm sharp.
More than 60 Dean ML guitars will be auctioned off at the SIX-STRING MASTERPIECES event, followed by an all-star benefit concert with all proceeds from both the auction and the concert earmarked to support the Little Kids Rock’s mission to put music education back into public schools. Confirmed performers to date include: Dave Navarro, Scott Ian (Anthrax), Aaron Lewis (Staind), Kerry King (Slayer) and Vinnie Paul (Pantera/Damageplan). Los Angeles Unified public school children will also be performing with this crowd! The event will be emceed by Jamey Jasta, host of MTV2’s Headbangers Ball.
Bids can be placed online as well as at the LaLuz DeJesus Gallery (4633 Hollywood Blvd.), which will preview the entire collection prior to the event, from May 4th through May 16th.
“I am thrilled that Little Kids Rock can be a part of such dynamic and fitting tribute to the most influential heavy metal guitarist of our time,” said David Wish, Executive Director of Little Kids Rock. “As a non-profit organization dedicated to the belief that music is a critical component of any first-rate education, we value the time and creativity the artists put into making this event a reality. The proceeds from this initiative will go a long way in helping public school children across the country tap into and hone their musical talents.”
“The music education I received at my public school saved my life,” said Joe Satriani, world-renown guitarist and Six String Masterpiece participant. “Those were different times. Today, teachers and schools need our help to meet the challenges, and real costs of providing a well-balanced education. Little Kids Rock can really make a difference.”
Darrell Abbott was best known as the lead guitarist for Pantera. The multi-platinum, Grammy-nominated band dominated the heavy metal world of the 90s. The musician was shot and killed on December 8, 2004, while performing onstage with his new project, Damageplan. He was 38 years old.
The "Six-String Masterpieces: The Darrell Abbott Art Tribute," was curated by Curse Mackey, Creative Director of the Action Arts Agency, to honor his memory. The guitars were donated by DEAN GUITARS, one of the top five guitar manufacturers in the world.
Beginning in 2005, Mackey sent “blank” Dean ML guitars to a select group of musicians and modern artists to create their own homage to Darrell Abbott, stating, “The Dean ML is the only guitar that could be the canvas. Dime played that guitar from the time he was 16 years old and he made it famous.”
Artists that participated in the tribute include Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top), James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Ace Frehley (KISS), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), Marilyn Manson, Jerry Cantrell (Alice In Chains), Kelly Clarkson, Kerry King (Slayer), and Rob Zombie. Last year, the guitar exhibit was displayed at festivals and concert tours such as SxSW, Ozzfest and Family Values and was featured on MTV.
“I hope this inspires kids to pick up a guitar or a paint brush, bash on some drums, write some lyrics -- whatever it takes to get the frustrations and pain that we all feel sometimes out of their system and direct it in a creative or nonviolent way. At the same time, we need to help make these creative outlets more available to the next generation of rockers and those who can most benefit from them,” said Curse Mackey, curator. “Having exposure to art in elementary school inspired me as a kid. It led me to a career path as an artist and to own a business that revolves around my artistic vision.”
The Live Auction will be directed by Robert Berman of Santa Monica Auctions. Online Bidding Services are provided by www.LiveAuctioneers.com. Both of these organizations have donated their vital services to this project.More information on the auction and benefit concert can be found at: http://www.littlekidsrock.org/6string/flash.html

Little Kids Rock teaches kids how to play pop, rock, funk, blues, rap and hip-hop music. LKR students not only perform, but they also compose and record their own music. They have released four full-length CDs as well as music videos featuring student-written originals. To date, the Little Kids Rock program has served more than 10,000 students in California, Georgia, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey and Tennessee. Supporters of the program include Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, B.B. King, Les Paul and Brad Delson of Linkin Park.

About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock believes that music is a critical component of first-rate education. Many schools have been stripped of their music programs. These cuts have had a disproportionately large impact on children from low-income backgrounds. Little Kids Rock restores music to its rightful place in the academic lives of kids in our public schools by providing a rich music education program including instrument instruction, free instruments and trained mentors. Founded by an elementary school teacher in 1996, Little Kids Rock is now serving thousands of students in CA, GA, LA, NY, NJ, TN and PA. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org

About Six-String Masterpieces
Six-String Masterpieces is a charitable art exhibit featuring over 60 electric guitars that have been hand-painted, illustrated and sculpted by leading musicians, tattooists and modern artists. The exhibit was curated by Curse Mackey, an artist, musician and creative director of the Action Arts Agency. The exhibit is potentially the most viewed fine art exhibit of the last year having been featured as part of Ozzfest 2006, The Family Values Tour, SXSW, Dallas International Guitar Festival, MusikMesse in Frankfurt, Germany, The London Guitar Show, Rock Festival in Tokyo and on MTV’s Headbangers Ball. Mackey also served a project editor of a 100 page special ICON issue of Guitar Player Magazine that was devoted entirely to this exhibit.

About LiveAuctioneers
Founded in November 2002, Manhattan-based LiveAuctioneers provides real-time Internet bidding capability, in association with eBay Live Auctions, to more than 550 auction houses in a dozen countries. Through its affiliation with eBay Live Auctions, Live Auctioneers has opened up once-exclusive sales to the cyber community, worldwide. Similar to telephone bidding, buyers at remote locations can participate in real time, bidding on lots from their desktop as the auction is being conducted on site at the auction house. There is no cost to register, and those who do not wish to participate can still watch the action in real time right on their computer monitor. LiveAuctioneers is a proud supporter of the Six String Masterpieces event, as well as many other charitable auctions. For further information, log on to www.liveauctioneers.com