Corona, CA: Following the Music

The music scene in California is not just clubs and bars. There is something for everyone. Maybe you are not into the club/bar night out. Maybe you have children and need family friendly events. Maybe you just want a change and want to see a live show. I will introduce you to some alternatives to the typical bar and club scene.

If you are a parent, have an interest in kids in music, or just want a change of scenery, a great venue is the Fender Center and Museum in Corona, California. Recently it held a showcase featuring all six of the Kids Rock Free bands for the price of $10 for adults, $5 for kids. Kids in the band are part of the Kids Rock Free program. The bands included the Drum Line (new to Kids Rock Free), Deadline, Unbroken, The Cutting Edge, The Igniters, and The Fender Benders. The most recent event showcased the talent of all the bands but it was a bitter sweet event because some of the kids were aging out. That means by age 18 they are too old for the Kids Rock Free Program. The program offers free and low cost lessons to families and kids age 7 to 17. Class choices include drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and more. The kids that get involved learn from top notch teachers and also get to do gigs with huge talents such as Paul Rodgers and other famous people. Friends, family, and the community are invited to the Fender Center for events that the kids perform in and other events that are adult only shows. The venue, when hosting an event, usually has food and beverage service to go with the shows. The Rhythm Lounge inside the venue is spacious and intimate. The lighting and sound is always top notch. The outside venue, the Steve Miller TLC Amphitheater, is used for larger events.

Corona, CA: An IPO with strings attached - Guitar maker Fender going public

An instrumental piece of rock and roll history is going public.

Fender Musical Instruments, the maker of legendary guitars strummed by the likes of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, filed papers Thursday for a $200 million initial public offering.

Founded in 1946 by Leo Fender, the company created the Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars in the 1950s.

Corona, CA: The Griff Hamlin Band To Play Concert At Fender Museum To Benefit Music Education For Corona Kids

Griff Hamlin, creator of Blues Guitar Unleashed and lead singer/guitarist of the Griff Hamlin Band, has announced a special show, open to the public, to benefit the Kids Rock Free program at the Fender Center in Corona, CA.

March 06, 2012 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Griff Hamlin, creator of Blues Guitar Unleashed and lead singer/guitarist of the Griff Hamlin Band, has announced a special show, open to the public, to benefit the Kids Rock Free program at the Fender Center in Corona, CA.

Griff Hamlin, blues guitarist and creator of Blues Guitar Unleashed, has announced a special performance at the Fender Center in Corona, CA, on Saturday, March 10. Proceeds from the show go to benefit Fender's Kids Rock Free Program which works to provide free and low cost music lessons to local area kids.

Corona, CA: MEGADETH's DAVID ELLEFSON At Jackson Custom Shop In Corona

In the three-minute video clip below, MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and master builder Mike Shannon offer an update from the Fender factory in Corona, California where Ellefson's new signature Jackson guitars are currently being produced. Also available is footage of Ellefson demonstrating his signature Jackson bass at a stop on his recent clinic tour (courtesy of The Music Zoo).

The U.S.A. Custom Shop David Ellefson Signature Model Jackson Concert Bass is based on the Jackson Concert Bass with which Ellefson recorded MEGADETH's landmark 1990 metal magnum opus "Rust In Peace". Further, it's a spot-on replica of the instrument he played during MEGADETH's triumphant "Rust In Peace" 20th-anniversary tour in 2010 (as seen in the MEGADETH "Rust In Peace Live" DVD/CD and "The Big 4" live from Sofia, Bulgaria DVD).

Corona, CA: Don't miss the KRF segment on PBS-So Cal this Friday! "Women Who Rock" 9pm-10:30pm

Don't miss the KRF segment on PBS-So Cal this Friday! "Women Who Rock" 9pm-10:30pm

Corona, CA: Fender Designs Custom Guitar for Love Ride 28: Donates as One of Top Prizes for 2011 Event Attendees

Fender Musical Instruments Corp. has created a custom-designed Telecaster® guitar specifically for Love Ride 28, a major donation anyone can win, that's expected to promote even greater attendance in support of the fight against autism as the 2011 version of the world's largest charity motorcycle ride returns to Castaic Lake, California on October 23.

"Fender's donation is exactly what the spirit of Love Ride is all about," said Love Ride founder Oliver Shokouh. "The company's generosity and involvement are exemplary and an inspiration in these challenging times, bringing more people to Love Ride and helping to make a larger difference in the struggle against autism."

Corona, CA: Fender Visitor Center Grand Opening In Corona, CA Features Buddy Guy & Raphael Saadiq

Four words: Buddy Guy & Fender Guitars. Damn do those two names lead to a damn fine night.

Starting at 6 PM, the famous guitar manufacturer Fender in Corona, CA opened the doors of its brand-new Visitor Center to a small group of media, VIPs and music lovers.

Upon arrival, guests sauntered through its museum-esque collection of fender guitars and basses, signature series guitars, and Buddy Holly-to-Kurt Kobain memorabilia, while filling themselves to the brim with limitless brews and buffet food - ( including sushi, which is essentially the Cristal of Buffet Food, right?). This of course was all really in preparation for the night’s biggest gift: live performances from Dave Mason, Raphael Saadiq, and the legendary Buddy Guy.

Corona, CA: The Sedans Tomorrow Night in the Rhythm Lounge ~ Get your Tickets Now !

The Sedans Tomorrow Night in the Rhythm Lounge ~ Get your Tickets Now !

Corona, CA: Kids Rock Free program coming to charter school

Kids ages 7 to 17 will soon have a chance to rock in Temecula.

The Corona-based Fender Center is partnering with a new charter middle school to offer the popular Kids Rock Free program in Temecula.

Through the program, free and low-cost music lessons will be offered after school at Context: Middle School, Temecula, said Michele Smith, founder of the school. Context students also will use the Kids Rock Free curriculum for music instruction during the school day, she said.

The after-school lessons are not limited to Context students.

Context is set to open in August on a site next to the Temecula Valley Unified School District offices and will serve 300 students in sixth to eighth grades. Potential Context students need not live in the Temecula Valley district. Enrollment is now under way.

The school's partnership with Kids Rock Free, which is still being finalized, marks the Fender Center's first expansion of the music education program, Executive Director Debbie Shuck said.

Until now, the program has only been offered at the Fender Center in Corona, but has drawn youths from 7 to 17 from more than 100 cities in Southern California for guitar, bass, drum, piano, voice and other lessons, Shuck said.

Kids Rock supporters, including musician and Fender Center trustee Steve Miller, hope to expand the program across the country and even internationally, she said.

"We want to move beyond our own backyard," Shuck said. The organization decided to begin with Temecula in part because the new program would be close to the original program in Corona, she said.

"This is a perfect fit," Shuck said.

In the Fender Center program, the initial lessons are free. A small fee is charged, $150 for eight weeks, for further lessons, Shuck said. The program began 12 years ago and has served more than 14,000 students, she said. More than 1,000 children are on the waiting list, she said.

Students and parents can learn more about the Kids Rock Free program and Context: Middle School during a kickoff meeting Wednesday at the Context site. Representatives of Context and Kids Rock Free will be on hand to answer questions.

A Fender guitar valued at more than $1,000 will be raffled off Wednesday, Smith said. Students who have completed "intent to enroll" forms for Context will be eligible to win the guitar, she said.

Win an autographed MILEY CYRUS Fender Guitar.

Dear Friends:
Here's a way to support CAT, a 501(c)3 Non-profit Youth Arts Education Organization, and win an autographed MILEY CYRUS Fender Guitar. Please visit mileycyrusguitar.com and buy your Opportunity Tickets for only $10.00. Each ticket goes 100% to support CAT. We so appreciate your WONDERFUL HELP as we celebrate our 10th Year of Theatre Arts Educational Excellence: HELP CAT and win a guitar - it's a win-win situation for everyone!

One more thing - Please forward this to everyone you know - with the on-line Opportunity Drawing, the winners can come from anywhere in the World. The drawing will be on December 14th and will be filmed and then loaded on to Youtube.com so everyone can see who the winner is!

Thanks for all your support!

CAT of Corona
170 N. Maple St., #104
Corona, CA 92880
(951) 279-2298

Fender Announces Elvis Costello Signature Jazzmaster

Fender announces a new Elvis Costello Signature Jazzmaster guitar, honoring one of the most recognized Jazzmaster players in music history. The iconic electric guitar, produced in Fender's manufacturing headquarter in Corona, CA. is a detailed replica of Costello's original instrument, a guitar that has continually accompanied the famed British singer/songwriter over an extraordinarily versatile and prolific career spanning four decades. This signature release comes during the 50 year anniversary of Fender's introduction of the Jazzmaster guitar model, which first appeared in 1958.

Costello came snarling out of the U.K. in the mid-1970s with an edgy talent and image that immediately set him apart from the punk masses impeccable pop songcraft, caustically literate lyrics, an angular stage presence, black horn-rimmed glasses and an ever-present Fender Jazzmaster. At the time, the Jazzmaster guitar had largely fallen from fashion until Costello's phenomenal success seemed to lift it to new and previously unknown heights of appreciation. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s and right up to today, legions of new-wave, alt-rock and indie-rock players prized the resurgent Jazzmaster for its versatile tone and subversive cool.

Costello's original instrument has undergone many changes in the past 30 years, and Fender's new Elvis Costello Signature Jazzmaster replicates the guitar as it existed at the time he recorded his acclaimed 1977 debut album, My Aim Is True. Uniquely Costello inspired features include a post-'68 neck design, a walnut stain finish and a tremolo with easier and greater travel, essential for that "Watching the Detectives" tone, or what Costello calls that "spy movie" sound.