Guitar Great Joe Satriani to Visit San Francisco Students and Present $10,000 Check to Little Kids Rock Music Education Program

September 25, 2006 – San Francisco, CA - Little Kids Rock (LKR), a program providing free instruments and instruction for public school students, today announced that guitar legend Joe Satriani will be visiting San Francisco’s Visitacion Valley Middle School students and treating them to an intimate meet and greet. In addition, the students will perform for Mr. Satriani. Following the performances, Mr. Satriani will present the students with brand new electric guitars and present the Little Kids Rock board members with a $10,000 check, which was the result of a guitar auction that took place last summer. Mr. Satriani’s visit will take place at Visitacion Valley Middle School at 450 Raymond Street in San Francisco. The event will begin at 1:00pm. Approximately 15 Little Kids Rock students will be involved in the special performance. Media are invited to attend the event.

“The music education I received at my public school saved my life,” said Mr. Satriani. “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. I'm thrilled to be part of this great organization.”

"Can you just imagine the impact that meeting an artist of Mr. Satriani’s stature can have on a young person?" asked Dave Wish, Executive Director for Little Kids Rock. “What a powerful experience it is to meet such a talent. What an important message to send to kids: the adults who shape the world we live in care about you, our children. Mr. Satriani is stepping up to the plate to do just that.”

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, Louisiana, New York, New Jersey and Tennessee.

Joe Satriani is among a growing list of celebrities who support Little Kids Rock. Other celebrity supporters include Paul Simon, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Steve Vai, Les Paul, Tom Waits, Rick Springfield, Dave Mason, James Burton, Brad Delson, Jason Newsted, Carlos Santana, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir, The String Cheese Incident, Phish, Jesse McCartney and the late blues legend, John Lee Hooker. The organization hopes that its new supporters' participation will help it expand the program into new musical genres as well as provide the students with a well-rounded appreciation for diverse musical styles.

ABOUT JOE SATRIANI
Along with teaching some of the top rock guitar players of the '80s and '90s, Joe Satriani is one of the most technically accomplished and widely respected guitarists to emerge in recent times. He’s played alongside a virtual who’s who of music luminaries including power popster Greg Kihn, legendary guitarist Steve Vai, rocker David Lee Roth and was even handpicked by Mick Jagger to accompany him on a tour of Australia and Japan.

Satriani launched a successful solo career in the 80’s with critically acclaimed albums Surfing With the Alien, and Flying in a Blue Dream. The '90s began with Satriani creating his own line of guitars for the Ibanez Company and continuing on his successful solo efforts with more album releases, including The Extremist and Time Machine, Live in San Francisco and the Grammy-nominated Engines of Creation. In 1996, he formed G3, a concert tour featuring three instrumental rock guitarists -- originally Satriani, Vai, and Eric Johnson.

In addition to his own albums, Satriani has been a guest performer on several other artists' albums over the years, including Blue Oyster Cult's Imaginos, Alice Cooper's Hey Stoopid, Stuart Hamm's Radio Free Albemuth, Pat Martino's All Sides Now, and Spinal Tap's Break Like the Wind. Satriani’s "One Big Rush," was included on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's hit movie, Say Anything. Mr. Satriani’s 2006 release is titled Super Colossal. More information of Joe Satriani can be found at: www.satriani.com

ABOUT LITTLE KIDS ROCK
Little Kids Rock believes that music is a critical component of first-rate education. Many elementary 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 a single elementary school teacher in 1996, Little Kids Rock is now serving thousands of students in CA, NY, NJ, LA and TN. More information can be found at: www.littlekidsrock.org.

Note to Media: Interviews with spokespeople and b-roll available upon request.

Media Contact:
Allison Neves, PR Director
Little Kids Rock
415-948-1200
allison@littlekidsrock.org