Guitar Hero Axeman Joins Little Kids Rock

Marcus Henderson, lead guitarist on the hit PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero, has joined the Honorary Board of the non-profit musical instruction program Little Kids Rock.

Henderson, who played lead guitar on 20 of 30 Guitar Hero tracks, will join other Honorary Board members including industry luminaries such as B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Paul Simon, Joe Satriani and James Burton in raising awareness about the plight of music education in the U.S. The Little Kids Rock program provides free musical instruments and instruction to public school students across the country, teaching them to play pop, rock, hip-hop and other popular genres.

"Guitar Hero's success has demonstrated the joy and excitement children feel when creating music," Henderson said. "I am proud of my involvement with Guitar Hero and am thrilled that it has led me to become involved with Little Kids Rock. Little Kids Rock knows that effective music education should be as fun as a game."

Dave Wish, executive director at Little Kids Rock, added, "Our definition of a "Guitar Hero" is anyone who helps Little Kids Rock place a guitar in the hands of a child, which truly makes Marcus Henderson a Guitar Hero. Our Honorary Board members, teachers and donors are all Guitar Heroes, and Marcus Henderson will help us raise awareness that anyone concerned about music education can be a Guitar Hero."

Established in 1996 to help counter cuts in music education in public schools, Little Kids Rock teaches children to write, play and record their own music. The program has been involved with over 10,000 students in various states, and has released four full-length CDs featuring student-written original music. More information is available at www.littlekidsrock.org.