FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Isa Greenberg
973.746.8248
isa@littlekidsrock.org
Little Kids Rock and Imv Partner to Bring Rock Stars and Music Education to Low Income Students
IMV’s innovative celebrity DVD series will raise money for music instruction, free instruments and teacher programs through Little Kids Rock
January 5, 2009
New York, NY - Little Kids Rock (LKR), a program providing free instruments and instruction for public school students, and IMV LLC, a leading producer of interactive music products, today announced the release of a groundbreaking new series of celebrity instructional music videos that will help fund valuable music education programs in public schools. The DVD series -- which features personal music lessons from members of popular bands like KoRn, Ozzy Osbourne, Slipknot, Atreyu and Velvet Revolver -- is designed to inspire children to play music by providing an exciting new way to learn their favorite songs: right from the artists that recorded them.
"In today’s chaotic world, it’s more important than ever to foster creativity, expression and confidence in children through music," said Ken Mayer, IMV co-founder and CEO. "What better way to entice kids to pick up or stick with playing an instrument than to provide a fun and easy opportunity for them to get to know their favorite artists and learn to play their hit songs?"
"These IMV DVDs are a great way to get kids interested in playing music," said KoRn guitarist Munky, "I wish there was something like it around when I was a kid."
Each IMV DVD provides an intimate behind-the-scenes look at the featured artist’s life as a professional musician, from their background, musical influences and favorite gear to rare photos and video footage. The artist then gives personal in-depth lessons on how to play two of their most popular tracks, followed by a play-along jam of the songs with a special guest. Finally, each video features IMV’s unique VideoTab™, a videogame-style animated tablature (similar to GuitarHero or RockBand) which shows exactly how the artist plays their part on the two tracks.
The producers of the IMV series will donate $0.25 from the sale of each DVD to Little Kids Rock. In addition, IMV will provide hundreds of free copies of the DVDs to cash strapped public schools and community centers.
"We are extremely grateful that IMV DVD and their family of artists have stepped up to the plate to support music education for low-income kids in our public schools," said David Wish, Executive Director and Founder of Little Kids Rock. "With millions of children not receiving music education in their schools, this support couldn’t be more timely or appreciated."
IMV’s new DVD series is currently available at local and national music retail outlets, including Guitar Center and Best Buy music stores The first series features popular artists such as KoRn guitarist Munky; John 5, guitarist for Rob Zombie and formally Marilyn Manson; Atreyu guitarist Dan Jacobs; Tim Skold, former guitarist and bassist for Marilyn Manson and KMFDM; Velvet Revolver bassist Duff McKagan; Mike Inez, bassist for Alice in Chains and formerly Ozzy Osbourne; KoRn bassist Fieldy; Slipknot bassist Paul Gray; Blasko, bassist for Ozzie Osbourne and formally Rob Zombie; Godsmack bassist Robbie Merrill; Tommy Clufetos, drummer for Rob Zombie; Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros drummer Stephen Perkins; and Godsmack drummer Shannon Larkin.
To check out the entire selection of IMV titles and view trailers, visit IMVdvd.com or alfred.com. For more information on Little Kids Rock, visit littlekidsrock.org. For additional images and information about the artists featured please visit http://behindtheplayer.com/imv_media.htm.
About Little Kids Rock
Little Kids Rock is a national nonprofit organization that transforms the lives of low-income children by restoring and revitalizing music education in U.S. public schools. It was founded in San Francisco in 1996 by David Wish, an elementary school teacher who had grown frustrated with the lack of music education funding at his school. Today, Little Kids Rock (LKR) is the largest provider of free instruments and teacher training to underserved kids in public schools in the United States. LKR serves more than 37,000 students in New York, California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C. The organization teaches kids how to play pop, rock, reggae, funk, blues, rap, and hip-hop music. LKR students not only perform but also compose and record their own music.
More information can be found at www.littlekidsrock.org and www.littlekidsrock.tv.
About Imv Llc
IMV LLC is a Los Angeles based interactive music company focused on developing innovative content and video game systems designed to inspire people to play music. Founded in 2007 by Ken Mayer and Sean E DeMott, the company is aligned with some of the biggest names in the music business. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of IMV products is donated to the Little Kids Rock in efforts to get instruments in the hands of underprivileged kids.
