– Press Release

Epiphone and Music Rising have announced the sale of ten Epiphone Music Rising guitars signed by U2’s The Edge. All proceeds will benefit Music Rising ( http://www.musicrising.org ) which has recently launched the second phase of the campaign which grants musical instrument assistance to churches and schools of the Gulf Coast region.

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On September 25, 2006 U2 and Green Day helped re-open the Louisiana Superdome in a pre-game show where they performed “The Saints Are Coming.” to a worldwide audience. The Edge personally put his autograph on ten of the Epiphone Music Rising guitars prior to the show. The ten exclusive guitars will sell for 0,000 each and are available through Musician’s Friend ( http://www.musiciansfriend.com/musicrising ) until they are gone, with all proceeds benefiting the charity directly. There will be no others offered with the legendary artist’s autograph and each have been signed by him on the front portion of the guitar. A photo of him signing the guitar will accompany each guitar as documentation.

Music Rising, a campaign originally launched in November 2005 to replace musical instruments lost or destroyed in the Gulf Region was formed by U2’s The Edge, legendary producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. Administered by the Gibson Foundation and partnering with Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation and All Congregations Together, Music Rising has provided instruments and/or gear to over 2,400 professional musicians, 5,500 parishioners and nearly 2,000 students.

The Music Rising Epiphone Les Paul guitar features exclusive artwork and the campaign’s slogan “Rebuilding the Gulf Region Note By Note.” The artwork which was emblazoned on The Edge’s t-shirt at the 2006 Grammy Awards and designed by William Cathcart has become a symbol of the campaign and is also available on limited edition t-shirts sold exclusively through U2.com and Hard Rock Cafés around the world.

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The guitar specs include all the features that have made the legendary Les Paul guitar synonymous with a great rock tone including a solid mahogany body with carved top, glued-in mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, Alnico Classic Humbucking pickups and stopbar/tunomatic bridge and tailpiece combination. It also includes a custom “Music Rising” gig bag.

For more information or to make a donation to Music Rising go to http://www.musicrising.org or http://www.gibsonfoundation.org