Aerosmith News

You may have seen Tom Hamilton's prototype of the Parker bass guitar when Aerosmith hit your town on the last tour. Yeah, it's that red funky shaped bass guitar. Tom will be donating the bass to VH1 Save The Music, and it will be auctioned off on eBay to raise money for this worthy cause. Tom and his band mates have autographed the bass so the lucky winner of the auction will own a piece of Aerosmith history that they can show off to their friends and families. How cool is that?

VH1 Save The Music is a nonprofit organization with two primary missions: to restore music education programs in America's public schools, and to raise awareness of the positive impact music participation has on students. For more information on VH1 Save the Music click here.

Be sure to tune in 8:30AMET on Monday June 2nd to the CBS Early Show to watch Tom Hamilton when he donates his bass guitar to VH1 Save The Music

For more information on the Parker Fly Bass and other Parker Guitars click here.

(CBS) Starting June 9, The Early Show will again join forces with cable network VH1 for "Save The Music" week, a nationwide instrument drive to keep music education programs in schools that can no longer afford them.

Legendary Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton visited The Early Show June 2, to help kick off "Save the Music's" celebrity instrument auction. He is donating his guitar, a prototype Parker Bass, of which only two exist.

Hamilton says, “I got interested in them because they're right outside of Boston, and so, ‘You make a bass?’ They said, ‘We're just about to. We'll give you a prototype to use on the road.' So I used this for the last six or seven months of our last tour. Used it every night for about half the show.”

The guitar is signed by the entire band and will be auctioned off, along with other celebrity instruments, on e-Bay. Hamilton does not know what the starting bid will be, but notes his guitar is “very rare. There's only one that's signed by everybody in the band. So pump it up there.” Proceeds will go to "Save the Music."

What You Can Do

If you want to help keep music in your local schools, here's what you can do:

Donate an instrument - If you live in New York City, bring your instrument to The Early Show Plaza at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue, but there also are drop-off locations all around the country.

Bid, Buy or Donate - Go to eBay where celebrities have donated various items. All proceeds go to the Save the Music Foundation.

Drop a Line to your Senator or Congress Member - Urge them not to cut music programs in your community.

VH1 "Save The Music" purchases new musical instruments to restore music education programs that have been cut because of budget reductions in the past or to save programs at risk of elimination due to lack of instruments.

The Foundation also conducts awareness campaigns, musical instrument drives and fundraising events. Each year, an auction is held on eBay for "Save the Music." This year's will begin on Monday, June 9.

During the week of June 9, The Early Show will profile a student who has benefited from the VH1 "Save The Music" campaign. The week will end with a special celebrity concert performance. Last year’s performances included Boyz II Men, Vanessa Carlton and U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige.

Hamilton says "Save The Music" is something he identifies with.

“I remember when I was starting out and wanting to learn about the technical side of music and how to play an instrument, I kind of had to guess and do it on my own. We didn't really have -- I came from a school that couldn't afford a good music program.

"So when I hear about kids in schools that have really good music programs, I feel this envy and excitement, because there's a lot of kids who have a lot of musical talent that may never otherwise come out in the forefront unless they have a chance to really explore it," Hamilton says.

Music education programs have eroded in many cities and communities across the country over the past 30 years. VH1 is dedicated to turning back this trend to ensure all children have access to a quality education that includes music.

As for Hamilton, he has been with Aeromsith for about 32 years. Currently the band is working on a new blues album.

“We're big fans of the blues,” Hamilton says. “We always wanted to do a project like this. We're going back in time and picking blues classics from the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘60s. This is a fun thing for us.”

But the album will not be pure blues. “On every song there is a hard rock twist. No matter how hard we try, we just can't help it,” Hamilton says with laughter.

Aerosmith is also touring with KISS this August. Though their styles are different, Hamilton points out that both bands come from similar backgrounds. “As a matter of fact, when both bands were infants back in the 70s, we performed shows together in the Detroit area,” he says.

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