Former BLUE MURDER Bassist Joins FENDER's Artist Relations Dept.

Former BLUE MURDER/THE FIRM bassist Tony Franklin has joined Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) as part of its Artist Relations Department. Bringing more than twenty five years of professional experience on stage and in the studio, as well as his lifelong love of making music, Franklin will utilize his numerous music industry relationships to help develop and grow FMIC's Specialty Brand names on both the consumer and retail levels.

Franklin's primary responsibility will be to support SWR®, Guild®, Jackson®, Charvel®, Gretsch®, and Benedetto® products within the artist community. Having collaborated with musicians from just about every genre throughout his career, Franklin's wealth of knowledge and experience, as well as a solid professional reputation, will be invaluable in exposing these instruments to today's hottest names, which in turn exposes them to more players.

"Much of what we do in our little corner of FMIC is aimed at generating demand for our instruments among players," says Ritchie Fliegler, Senior Vice President of Market Development for FMIC. "We are committed to the growth of our specialty brands, and one of the first steps is to get them into the public's eye."

Adds Fliegler, "Tony will do this for us. He knows the music industry and its people because he's literally one of them. As a producer he knows which instruments are right for which situation. He's the perfect person to work with the musicians who use these instruments for their art and livelihood."

Franklin will be based out of FMIC's Corona, California offices.