The Oregonian is reporting that KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer presented 12 new musical instruments to the students of Oregon's W.L. Henry Elementary School to boost the school's band program from three members who provide their own instruments ? two clarinets and a flute ? to a full-force 15-piece ensemble.
"It's near and dear to my heart because it's where I started," Thayer said Thursday (Nov. 10) of school band programs. "It worked for me."
Thayer, who grew up in Cedar Hills, where his parents Jim and Pat Thayer still live, played the saxophone at Sunset High School. He also learned the guitar and eventually took over for original KISS member Ace "The Spaceman" Frehley.
For the past few months, Thayer has been rediscovering his Oregon roots: He was recently elected to Pacific University's board of trustees, is building a house at the Oregon Coast and has donated money to Sunset High.
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