Sign-up for John Einarson’s weekly virtual classes and explore decades of music history.
Listen to your favourite songs, find out about your favourite artists and enjoy stories from behind-the-scenes.
Virtual classes are hosted exclusively through the Manitoba Conservatory of Music and Arts and run Thursday’s from 7PM to 9PM.
Einarson, in his easy-going, engaging and personable style, explores the most popular music of the last fifty years in his virtual classes. These enjoyable sessions provide a wealth of information and stories on singers, songwriters, the music industry, and your favourite bands.
All classes below are both in-person class as well as livestreamed, so you can join us from the comfort of your own home if you wish!
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Join author, musicologist, and guitar player John Einarson as he explores the distinctive styles and sounds of many of the most influential guitarists in rock ‘n’ roll music including Chuck Berry, BB King, Dick Dale, Michael Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, and Jimi Hendrix among others in this two-part course. The second class is October 3.
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Join author, musicologist, and guitar player John Einarson as he explores the distinctive styles and sounds of many of the most influential guitarists in rock ‘n’ roll music including Chuck Berry, BB King, Dick Dale, Michael Bloomfield, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, and Jimi Hendrix among others in this two-part course.
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I was the first writer to interview rock music icon Neil Young in depth on his early years in Canada. When I asked him why little was ever known about those seminal years, Neil replied, “No one ever asked me.” Learn about Young’s early obsession with making music his life, the challenges he faced, and his journey to ultimately find success.
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We’ll discuss the blending of country music with rock, and examine the role of The Buffalo Springfield in kick-starting the genre and from that band, the formation of Poco, widely considered the first true country-rock band.
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Join me as I discuss the early attempts to blend country music with rock. We will explore the early attempts at a blend of country with rock in The Byrds and how three ex-Byrds, including Gram Parsons, went on to form one of the most influential country rock groups, The Flying Burrito Brothers.
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In 1960s Toronto, two distinct music scenes existed in parallel, the raucous rock ‘n’ roll in the rowdy bars of Yonge Street inspired by Ronnie Hawkins & The Hawks, and the folk-influenced hippie sounds emanating from coffeehouses in the downtown Yorkville district. We’ll explore the unique features of each music scene and look at how they began to blend together by looking at the early years of artists such as Joni Mitchell, David Clayton Thomas, Bruce Cockburn, Gordon Lightfoot, Steppenwolf, and The Mynah Birds among others.
Click + below for 2023–2024 class descriptions and registration.
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Beginning in 1954 when Cleveland deejay Alan Freed began using the term “rock ‘n’ roll” to describe the rhythm & blues records he played, 1954 is regarded as the year the genre was born. It’s the year Elvis Presley released his debut recording, Bill Haley & His Comets released “Rock Around The Clock”, doo-wop vocal group The Chords release “Sh-Boom” and Leo Fender introduced the world to the Stratocaster electric guitar. We’ll look at these and other significant musical events that year.
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Singer-songwriter Don McLean called February 3, 1959 “the day the music died” recalling the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper in a plane crash. But several events conspired to bring the Golden Age of Rock ‘n’ Roll to an end that year. We will explore what factors brought about this end and how rock ‘n’ roll evolved as it entered a new decade.
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1965 was a turning point year for rock ‘n’ roll when rock music met poetry through folk-rock as introduced by The Byrds and Bob Dylan among others. Rock became a music of substance often with lyrics that eschewed the standard boy-girl ‘Moon, Spoon, June’ themes to instead speak of personal angst such as “Like A Rolling Stone”, Mr. Tambourine Man”, “Help!”, and “Satisfaction”. We’ll explore the seismic shift in rock music that year.
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While rock ‘n’ roll may have become more serious and sophisticated, there was still plenty of room for simple, fun pop songs. These were categorized as either pop-lite Bubblegum or harder-edged Garage Rock. Both were brief yet significant moments in the evolution of rock music in 1966.
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In this two-week course we will explore the early roots of rock ‘n’ roll through Black American blues, rhythm & blues, jazz, and gospel and how these threads contributed to the birth of rock ‘n’ roll as we know it. We’ll then look at the impact of soul music, Motown, psychedelic music (Hendrix, Sly & The Family Stone), funk, fusion, and hip hop in this two-part course. The second class is on February 13.
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More information to come…