The League Of Rock’s Summer J.A.B. Session Showcase is locked in for July 15th a Toronto’s famed Rock & Roll Heaven.
The LOR continually reaches further in the world of rock with bigger and better stages all the time and this is no exception. Six bands in the current Spring J.A.B. Session will showcase in this fabulous venue starting at 7pm and the event should run til approximately 11:30pm.
9.00 Entry fee and free to prospective members who RSVP by clicking here.
The League Of Rock is hosting a huge jam session in support of Perram House, Toronto Area Hospice at the National Yacht Club Saturday, June 21st at 7pm.
LOR Members & Friends are will take the stage in an Open Moderated JAM from 7pm to 8:30pm and from 9:30 til approximately midnight.
The LOR’s Band will provide the foundation and all others players are welcome to join in. Drummers, Bassists, Guitarists, Singers, Keyboard players and any other instrument are welcome.
All bands and players are required to submit a song list in advance to Queen Craven at (queencraven@sympatico.ca). If we don’t receive advance notice for your participation you cannot participate.
More Info here: http://tahr.ca/News–and–Events.php
1 Stadium Road
Toronto, ON M5V 3H4
Get directions
The League Of Rock welcomes Zildjian to its esteemed family of gear sponsors. Drummers with the most rock spirit and most improved drummers in all sessions will receive groupings of some of the worlds best cymbals. We look forward to furthering our relationship with Zildjian in a mutually beneficial partnership long into the future.
Hello Everyone,
We have an exciting opportunity this April. For only 30 members, The League Of Rock is offering the exclusive opportunity to make music and workshop with the founding member and drummer of the legendary Yardbirds, Jim McCarty!
From 12 to 4:30 on April 20th, the League Of Rock is offering an incredible opportunity to get tips and tricks and to improve your experience in a band situation! Jim will offer stories and insight garnered from his amazing career which includes being in a band with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page! The Yard birds were a major influence on both British and American Rock music and such icons as Led Zepplin!
The Yardbirds were the bridge between white R&B of early-sixties London and the fuzz-toned psychedelia and power-chorded heavy metal from much later in the decade and throughout the seventies. Yes, the Yardbirds laid the groundwork for Rock Guitar As We Know It.
This half day intensive workshop will feature Jim and supporting League Of Rock All-Stars both in workshop and concert in the round, work shopping directly with you as you form bands and work on tunes and then perform the tune at the end of the session!
The event will happen on Sunday, April 20th From noon – 4:30pm. The cost of the one day intensive will be $125
Please Click here http://www.leagueofrock.com/mccarty_INTENSIVE.asp and fill in the form to reserve your spot and let us know you’re are interested in attending the event. Space is limited as there is only space for 30 participants.
See examples below of the Yardbirds and Jim McCarty’s bio!
To sign up for this exclusive event, please go to this link.
http://www.leagueofrock.com/mccarty_INTENSIVE.asp
Looking forward to seeing you at this amazing event!
The League Of Rock Team
VIDEO LINKS
THE YARDBIRDS TODAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKjLILCzNDM
HEART FULL OF SOUL – WITH BECk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4HIgqFnvik&feature=related
HEART FULL OF SOUL – with PAGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc0D-s0zTI4
JEFF BECK AND JIMMY PAGE IN THE MOVIE BLOW UP PLAYING STROLL ON
(Not a great ad for VOX amps:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkN1lFqldb4&feature=related
SHORT BIOGRAPHY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNcN7bBUE-U
FOR YOUR LOVE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r2wBcvQ_2Q&feature=related
To sign up for this exclusive event, please go to this link.
http://www.leagueofrock.com/mccarty_INTENSIVE.asp
BIO
Jim McCarty
Jim McCarty (born James Stanley McCarty, 25 July 1943, Liverpool) is a British musician, best known as the drummer for The Yardbirds and Renaissance. He has also played in the bands Shoot (on lead vocals), Illusion (with three other ex-members of Renaissance), Stairway and Pilgrim.McCarty has also been a member of The British Invasion All-Stars, and his own Jim McCarty Band.
By now, everyone knows the Yardbirds legend, if not their music; the band graduated three of the great Ph.D.s of rock guitar: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. They created hard rock out of standard twelve-bar blues, doubling the tempos and whacking the amps up to ten.
On the British club scene, the Yardbirds, the Animals, and the Rolling Stones ruled the stages. The Yardbirds expanded the range of the electric guitar, experimenting with feedback, sustain, and fuzztone. They also coined and popularized the rave-up, a kind of free-for-all where you jam long and hard, not as soloists, but in a tandem, until you reach an epiphany about 10 or 20 or 30 minutes later, a shuddering climax of decibels and pure energy, and then–back into the song for one more boom-boom chorus.
The Yardbirds were the bridge between the tributary white R&B of early-sixties London and the pastures of fuzz-toned psychedelia and power-chorded heavy metal plowed much later in the decade and throughout the seventies. Yes, the Yardbirds laid the groundwork for Rock Guitar As We Know It.
Jim McCarty and Chris Dreja reformed the Yardbirds in the 1990s, with John Idan handling bass and lead vocals, and touring regularly since then with a number of guitarists and harmonica players passing through their ranks. In 2003, a new album, Birdland, was released under the Yardbirds name on the Favored Nations label which consisted of a mixture of new material mostly penned by McCarty and re-recordings of some of their greatest hits, with guest appearances by Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Slash, Brian May, Steve Lukather, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter, John Rzeznik, Martin Ditchum and Simon McCarty. Also, Jeff Beck reunited with his former bandmates on the song “My Blind Life”.
The Yardbirds released a live 2007 CD, “Live At B.B. King Blues Club” (Favored Nations).
As a solo artist Jim has released numerous albums and projects including 2002s Two Steps Ahead, and 1994s Out Of The Dark, and has a new album that will be released shortly
So, it all starts once again!
This past Wednesday, marked the first day of the 4th League Of Rock J.A.B. session with seven bands starting the process of getting to know each other, picking their band names, and most importantly picking their tunes.
It is always very interesting to see the members from various backgrounds and lifestyles come together to make some music and have a good time. Michael White dropped by to check out the band along with Terry and myself, he is a great musician and had a lot of fun hanging out with the members, he is a great addition to the LOR team.
The musical pedigree of the league is evolving with each session and I am excited to see what nest week will hold.
Best regards,
Topher Stott
Creative Producer
Thanks co much to everyone who dropped by the Gibson Guitar Artist Showroom on Wednesday night for the draft event for season 4! It was a lot of fun, and it was great to meet and “welcome” the new members to the League Of Rock, and say hello and “welcome back” to all of the returning members!
It was really great to see some returning members not in the current session, dropping by to hang out and jam! Stay tuned for a gallery of pictures from the night!
7 brand new bands were formed on this night, and it will be exciting to see what the next 10 weeks for practicing, jamming, coaching, playing live and recording will hold for them. It is going to be a fun ride! Week 1 is next week at the Rehearsal Factory On Geary!
See you there.
Topher Stott
1. We’ve doubled the Live Venue Opportunities
Getting on stage and playing in a live venue is a powerful experience and all the bands get so much out of it. To that end we’re doubling the live venue opportunities from 2 to 4 including the final showcase. The option is yours to invite friends and family.
2. New Recording Studio Experiences
Bands will be focusing all their energy on one song which will be compiled on a Best Of The Winter Session CD. This accomplishes two important points raised by many members.
a. Members want to have more time to concentrate and they want to come out with better mixes.
b. Members want to hear songs recorded by other bands.
Bands will be recording at XM Radio’s Corner Studio located in the windows at Avenue Road & Davenport. The process is old school Live Off The Floor and will take our bands back to the days of Sun Records when Elvis Presley walked in off the street and recorded, mixed and put it on air. It is a blast.
If bands wish to blow their collective minds, for an added fee you’re able to record at the World Famous Phase One Studios instead of XM. Phase One hosts such incredible bands as Sting, Bono, Bob Dylan, Alice Kooper, BTO, Kiss, Rush and Max Webster! Studio A at Phase one is a legendary room that has produced some legendary tracks and each band who selects the Phase One Studios option will record in this room.
Instead of two hours per song to record, over dub, mix and duplicate. We’re giving bands four hours to focus on recording the best tune. Bands will not use the click track unless they request it.
We took XM Radio’s studio for a test drive, and the results were great. Everyone will have a blast and we’ll come away with an awesome greatest hits CD. Click here http://www.leagueofrock.com/xm_recording.html to check out the Test Drive.
3. New Sponsors
In addition to our existing sponsors Gibson Guitar and Long & McQuade, we’re pleased to welcome Andrea Electronics, makers of great wireless mics and other fabulous gear. Andrea also runs www.theamp.net , post and sell your songs on the coolest world wide music marketplace. We’re also completing negotiations with legendary cymbal makers Zildjian, so stay tuned for the official announcement. Also, the rock musical “We Will Rock You” has signed on for a second season, so Most Improved members and members with the Most Rock Spirit as awarded at the Final Showcase will receive tix to the show. With all of this support it’s going to be a great season.
4. Expanded Showcase
Gone are the days of playing only one tune at the Final Showcase. At this season’s final bash, each band will now play ALL THREE of their tunes for a crowd of over 150 people! The Best Of The Winter Session CD will be played before and after the performances.
In addition, the Final Showcase Bash will be documented with a multi-camera crew. Each member will receive as a part of their Member Package a DVD covering the greatest moments of the Bash.
In response to member interest in what the other bands are up to, now not only will you take home the recording of your tune, you will get a Best Of The Winter Session CD with the best tune from each band. All members will get two discs, the Audio CD and DVD. Also, each member will receive a commemorative plaque framed with a League Of Rock cd, with their band name to commemorate their experience in the League Of Rock!
We sincerely thank all of the members who helped develop these improvements with honesty, integrity and sincerity. It is going to be a great season! If you have any questions or comments, please give Terry a call at 416-908-5284.
Best regards,
The League Of Rock Team
The League Of Rock was featured in the Toronto Sun.
League of Rock strikes chord with basement musicians
Not a school, not a jam session — the League lets 9-to-5ers fulfill their rock star fantasies
The Roger’s Wireless Team building event on the 31rst of January was a huge success! The full day event started of with the amazing band Rides Again nailing a four song set at the very early (for Rock) time of 9:15 and the day did not let up until 5:00 pm.
Highlights of the day included the very fun Roger’s team who were a pleasure to work with and all had a great time, The League Of Rock All Star band playing some classic tunes, Everyone in the room jamming with the band, each with their own Djembe drum!
It was a great day, thanks to all involved. Stay tuned for pics and videos!
The League Of Rock was featured on 680 news. 680 News CFTR is an all-news radio station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada which has a huge listener base.
The Spot was recorded with 680’s Rudy Blair, it is a great piece.
