Sign in to view
member only content

Hobbyist leagues have long offered amateur athletes a way to enjoy their favourite sport—whether it’s hockey, baseball or bowling—in an organized way. It wasn’t until recently, however, that amateur rock musicians had something similar. The League of Rock is a music-based community that lets hobbyist rock musicians join a band for 10-week sessions. Designed for people with day jobs in other professions, the group lets members enjoy playing in authentic rehearsal spaces, live venues and recording studios, as well as participating in hands-on workshops with a long list of professionals including Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds, Robin Le Mesurier of Rod Stewart fame, Rik Emmett of Triumph and Dan Clancy of Lighthouse. Each session costs CDN 98 per week, and members begin by picking a name for their band along with three songs to focus on. The ensuing weeks include rehearsals, workshops, and live performances, culminating with a studio session to record the band’s work on CD and a showcase performance that’s open to the public. The League of Rock’s first chapter is about to celebrate its second anniversary in Toronto, and other chapters are planned for Vancouver, Winnipeg and St. Johns in Canada, along with major American and European markets, the group says. League of Rock also offers music-based incentive and rewards events for corporate clients. Sponsors include Gibson, Blackberry and the Toronto Argonauts. The lesson to be learned? Find a part of Generation C that doesn’t yet have a full-fledged outlet for its content-producing proclivities, and make it happen. Don’t forget to add community and some status stories through professional involvement. Next, open the doors and stand back, because the resulting mix is likely to be a hit! 😉 (Related: Music school for generation YouTube.)