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Jan. 12, 2022
Prolific local historian on Winnipeg’s musical past ARTS & CULTURE Alex Braun, staff
Winnipegger John Einarson has had an illustrious career documenting the careers of rock and folk legends like Neil Young, the Flying Burrito Brothers and Buffy SainteMarie. Beyond chronicling these legends, his work has maintained a focus on Winnipeg’s unique music scene — one that he was a part of in the ’60s and ’70s, performing with giants like Randy Bachman and Frank Zappa’s band the Mothers of Invention. Einarson’s book Shakin’ All Over: The Winnipeg Sixties Rock Scene saw some success in detailing the scene that produced breakout stars like the Guess Who and Neil Young. “People kept asking me when I would write a sequel to Shakin’ All Over, but I didn’t just want to focus on rock music alone,” said Einarson. “I had written a series of 85 feature articles for the Winnipeg Free Press on local music history across a wider spectrum of genres. “This gave me the inspiration to put together a book that cast a wider net including Indigenous, francophone, country music, folk and roots music, dance bands and jazz, classical and opera, blues and of course rock music but going back into the 1950s as well as beyond the 1960s to today.” The result was Heart Of Gold: A History of Winnipeg Music, a wide chronicle of the city’s surprisingly
successful music industry. “Like comedian Rodney Dangerfield, Winnipeg just can’t get any respect,” Einarson said. “We’re Canada’s boondocks. No one ever could have imagined the talent that we have produced.” Though he concedes that there is no simple singular answer to the “Why Winnipeg?” question, he credits some of that success to the “multicultural population, the presence of robust Indigenous and francophone cultures and a wide spectrum of live music offerings in a variety of genres,” as well as our position as outsiders to the mainstream entertainment industry. Einarson looked to uncover some of these different cultural scenes throughout the years, putting special focus on the Indigenous and francophone artists. “A few years back I wrote a big Winnipeg Free Press story about the discrimination and racism that Indigenous — First Nations and Métis — musicians and singers faced for decades on the Winnipeg music scene,” he said. “It was quite a revelation for many non-Indigenous readers but an all-too-true reality for Indigenous people.” “I also collaborated with much-celebrated Indigenous singer-songwriter Errol ‘C-Weed’ Ranville on his life story Run As One: My Story, which also opened my eyes to the realities
image / John Einarson / provided
In conversation with author John Einarson
for Indigenous musicians and singers […] the opening chapter of the book focuses on the development of Indigenous music in and around Winnipeg from the 1940s onward up to today.”
artists like William Prince, Begonia and Sweet Alibi, who are still carrying the torch for our strong musical heritage — and his vast musical knowledge is well-covered in his wide, ambitious book.
As for the francophone music scene, Einarson explores its emergence through the ’60s and ’70s through a unique non-profit organization called Le 100 Nons.
“Winnipeg is often perceived as a meat ’n’ potatoes rock music city, yet when you look beyond that, there are so many artists and performers creating great music across a broad musical palette. I believe the future of Winnipeg music remains healthy despite a changing landscape.”
“It only existed in St. Boniface and spread to rural francophone communities because it was original music all in French,” he said. “Here I was playing community clubs and pubs on the west side of the Red River, meanwhile on the east side there was this unique music scene happening that no one outside of that community knew about.” Einarson’s enthusiasm for Winnipeg music is still palpable — he shouts out
Heart Of Gold: A History of Winnipeg Music is available now through historyofmusic.ca. Though the first print has sold out, a second run is forthcoming.
arts@themanitoban.com
Bisons hope to rebound in second half of season Davis looks to lead the herd, catch U of R in standings SPORTS
Isaiah Wagner, staff In the first half of the season, the U of M Bisons men’s hockey team did not perform like a championship-contending team. First-year forward Brett Davis says the team’s 3-9 record is not something they are content with. “As a group, we are not very happy with the start of our season,” Davis said. “It is important that we go out there and play better collectively. We have let a lot of goals in the back of our net this season and we need to limit that.” The team currently sits seventh place in Canada West and are six points behind the University of Regina Cougars. With the U of R sitting so close in
the standings, the Bisons have the opportunity to make up ground and hopefully make the playoffs come spring. “Regina is a great team and we have lost both regular-season games [against] them this year,” Davis said. “It is always nice to go out and beat a rival, but it is even better when it helps us in the final standings.” The Bisons face off against the Cougars in early February. Davis and the rest of his team are very excited about this matchup.
Davis has had a great start to his Bisons hockey career. In his first season, he has racked up nine goals and six assists in just 11 games. He played his junior career in the Western Hockey League before being drafted in the National Hockey League by the Dallas Stars. He then went on to play five games in the American Hockey League for the Manitoba Moose before signing with the Bisons. The team laces the skates back up for the first time in the new year on Jan. 14 as they face the MacEwan Griffins in back-to-back home games.
“I think I am looking forward to the Regina series the most,” Davis said.
This will be the herd’s first game back in over a month. The squad needs to be ready to perform in order to be successful in their remaining games.
“We are very close to Regina in the standings and a few wins against them could catch us up very quick.”
“It is always tough to go out and play after a long time away from the ice,” Davis said.
“The first thing that we need to do as a team is to get our feet moving. The boots will start off slow, but if we get those going, everything will get [into] shape quick.” The team will have home-ice advantage as six out of the final eight games for the Bisons are at home.
photo / Matthew Merkel / staff sports@themanitoban.com
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