The Enthusiasts are a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band from

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, active from 1963 to 1972. considered one of the most influential underground Canadian Rock groups of the 20th Century, the band's style paved the way for the first waves of Canadian Punk Rock and

Art Rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...

. The Enthusiasts are considered pioneers of

Indie Rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

as well. while the band saw little mainstream success outside of their native Canada, their influence on later music scenes would be tremendous, especially during the 1980s. The Band has been disbanded since early 1972, although they briefly united for a short Canadian tour in 1984. Currently there are no plans for any further Enthusiasts reunions.

History

Formed in February 1963 by guitarist and vocalist Joseph Farber, drummer Dylan Handelman and bassist Maxwell Goldstein while the trio were attending the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba.rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

music together since 1954 and collaborated in various Winnipeg area rock groups throughout the 1950s, most notably The Manitoba Mooseman. Goldstein, originally from

Fort William, Ontario Fort William was a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Since th ...

and a Sophomore at the University in 1963, was a classically trained musician that shared similar

Garage Rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

tastes to that of Farber and Handelman. with the lineup of Farber, Handelman and Goldstein complete by March 1963, the band began to play regularly around

by May of that year. By June 1963, the band's debut single, "Knockin" b/w "Selfish Girl" had been recorded and self-released by the band. A smash hit in the Canadian college underground, it would later become a monument of early garage rock. It was also around this time that the band began their relationship with longtime friend, Dr. Adeen Khokhar, who after graduating from University of Manitoba's School of Medicine became a noted Pakistani-Canadian record producer. He also played the harmonica for the band on several occasions. However, by April 1964, Maxwell Goldstein would part ways with Farber and Handelman, due to musical differences, and to focus more on his other band, Mamojam, who later in the 1960s would go on to become one of the founders

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instru ...

. The Split between Goldstein and The Enthusiasts was amicable, as The Enthusiasts would later collaborate and tour extensively with Mamojam. Replacing Goldstein was longtime friend of the band, Matthew "G" Giordano. the lineup of Farber, Handelman and Giordano would become the quintessential Enthusiasts lineup. By mid 1964. the band began to tour extensively record their debut album, ''Black Magic''. Produced by Khokhar, ''Black Magic'' was released in May 1965 to stellar reviews in the Canadian music press. The band's second LP, ''Face Turn Blue'', dropped during July 1967 at the height of the

Summer of Love The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that occurred during the summer of 1967, when as many as 100,000 people, mostly young people sporting hippie fashions of dress and behavior, converged in San Francisco's neighborhood of Haight-Ashbury. ...

. While some psychedelic influences are detectable in the sound of the album, it remained at its heart, a raw garage rock record. It was this seemingly perfect blend of raw

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

and

psychedelic music Psychedelic music (sometimes called psychedelia) is a wide range of popular music styles and genres influenced by 1960s psychedelia, a subculture of people who used psychedelic drugs such as LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, mescaline, and cannabis to ...

that garnered generally favorable reviews of the album. From 1966 until the band's break up in 1972 the Enthusiasts embarked on a heavy touring schedule, playing non stop around Canada, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. during this regimen of nonstop touring The Enthusiasts first Live album entitled ''Minimize the Lyrics'' was released. recorded live from Gillet Auditorium at

Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...

in the

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

in October 1966, it was released by Bunghole Records in March 1968. The band's next LP, ''Strange Combination'', was released in 1969, and their final LP, ''Evil Road'' was released in 1971. After eight years of constant activity, the band decided to disband in January 1972 to focus on new musical directions, that would later manifest in Farber and Handelman's later band Red Pop. The final Enthusiasts concert took place in Winnipeg on April 4, 1972.

Personnel

Joseph "Joey" Farber, guitar and vocals (1963–72) Dylan "DH" Handelman, drums (1963–72) Maxwell "Max" Goldstein, bass (1963–64) Adeen "Doc" Khokhar, harmonica (1963–72) Matthew "G" Giordano, bass (1964–72)

Discography

; Albums *''Black Magic'' (1965) *''Carboard Soldiers'' EP (1966) *''Face Turn Blue'' (1967) *''Minimize the Lyrics'' (1968) *''Strange Combination'' (1969) *''Evil Road'' (1971) ; Singles *"Knocking" b/w "Selfish Girl" (1963) *"Itchy" b/w "Cannon" (1964)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enthusiasts, The Musical groups established in 1963 Musical groups disestablished in 1972 Musical groups from Winnipeg Canadian garage rock groups 1963 establishments in Manitoba 1972 disestablishments in Canada