Ralph Alfonso on tour. I am coming to your town & having a coffee. Seriously.

Hi folks.

The snow has cleared. The rains have swept away the debris and once again, yours truly, Ralph Alfonso, is on tour; taking Bongo Beat Records directly to music fans - be it at record shows, book fairs, flea markets, church basement bazaars and basically anywhere we can plant our flag and and let the Bongo Beat banner fly.

We've already hit Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal, and Kingston; meeting lots of old and new friends.

Join us on our upcoming adventures.

Get Bongo Beat cds, Bongo Beat books, punk photo prints, and collector vinyl (from Ralph's collection) where applicable.

Some shows will have free cds (a cool Bongo Beat selection), so come early and say hi.

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Sunday, May 15

Toronto, Ontario

Flipside DJ & Collectors Vintage Record Sale

10am-4pm

http://www.ducktape.ca/soundz/flipside2011.gif

Gladstone Hotel, 1213 Queen St. W, Toronto

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Sunday, May 22

St. Catharines, Ontario

Musicians Open, 2011 Golf Tournament

https://www.niagaramusicawards.com/important

Ralph is one of the industry judges at this year's 2011 Niagara Music Awards, and, as such, will be participating at this special event.

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Sunday, May 29

Toronto, Ontario

Toronto Mid-Town Collectibles Show

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=180491951969926

10am - 3:30pm

Greenwood College School

443 Mount Pleasant Road

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Sunday, June 19

Toronto, Ontario

Small Press of Toronto Spring Book Fair

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=149029488497183

Hart House (Univ of Toronto Campus)

7 Hart House Circle

11am - 5pm

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Saturday, June 25

Ottawa, Ontario

Ottawa Small Press Book Fair

http://robmclennan.blogspot.com/2011/02/ottawa-small-press-book-fair-spring.html

Jack Purcell Community Centre

Room 203 (upstairs)

320 Jack Purcell Lane (off Elgin, Starbucks on the corner)

Noon - 5pm

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FRIDAY, AUG 12

Montreal, Quebec

Semaine Italienne de Montreal / Montreal Italian Week

http://www.semaineitaliennedemontreal.com/en/main-events/literary-events

 8:00PM to 10:00PM

The Writers Tent, corner St-Laurent and Mozart

MEET THE WRITERS. Members of the Association of Italian Canadian Writers will be in Little Italy to present their works, discuss their books, and answer questions about writing. The presentations and discussions will be in English, French, and Italian. 

Ralph Alfonso will be here from 8pm-10pm. Come by and chat in Italian, French, or English. Ralph will have all his books and cds for sale.

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Saturday, Aug 13
Montreal, Quebec
Semaine Italienne de Montreal / Montreal Italian Week


1:30PM to 3:00PM
The Gazebo, corner St-Laurent and St-Zotique
http://www.semaineitaliennedemontreal.com/en/main-events/literary-events


An afternoon of readings by Italian Canadian authors in English, French, and Italian.
Ralph will be reading two short poems in Italian (all authors only have 6mins ea to read).
We don't have a schedule of the reading order so please be there early to avoid any
disappointment.


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Sept tba

Montreal, Quebec

Pop Montreal Record Show

details tba

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Sunday, Sept 25

Toronto, Ontario

Word on The Street

http://www.thewordonthestreet.ca

Queen's Park Crescent

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Sunday, Oct 2

Ottawa, Ontario

Ottawa Record Show

http://www.offthebeatentrackradio.com/

St Anthony's Hall

523 St Anthony St

10am-4pm

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Sunday, Oct 16

Toronto, Ontario

Musical Collectables Record & CD Sale

http://www.musicalcollectables.com/

Capitol Banquet Centre

6435 Dixie Rd

10am-4pm

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Saturday, Nov 5
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax Record Fair


http://halifaxrecordfair.ca/




Halifax Forum, Maritime Hall
2901 Windsor Street, Halifax
http://www.halifaxforum.ca/location
$5 early bird (8-9am! get out of that box, I'm still pricing...)
$2 (9am-6pm)


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Nov 26-27

Montreal, Quebec

Expozine

http://www.expozine.ca/en/

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Saturday, Dec 10
Toronto
The Small Press Winter Book Fair
http://smallpressoftoronto.wordpress.com/

last chance for books, punk photo prints (12x18 unframed),
books, weird xmas vinyl, cds, and lots more affordable
stocking stuffers and christmas gifts

Hart House, UofT
(same building as CIUT Radio)

Ralph Makes Top 50 Indie List. Broken Pencil Loves Ralph :)

Just a quick note that the latest issue of Broken Pencil magazine (#50), Canada's magazine of the independent arts, has named me one of their "50 People We Love". I am listed #4 on the list.

Broken Pencil is available in the USA/Canada and also internationally at selected outlets.

I have attached a scan of the write-up.

The write up is a very brief (and selective) overview of my almost 40 years in the independent community and I am very proud to read that I am "setting new standards for an art form that's threatening to disappear as music increasingly goes all-digital."

I have been publishing since 1969 and running Bongo Beat Records since 1995.

This is a great honour and congratulations to everyone on the list, including many colleagues and artistic collaborators; most notably Ian Ferrier who has released a solo cd on Bongo Beat and also the group project, Pharmakon MTL, which came out last month.

Ralph - Unreleased Songs (Phil Ochs Tribute)

The songs "April Say" and "Stars That Are Silver" can be downloaded for free.

"April Say" was recorded in Toronto with Kevin Quain on piano and accordian. That is Kevin on keyboards also for "Goodbye Jack. Kerouac."

"Stars That Are Silver" was inspired by and dedicated to Phil Ochs. This track was recorded in Vancouver with Dave Rave on guitar and engineered by Buck Cherry (MOdernettes) and Gord Nicholls (POinted Sticks). This is the acoustic version. There is a fuller version with Gord on keyboards.

Just select the song and click the Download button (this button appears only for these two tracks).

Last Year's Valentine

RALPH. "Last Year's Valentine" from the album, This Is For The Night People.
Directed by Chris Hooper. Starring Sandra Steier as the girl and Graham Howell as the guy.
Vintage Car by Graham Howell.
Produced by Alison E. Rogers for Ladybird Films.
Music by Ralph Alfonso and Michael Rummen.
(c) 2011 by Ralph Alfonso/Bongo Beat Records

Memories of Cannes, Midem, Gangsters, and Croissants

January is Midem month for many people in the music industry. Midem is a higher-end trade fair where labels and publishers and anything connected with music (video, software, internet, etc) gathers to make deals. 

The Midem Conference - a cruel knife to the soul of all who are weak of heart and endeavour. This is where the heavy deals and scramble go down, thousands of industry types clutching demos and press kits, looking for entry points to foreign lands and foreign musical adventure.

My own adventures in Cannes always revolve around what vinyl records or second hand books i've bought at the weekend flea market or what interesting book or cd at the FNAC store which gets sadder and sadder each year with less and less music, more and more dvds and so on.


Of course, the wonderful pastry shops where I sneak off to during breaks; croissants and baguettes and hand-made chocolates. I can only take so much sometimes - you need a capuccino break.

For business, I have always managed to come out with a distribution deal or sub-publishing or new contact - sometimes it may take years before you actually do business with a contact but the important thing is that you're on the radar. Lately, the exhibit floor has seen less and less attendees with everyone selling and no one buying. On the surface, anyway. There's always a deal to be made if you play your cards right.

Cannes itself can be an overpriced playland since all the hotel rates double for any convention coming to town but there's always a cool spot that's not TOO overpriced. It is a funny old town where rich and not so rich stake out their turfs; where both crowd into the shops for the January sales. 

January is usually mostly cold, sometimes rainy. During the day, it might be sunny and you can stroll along the beach.

I've printed a few things on my myspace blog over the years and I've rounded them all up here plus a few other things I just found from my notebooks; stuff written in the hotel at night or on the plane coming in or bus to Nice or sitting in a cafe after some guy from some label in Norway has told me "your label is too smart for us"

It's a compliment I guess. Too bad, cause I like Norway.






Nice Tour of Oslo, Norway. Click here.

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SOUVENIR DE CANNES

Gangster's girlfriend

drinking wine

dark hair

Juliette Greco style

all black

long dress turtleneck

laughing

Cote d'azur avec un dur

hard living Riviera

too many secrets between them

I try not to look but

her mouth

black lipstick smile

hard to say no to

the gangster sees me

there's a scar from his ear to

his mouth

his little eye

burrowing a hole in my head

it's understood

i look again

i'm dead

well, now

i know

ralph alfonso

------

desole petite fleur

desole

petite fleur

qui attends le vent

qui a faim pour le soleil

c'est moi qui ta quitte

c'est moi qui s'en vole

dans la nuit

vers la plui

d'un futur rien compris

ralph alfonso

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DID I JUMP OR DID YOU PUSH

I'm sitting all alone on the edge of the world

I'm waving hello to

everyone down below

and did I jump or did you push?

Only you and I will ever know

Ralph Alfonso

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PLAGE A PARIS

la plage a paris

un rencontre a minuit

un cigarette entre les deux

j'aime tes cheveaux dans le vent

odeur de

parfum

des gens qui rit

les amants dans la nuit

sous les etoiles

ici

au centre

de notre monde

ralph alfonso

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IT ALL DEPENDS

There's a full moon on

the sand dunes

a cool breeze that will end soon

a sad little poem

sent adrift to find a home

lovers going round the verse

still trying to find the chorus

and this is where we cue the violins

the girl is his, the good guy wins

and I wish that's how the story ends

but in this case, it all depends

Ralph Alfonso

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NO COLOURS LEFT

It's a coffee cold October

All the leaves have

fallen down

There's nowhere

to go to

cause there's no one else around

but there's no mistake

that's the road

I want to take

I guess there's 

no colours left 

in the world

it's a choice between

brown or brown

I put a call in to somebody

I want to complain

I'm sick of all the

cold walks

I'm sick of 

alll the rain

Ralph Alfonso

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BONJOUR TRISTESSE with Juliette Greco

MIDEM MADNESS

SOME CANNES SIGHTS

CHARLES TRENET

CHARLES TRENET - La Romance de Paris

JULIETTE GRECO - St Germain de Pres