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| Ralph Alfonso is showing some of his amazing punk era photos of The Ramones, Iggy Pop and more this weekend. |
CRASH 'N' BURN
Ralph Alfonso Photo Exhibition
April 10 at 7 pm & April 11 at 10 pm
EMISSIONS RECORD SHOP
1114 Dundas St W. (DOWNSTAIRS)
Free admission
We are proud to announce the first ever Toronto photography exhibition by Ralph Alfonso, featuring his incredible documentation of the 1976-1979 punk explosion.
In addition to managing The Diodes and the Crash'n'Burn Club (Canada's first punk club, built by and run by the bands); Ralph was an important writer/photographer; covering the nascent scenes in New York, Toronto, and the UK for publications like Cheap Thrills (Toronto), New York Rocker and BOMP! (USA), Shades (Toronto) and others.
His trove of photographs includes Iggy, Patti Smith, Diodes, Ramones, Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Richard Hell, Stranglers, Mo-Dettes, The Curse, Teenage Head, Viletones, Barracudas, The Jam, Clash and many more.
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| Ralph Alfonso and Hamilton-based punk rock aficionado Imants Krummins. |
Writes Ralph:
"Old school 76-77 punk is having a moment. It was 50 years ago that Punk magazine serendipitously gave this music a moniker and The Ramones spread the gospel worldwide, as hundreds of bands formed after every one of their concerts.
"Anyway, all this to say, I was actually there and I took some photos and wrote about it, ran a club, managed a band, pissed off a major label, and then it was all over and I disappeared into the music industry labyrinth, all my negatives sitting in a box for eons, only to be rediscovered a few years ago and I'm still finding amazing images I didn't realize I had.
"These are photos from 1977-79 when I was a rock twitter/photographer; both documenting and participating in the nascent punk scene in New York and Toronto. In 1977, I was given $100 (probably $700 in today's money)by Cheap Thrills magazine (Toronto, house paper for CPI, the major Toronto concert promoters of the day) and told to go to New York and check out this new thing going on there.
"I got to CBGB's to witness the North American debut of The Damned with The Dead Boys opening! There was no security then, so I just wandered backstage and interviewed and photographed both bands. Everybody hung out at CBGBs, so it was incredible to just walk up to Seymour Stein and Sylvain Sylvain and ask for a quick interview.
"When I came back, I got involved as The Diodes manager and we ran the Crash'n'Burn club; Canada's first punk club created and built by the bands. In that scene, I photographed the Viletones, Diodes, Teenage Head, Curse, etc and wrote scene reports for New York Rocker and Bomp! magazine in the States.
"In 1979, I went to the UK and hooked up with The Barracudas, Mo-Dettes, Chelsea, and others. It was also that transition period when punk was fading out and mod was coming in. To walk in to a club and see all the charcters I'd only ever seen in UK music papers was pretty incredible.
"So, the show will be kind of a greatest hits of travels through New York, Toronto, and London.
"And yes, I've been working on a book, Foto-Punk, which will collect all my 70s interviews plus photos. I'm hoping for spring 2027. I got sidetracked by covid and some serious health issues but I'm back on track now.
"I will also have a show in Hamilton on May 8 at the old location of This Ain't Hollywood, now The Local Skate shop, and either in the fall or next spring, I will have an exhibition in Japan!! Wow.
"But over the next few weeks, I am doing a DEEP dive into the negs and preparing for my first ever photo exhibition in Toronto at the cool Emissions Record Shop.
See you there!" - Ralph Alfonso
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| Check out CBC's preview of Ralph's Crash 'n' Burn exhibition right here. Yep, that's Teenage Head's Nick, Steve and Gordie. |
