Since the first Ralph CD in 1995, Ralph Alfonso's vision of 50s jazz, poetry, lounge, and 60s rock has established him as one of Canada's most unique artistic, musical and literary voices; garnering praise from such diverse sources as Peter Gzowski, Ross Porter, Lenny Kaye, The Toronto Star, The Vancouver Sun, Flipside, Calgary Herald, Grand Royal Magazine, MuchMusic, CBC TV, Alternative Press (USA) & way more. Years ago, after seeing him on the New Music punk special, Sloan chased Ralph into a Vancouver bookstore & asked his advice on whether to sign to a major or indie label (Ralph said go indie - but they signed to Geffen instead). Ralph is a Canadian institution unto himself, a real Beatnik whose stories of everyday life and joys appeal to all ages, all backgrounds, and all lifestyles. Fans of Jonathan Richman, Stompin' Tom, Ben Vaughn, Mose Allison, Ray Davies, Gene Vincent, Rita MacNeil, MC 900FT Jesus, Soul Coughing, Barenaked Ladies (their indie cassette), & weirdos in general, will understand Ralph.
Sophisticated Boom Boom is the 3rd Ralph CD. This time Ralph and bandmates Tom Harrison, Michael Rummen, Tracy Marks & Ron Stelting apply their patented Bongo Beat® to ska, jazz, folk, punk, reggae, spoken word, rockabilly and more. Highlights include a radical re-working of "Tired Of Waking Up Tired" (Ralph used to manage The Diodes), the title cut (an old Shangri Las b-side, re-done Beatnik style), "I'll Remember" (every Ralph cd has a Kinks cover or reference), "Jangly Love Song" (co-written with and featuring Dave Rave and Lauren Agnelli), "Gene Vincent Died In My Arms Last Night", "If I Could Forget You, You Know I'd Be Glad To", and "Saturday's Angel" a short tribute for Allen Ginsberg written and taped the day he passed away (this short piece was uploaded to the RALPH web page the day after it was recorded and has been widely distributed amongst beat sites).
- Cover painting is by Tom Bagley (aka Tomb aka Jackson Phibes of Forbidden Dimension). Recorded and mixed in a week with special guests Graham Brown of Happy Man (harmonica, guitar, bass) and Graham Howell (Ska-Boom) adding sax & swingin jazz flute.
- RALPH (Coffee Jazz and Poetry), Ralph's monthly beat pop zine, has a circulation of 6000 and is available all over Canada, the USA, UK, etc. If you want it in your store, contact Ralph directly to get on his mailing list!
