Punk photo exhibit draws the crowds at Oshawa’s Biltmore

With a mostly black and white collection of gritty images from the late 70s punk scene, set amidst the gaudy 1930s splendour of Oshawa’s Biltmore Theatre mezzanine, Ralph Alfonso’s This Ain’t Hollywood photo exhibit was a study in contrasts.

It also proved to a popular event, with people looking to remember the wild and crazy times happening in Toronto, New York and the UK a half century ago, those curious about the music vibes from those times and others wanting snap up a pic or two of music icons from their youth keeping the venue busy and Alfonso on his toes throughout the four-hour show.

“It went great. Looks like we set a new record for afternoon bar sales on the mezzanine,” Alfonso said with a smile, adding that he plans to return in the fall with another photo show and possibly an appearance with his ‘Beatnik’ trio band.

This Ain’t Hollywood is the first punk photography exhibition in Oshawa on the music scene created by artists such as Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, Diodes, Ramones, Bif Naked, Teenage Head, Talking Heads, Dead Boys, Richard Hell, Stranglers, Mo-Dettes, The Curse, Viletones, Barracudas, The Jam, Clash, B-Girls, The Nerves, Chelsea and many more.

In addition to managing the Diodes and the Crash ‘n’ Burn Club (Canada’s first punk club, built by and run by the bands); Alfonso 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.

“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,” Alfonso said. “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.”

“I’m still finding amazing images I didn’t realize I had.”

Alfonso said some of the new images discovered since an earlier photo exhibit a decade ago include colour shots of Iggy Pop, Patti Smith and the Viletones.

“Old school punk is having a moment,” Alfonso noted, citing the 50th anniversary of punk (the Ramones 1976 debut as ground zero) and exhibitions happening in New York and London.

Alfonso is taking the show on the road to Niagara Falls (June 28) next, followed by London (July 5), Moncton (Aug. 1) and Ottawa (Aug 15), with plans to hit Japan next year.