Band Bio

Out of the dark, damp west coast of Canada, Bongokopter arrived. It was late 1991 and Jimmy Temper was thinking of trying a new band. He had been playing in Ngoma for a few years touring the landscapes of Western Canada. Career highs included opening for artist such as Desmond Dekker and Pablo Moses but, nonetheless, it was time to move on. Unfortunately, 1992 signalled the decline of many live music venues in Vancouver. In response, Jimmy stumbled down to New Orleans and found some inspiration playing the streets. After returning to Canada and staying in Toronto, Jimmy met Sneaky T, who came here from a housing colony in Budapest. They got the idea to start a band and began rehearsing together in 2006. Then, while searching for a drummer, Alberto Suarez appeared adding a vital chemistry to the group. Alberto lived in Cuba until 2003 when he came to Canada. He played percussion since the age of 13 and had many years of formal training in Cuba. He performed with bands ranging from Latin artists such as Hilario Duran, Luis Mario Ochoa and Ruben Vasquez to Canadian Celtic musician Julie Leahy. Currently, Bongokopter has a 4 song EP that was recorded at Puck's Farm. The songs were produced with a great deal of help by Walter Sobczak and Frazier Mohawk. Walter Sobczak has been a producer for many years with credits such as the Dirty Dancing Soundtrack, Michie Mee and The Barenaked Ladies. In addition, he was one of the founding members of Raggadeath in the mid 1990's. Frazier Mohawk's resume includes attending a boarding school run in part by Aldous Huxley and working as a publicist for The Beatles 1964 Hollywood Bowl Concert, and Ike Turner. Furthermore, he produced artists such as David Lindley in Kaleidoscope, Nico and The Holy Modal Rounders on Elektra Records, while also helping to assemble groups such as Buffalo Springfield. The studio band also included percussionist Rick Lazar, Max Senitt and Michael Fonfara who played with Jimmy Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Lou Reed, Sly and Robbie, and Booker T. & the M.G's just to mention a few. With a repertoire of over 20 original songs Bongokopter is finally ready to take the world by storm!