In unexpected news, I recently found out that I will be performing “First Sight” on May 11/24 at York Woods Library Theatre. The event is not a concert but actually a book launch for some Vietnamese authors. And there just happens to be some musical entertainment. Okay, so step three of the journey from coffee bean to coffee cup is processing and milling. There are a few different ways to achieve this, but the goal is to separate the fruit from the bean. The end result is green coffee beans. And for my #coffeeoclockmugshot this week I’m going with my Doctor Who mug because I love sci-fi. This mug is extra neat because when you pour boiling water into it the Tardis disappears and reappears on the other side! #firstsight #coffeeoclock
First of all, I'm grateful for all the support I've received so far. Thanks everyone! It means a great deal to me. Interestingly, I've started to get support from outside of Canada. Spotify tells me I've got 7 monthly listeners. 4 are from Canada, but I didn't expect 2 from the UK and 1 from Pakistan. I don't think I know anybody from there, so that's pretty neat. Thank you, international strangers! By the way, "First Sight" and its ringtone (which only consists of the intro) are also available on iTunes, but because I'm using a PC I can't link to them. I've just learned that iTunes has priced the single (which is <4 mins long) at $0.99 and the ringtone (which is about 20 seconds long) at $1.29. Does anyone know why the short ringtone costs more than the full-length single? Okay, let's continue the journey from coffee bean to coffee cup. Step two is harvesting. It can take a few years for the coffee tree to mature and bear fruit, aka the coffee cherry. They are then picked by hand or machine. Finally, for my #coffeeoclockmugshot I'm going with my uncle mug. My brother gave it to me as a Christmas present a few years ago to announce that he and his wife were expecting. #firstsight #coffeeoclock Edit: I got the iTunes link (http://itunes.apple.com/album/id1736669526?ls=1&app=itunes)
So, about 7 years ago I finally had the courage to start making my dream come true. I wanted to share my music with the world. Even if nothing came of it, I didn’t want to regret not trying. I have no idea what I’m doing, which is why it’s taken me this long . . . better late than never! Today I’m proud to introduce my lead single, “First Sight”. “This beautifully evocative piece communicates the moment when two people glance at each other for the first time. Their eyes briefly lock together and then quickly dart away. Working up the courage to say hello, they can’t help but wonder about all the magical possibilities.” Buy: https://alphonsenguyen.bandcamp.com/track/first-sight Stream: https://social.tunecore.com/linkShare?linkid=gYVjFJPD4li0EtmvePZXTw YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx5Hvmu0Usw Merch: https://alphonsenguyen.com/store Also, I would like to announce that my debut album, Coffee O’Clock, will be released on July 12/24, so mark your calendars! And don’t forget to follow/subscribe and join my mailing list (which gives you access to a free track, “For All Those We’ve Lost”). On another note, since my EP is java themed, I decided to track the journey from coffee bean to coffee cup. The first step is planting. Coffee beans are actually seeds that will eventually grow into coffee trees. The seedlings start off in shaded nurseries before they are planted permanently. And now for a bit of fun. I’m doing a java-themed giveaway! For 9 weeks I will be posting my mug shots (get it?). I figure we’ve all collected various mugs over the years, so I’d like to see what you’ve got. Post your mug shot using #coffeeoclockmugshot (1 entry per week, for a total of 9 entries), and at the end of it all we’ll decide on the winner (who'll get some free merch). This week, I’m posing with “my hug in a mug”, which is a mug you can buy from my store. The only difference between the mug in my mugshot and the mug from my store is the heart-shaped handle. I messed up with my merch supplier, so unfortunately I’m not able to offer heart-shaped handles for sale. Just plain handles. #notagoodstart #firstsight #coffeeoclock