'Music Changed Us' - What A Roll
Patriot Ledger, MA
Rudy Childs remembers the good old days of the now-defunct Cape Cod Coliseum.... Seeing Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, Foreigner and the J. Geils Band in concert meant pure freedom for an 18-year-old South Shore kid. Besides, Childs was busy documenting the big hair, tight pants and guitars of classic rock with a Kodak Instamatic camera. After seeing at least two concerts a month at the Coliseum and other venues from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, Childs estimates he shot photos at more than 600 shows around the country. His first concert? Aerosmith at the Boston Garden in 1976.
"I grew up on AM radio.... It was all rock 'n' roll from there," he said. "Seeing concerts was a natural progression. All the upperclassmen talked about the concerts they went to; when I turned 18, I saw every concert I could." Childs became a pro at pushing his way to the front row, snapping frames of a young David Lee Roth in mid-jump or a pale-faced Steven Tyler clutching his mike....
But as Childs got older, the rock life lost some of its feverish charm. Security got tighter, ticket prices went up and, as Childs said, his "mission was over".... But it's the stacks of scrapbooks and photo albums that take up the most space in his childhood home on North Avenue, where he now lives with his family. "I've got all these photos, I just want to give them the right treatment," he said. At the suggestion of his mother, Childs is now compiling a 60-page photo history of his concert experiences. He envisions a "coming-of-age book," a sort of real-life "Almost Famous" for the literary set....
Rudy Childs remembers the good old days of the now-defunct Cape Cod Coliseum.... Seeing Black Sabbath, Frank Zappa, Foreigner and the J. Geils Band in concert meant pure freedom for an 18-year-old South Shore kid. Besides, Childs was busy documenting the big hair, tight pants and guitars of classic rock with a Kodak Instamatic camera. After seeing at least two concerts a month at the Coliseum and other venues from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, Childs estimates he shot photos at more than 600 shows around the country. His first concert? Aerosmith at the Boston Garden in 1976.
"I grew up on AM radio.... It was all rock 'n' roll from there," he said. "Seeing concerts was a natural progression. All the upperclassmen talked about the concerts they went to; when I turned 18, I saw every concert I could." Childs became a pro at pushing his way to the front row, snapping frames of a young David Lee Roth in mid-jump or a pale-faced Steven Tyler clutching his mike....
But as Childs got older, the rock life lost some of its feverish charm. Security got tighter, ticket prices went up and, as Childs said, his "mission was over".... But it's the stacks of scrapbooks and photo albums that take up the most space in his childhood home on North Avenue, where he now lives with his family. "I've got all these photos, I just want to give them the right treatment," he said. At the suggestion of his mother, Childs is now compiling a 60-page photo history of his concert experiences. He envisions a "coming-of-age book," a sort of real-life "Almost Famous" for the literary set....
| Permalink | E-mail this post 
