In a small upstairs gallery at the Augusta Museum of History, a forever-youthful Jimi Hendrix weaves a psychedelic soundscape against the backdrop of a breeze-kissed American flag. But no sound escapes from the silenced Stratocaster. Hendrix is dead and gone, and the soaring sound of that moment is lost forever, except in the memory of one man living half a continent away.
For more than 30 years and over the course of more than 3,000 concerts, photographer Larry Hulst of Colorado Springs, Colo., has been capturing musicians in the act of creating music. Some, such as Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jerry Garcia, are instantly recognizable. Others - obscure bluesmen and would-be rock stars - have remained anonymous. But every shot, every frame on the estimated 15,000 negatives, represents a clear and specific memory in Mr. Hulst's mind.
"That's what photography is about, for me," Mr. Hulst said in a recent telephone interview. "It takes you back to that moment. I look at that image of Jimi, and I know exactly what was going on when I took it. It's a memory for me."
A collection of 75 of Mr. Hulst's images, a veritable who's who of rock history, has been touring the country since 1999. The exhibition opens Saturday at the Augusta Museum of History, 560 Reynolds St. Joining Hendrix on the gallery walls are photographs of rock pioneers such as Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis, stadium-era giants such as Kiss and The Who and punk performers such as the Ramones and Iggy Pop. Mr. Hulst admitted that he never met a live performance he didn't like.
"From 1969 on, I went to see everyone," he said. "I loved the big shows, the festivals - I even went to Altamont. There was one night I shot Willie Nelson and then drove across town and saw the Dead Kennedys. I've always felt like I had to be ready to shoot everything."
Mr. Hulst said he was fortunate to get his start in rock photography in an era before strictures and restraints were put on camera-wielding fans. Mr. Hulst, who stands tall at 6-foot-5 said that until the end of the '70s, capturing a performance through the camera's eye was easy.
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A crown worn by James Brown is part of an exhibit showing the area's musical past. The exhibit is presented with a collection of rock star photos taken by Larry Hulst.
CHRIS THELEN/STAFF |
"Once artists became protective of their image I had to start sneaking cameras in," he admitted. "That got to be pretty tough. My height, which had always been helpful in shooting shows, made me pretty easy to recognize. The punk rock people never cared, though. For them, the camera was just one more object flying through the air.
Eventually, Mr. Hulst's discerning eye landed him gigs with music magazines and record companies. A long-time spot on the staff of Relix, a magazine dedicated to the Grateful Dead, made him a mainstay at the California band's legendary concerts. He said that his association with the Dead did have drawbacks, that he feels there are some holes in his personal concert archives.
"There are some obvious people not on those walls," he said ruefully. "I mean, it would have been nice to have gone to a single Bob Marley show while I was going to those 300 Dead shows. John Lennon would have been good too, but he quit coming to the West Coast in 1966, and I didn't get back from Vietnam until 1969."
While finding a favorite among thousands of performances might seem an impossible task, Mr. Hulst said there are certain acts and certain nights that remain special to him. He remembers evenings spent with Pearl Jam and the Clash, a band he saw 10 times, as something special. But nothing, he said, can compare to the Last Waltz, the farewell performance of the Band.
"That's the best show I ever went to," Mr. Hulst said without hesitation. "It was basically a two-hour show. But then (Band member) Robbie Robertson asked people to stick around for a while. They played a two-and-a-half hour encore. That's the kind of thing you just can't pay for."
With so many memories and so many performances photographed, Mr. Hulst admitted that coming up with a representative body of work for the exhibition was challenging.
"That was the hardest part, coming up with 75 pictures," he said. "It's really hard to figure out what pictures people want to see on the wall. I mean, I used to sell photos at the Grateful Dead shows, and people would snap up shots of Kiss."
ROCK ON
WHAT: Thirty Years of Rock and Roll: Photography by Larry Hulst
WHERE: The Augusta Museum of History, 560 Reynolds St.
WHEN: Through March 16. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; 1-5 p.m. Sunday
COST: $4 adults, $3 seniors, $2 students 6-18. Children under 6 free. Call 722-8454.
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
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