May 12th, 2014 
Derek Scancarelli 
Under The Gun sent photographer, Derek Scancarelli, to the Tilles Center in Greenvale, NY to photograph the iconic Sixto Rodriguez on May 6, 2014.
In 1970, Sixto Rodriguez released Cold Fact through Sussex Records. Instead of joining the ranks of iconic American singer-songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Rodriguez fell by the wayside of the stateside music industry.
In 2013 Searching For Sugar Man won an Academy Award for “Best Documentary Feature.” The film revolves around the story of two South Africans on the hunt to find out the truth about the elusive American psych-folk musician Sixto Rodriguez. In the apartheid-ridden 1970s of South Africa, Rodriguez was so famous and well-known that he was compared to the likes of John Lennon. In Africa, it was rumored that he’d been dead for years. Some fans were convinced he’d committed suicide on stage. In actuality, he was living in poverty working a demolition job in Detroit.
If you’re into “rockumentaries,” this film is a must-see. Although there has been some criticism and speculation as to omissions in the tale of Rodriguez’s international success, it makes the story no less interesting. It will take you on a wild ride through the history of music worldwide, apartheid, and how people have had their music wrongfully traded way before the internet even existed.
Check out below to hear about the concert and see UTG’s exclusive photos of Rodriguez performing in New York.
Seeing Rodriguez was an incredible and humbling experience, even if we are two months out from his 72nd birthday. Watching the nearly-blind man get escorted to the microphone was a bit disheartening, but once he got his guitar under control it was a sight to be seen. At 71, you can’t jump around the stage like a madman or wail out guitar solos, but what Rodriguez could do was play with grace and finesse. In between tracks, he’d regularly get himself together, turning down the volume on his guitar to make sure he had his bearings straight for the next song.
“I wonder how many times you’ve had sex. And I wonder do you know who’ll be next?” sings Rodriguez without hesitation. The 150-second track from 1970 was severely risque in South Africa due to excessive censorship. Hearing him sing the words in 2014 almost transformed me to a time and place where you couldn’t sing about anything anywhere. It was a grounding moment, a beautiful one. Despite the current and eve-growing notion of political correctness in this country, it is nice to live in a world with freedom of speech in arts and culture. It’s important to recognize that.
The disappointing truth about Rodriguez’s show wasn’t his performance. Don’t get me wrong, he’s 71 and almost blind. There were parts of the show where he wasn’t hitting every (or any) note and the songs seemed pretty off timing-wise. That didn’t matter to me, I was just in awe of his presence. What did upset me was that the 2,300-person performing arts center had only 800 seats filled. I’m not sure if it was poor promotion or what happened, but the fact that I hadn’t heard of the show until my father mentioned it is probably a problem. At least I get to say I’ve seen Rodriguez live, and from the front row. Big thanks to whatever executive decided he didn’t feel like going to the show!
SIXTO RODRIGUEZ
Photography by: Derek Scancarelli Follow @DerekUTG
Check out D. SKANK PHOTOGRAPHY.
Comedian Jim Norton once called him a serial killer on national radio. Enjoy the internet with him on Twitter.
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