Ras Pablo
Artist Statement for Ras Pablo
I am a licensed marriage family therapist who worked with special education students for 33 years. Now retired, I have lived in Santa Cruz for my entire adulthood. I have two adult children, Isabelle (in picture) and Jacob. I want to share my never before seen photos of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and many other reggae stars from back in the day, to all who appreciate the music and the message Give Thanx Paul G.
Interview Summary: Bob Marley & Peter Tosh Concert Photographs
In 1979, at just 17 and 18 years old, Paul G. captured two of reggae’s most iconic figures — Peter Tosh and Bob Marley — in electrifying live performances. These images, taken on Kodachrome slide film with his Exacta SLR camera, were never intended for commercial use. They were personal mementos from an avid young fan determined to preserve the energy, message, and presence of artists whose photographs were nearly impossible to find at the time.
Peter Tosh – February 1979, Golden Bear, Huntington Beach
Thanks to a friend who worked for a local newspaper, he entered through the backstage kitchen and was immediately struck by an almost magnetic pull toward Tosh, Sly & Robbie, and the rest of the band — a “heavier than life” presence unlike anything he’d felt before.
From a front-row seat, just five feet away, he photographed two back-to-back shows. Between sets, the band’s personal cook served a massive fish dinner, a gesture of hospitality he still remembers.
The night was marked by unique details — a substitute guitarist with a psychedelic rock edge, Peter’s razor-sharp rhythm guitar chops, acrobatic kung fu kicks, and the defiant act of smoking marijuana openly on stage in conservative Southern California, where it was still a criminal offense.
Bob Marley – December 1979, Oakland Auditorium
Nearly a year later, Paul Goldstein found himself pressed against the stage at Bob Marley’s Oakland performance. In an era before the internet, and with only a handful of magazine features, album covers, and rare TV appearances, concert photography was the only way he could have personal, lasting images of Marley.
At 18, with no formal training, he navigated the crush of the crowd to change rolls of film manually, unaware of the results until weeks later. When he first saw his most powerful shot — Marley mid-song, arm raised — he was “shaking” from the impact.
For him, Bob Marley’s music carried a deeply spiritual, almost mystical resonance. Biblical references woven into the lyrics taught him scripture he’d never learned elsewhere, while the call-and-response chants created a communal, almost tribal connection. Both Marley and Tosh’s music was steeped in messages of equal rights, anti-apartheid resistance, and fighting oppression — themes that resonated with his own experiences growing up in a predominantly white town, and experiencing discrimination and bullying that deepened his empathy for oppressed communities.
From Private Slides to Public View
For decades, these slides remained private. Life, career, and the limitations of pre-digital printing meant they were never shared widely. In college, they were once projected on a massive screen during a campus dance — an event attendees still called “the best social in Crown College history” — but otherwise, they stayed in storage.
Today, thanks to modern digitization, these photographs can be seen in their full clarity for the first time. They are not only rare visual records of two reggae legends at the height of their power, but also a personal testament from a young fan who felt the music’s political and spiritual pulse firsthand.
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I am a licensed marriage family therapist who worked with special education students for 33 years. Now retired, I have lived in Santa Cruz for my entire adulthood. I have two adult children, Isabelle (in picture) and Jacob. I want to share my never before seen photos of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and many other reggae stars from back in the day, to all who appreciate the music and the message Give Thanx Paul G.
Interview Summary: Bob Marley & Peter Tosh Concert Photographs
In 1979, at just 17 and 18 years old, Paul G. captured two of reggae’s most iconic figures — Peter Tosh and Bob Marley — in electrifying live performances. These images, taken on Kodachrome slide film with his Exacta SLR camera, were never intended for commercial use. They were personal mementos from an avid young fan determined to preserve the energy, message, and presence of artists whose photographs were nearly impossible to find at the time.
Peter Tosh – February 1979, Golden Bear, Huntington Beach
Thanks to a friend who worked for a local newspaper, he entered through the backstage kitchen and was immediately struck by an almost magnetic pull toward Tosh, Sly & Robbie, and the rest of the band — a “heavier than life” presence unlike anything he’d felt before.
From a front-row seat, just five feet away, he photographed two back-to-back shows. Between sets, the band’s personal cook served a massive fish dinner, a gesture of hospitality he still remembers.
The night was marked by unique details — a substitute guitarist with a psychedelic rock edge, Peter’s razor-sharp rhythm guitar chops, acrobatic kung fu kicks, and the defiant act of smoking marijuana openly on stage in conservative Southern California, where it was still a criminal offense.
Bob Marley – December 1979, Oakland Auditorium
Nearly a year later, Paul Goldstein found himself pressed against the stage at Bob Marley’s Oakland performance. In an era before the internet, and with only a handful of magazine features, album covers, and rare TV appearances, concert photography was the only way he could have personal, lasting images of Marley.
At 18, with no formal training, he navigated the crush of the crowd to change rolls of film manually, unaware of the results until weeks later. When he first saw his most powerful shot — Marley mid-song, arm raised — he was “shaking” from the impact.
For him, Bob Marley’s music carried a deeply spiritual, almost mystical resonance. Biblical references woven into the lyrics taught him scripture he’d never learned elsewhere, while the call-and-response chants created a communal, almost tribal connection. Both Marley and Tosh’s music was steeped in messages of equal rights, anti-apartheid resistance, and fighting oppression — themes that resonated with his own experiences growing up in a predominantly white town, and experiencing discrimination and bullying that deepened his empathy for oppressed communities.
From Private Slides to Public View
For decades, these slides remained private. Life, career, and the limitations of pre-digital printing meant they were never shared widely. In college, they were once projected on a massive screen during a campus dance — an event attendees still called “the best social in Crown College history” — but otherwise, they stayed in storage.
Today, thanks to modern digitization, these photographs can be seen in their full clarity for the first time. They are not only rare visual records of two reggae legends at the height of their power, but also a personal testament from a young fan who felt the music’s political and spiritual pulse firsthand.
Zion by Ras Pablo
1979
24x36 inches
Metal Photograph
$2400
1979
24x36 inches
Metal Photograph
$2400
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