Caravan of Pain

The True Story of the Tattoo the Earth Tour

Non-Fiction - Autobiography
184 Pages
Reviewed on 01/11/2022
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Author Biography

Scott Alderman began working in the live music business after getting thrown out of college in 1979, first as a roadie and stage manager in rock & roll, and then as road manager, agent, and club owner in the jazz business. After getting clean in 1987, he worked in human services as a counselor at an AIDS hospice in New York City, and at psychiatric hospitals and methadone clinics in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. In the nineties, his career included stints in management and operations, first at Lehman Brothers and then at Morgan Stanley. In 1998, he was on the management team that took a consolidation of national messenger and courier companies public. ​The turn of the millennium saw Scott return to the music business to launch the Tattoo the Earth festivals. In 2001, after the law banning tattooing in Massachusetts was overturned, he produced the first tattoo festivals in the state. ​More recently, he ran a program at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was a founding director of the Center for Narrative Practice.

Scott lives in Massachusetts with his wife and kid.

    Book Review

Reviewed by K.C. Finn for Readers' Favorite

Caravan of Pain: The True Story of the Tattoo the Earth Tour is a work of non-fiction in the autobiography and music memoir subgenres, and was penned by author Scott Alderman. Intended for the adult reading audience, the book does contain explicit language and moderate references to adult situations. As the subtitle suggests, the book takes us through the author’s personal experience of creating a touring music and tattoo festival that roamed across America in the year 2000, causing chaos in its wake. Featuring some of the most famous metal bands on the planet and an incredible cast of larger-than-life artists, the work seeks to deliver a no-holds-barred account of what really took place on this insane tour.

Author Scott Alderman pulls no punches in his account of the Tattoo the Earth Tour, and it will be a nostalgic trip for those who can (perhaps barely) remember the heady days of metal music some twenty years ago. For me personally, as a teen at the time, I loved all the references to fantastic metal bands like Slayer, Metallica, and Slipknot, and I thought these were woven into the backstage stories really well. The tattooing aspect really fascinated me to see it from the perspective of the artists, and I feel that Alderman really captures a specific spirit and unique subculture in his viciously humorous work. Overall, I would certainly recommend Caravan of Pain to fans of the rock/metal scene and music history enthusiasts alike. A memoir filled with excitement and not to be missed.