Mark “Weissguy” Weiss got his start in photography as a teenager in the 1970s in Matawan, New Jersey. After getting his first camera in trade for mowing a neighbor’s lawn for the summer, Weiss began sneaking into concerts, and the rest is quite literally rock history. He has traveled the globe photographing countless legends, including Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi and KISS.
Weiss documented historic events (e.g. US Festival, Live Aid, the Moscow Music Peace Festival, the PMRC hearings in Washington, D.C.). His photographs have been published in thousands of magazines worldwide. He is responsible for two of the hard rock’s defining album covers, Bon Jovi’s “Slippery When Wet” and Twisted Sister’s “Stay Hungry.” And if all that isn’t enough, Weiss is who introduced Ozzy Osbourne to long-time guitarist Zakk Wylde and Skid Row to singer Sebastian Bach.
Weiss’ latest book is “The Decade That Rocked “ – as featuring a foreword by Judas Priest’s Rob Halford and an afterword by radio favorite Eddie Trunk – which currently has an associated exhibit at the Monmouth Museum in Lincroft, New Jersey. Like the book, his “The Decade That Rocked” exhibit showcases onstage and backstage moments and never-before-seen images from hard rock’s most historic concerts, tours and multiplatinum album covers, all captured through Weiss’ lens. The exhibit also features memorabilia from his private collection and will take visitors through Weiss’ journey on his path to becoming one of the most iconic and celebrated photographers in rock.
On Sept. 29, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark “Weissguy” Weiss via phone about his past, present and future, as embedded below. Among other topics, we spoke about Weiss’ Jewish roots, photographing David Lee Roth and Van Halen over the years, Ronnie James Dio’s “Hear ‘n Aid” project, Weiss’ plans for future books, the differences between photographing musicians in the early 1980s versus modern day, and plenty more.
More information on Mark Weiss and “The Decade That Rocked” can be found here and here.
