THE DECADE THAT ROCKED !

I recently had the honor of being invited to the Decade that Rocked! Exhibition in New York City at the Gallery Bar. It was hosted by Rock Paper Photo and was guest curated by Phil Collen of Def Leppard. The event exhibited photos by Mark "weissguy" Weiss who is an extraordinary Rock photographer who captured some of the most iconic moments in Rock and Roll history. Mark's impressive list of clients include legends like Journey, Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses, Rolling Stones, Def Leppard, Rick James, The Police, Van Halen...and the list goes on. Many of his photos are some of the most memorable and recognizable in music today. You can check out some of his work here. I also had the pleasure of being at this event with  Southbanks, a prolific and incredibly talented alternative hip hop band that is poised to be the next band to change the music landscape. I also would like to thank Chris Mitchell, who is SouthBanks' bassist  for inviting me to this event; without him I wouldn't have had this amazing opportunity to meet so many interesting people. Chris did a superb job editing the video that was played during the show; it  truly captured the spirit and attitude of the 80's rock culture and their fight to stop music censorship.

Speaking of music censorship, here's a little background: In 1985 the Parent Music Resource Center was founded by Tipper Gore ( Algore's wife ), Susan Baker (  Former Secretary of States James Baker's Wife) and Pam Howar. The aim of the committee was to push the censorship of music that were deemed inappropriate or contained sexual or drug references. In September of 1985, three musicians who were Frank Zappa, Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, and John Denver went to the Senate to defend Rock and Roll from the threats of censorship. The hearing ended with the RIAA agreeing to put the "Parental Advisory"  sticker,  known as "Tipper Sticker" on records at their own discretion. This event is the inspiration for the new movie Rock of Ages.

PS: if you see yourself in some of these photos and want a copy, please contact me via my website: www.lamnguyenphotography.com

Popping off some shots before the show 

Guest Curator Phil Collen and Rock Paper Photo CEO Mark Halpern 

My favorite photo 

He was spot on with the music the whole night 

Mark Halpern, Phil Collen and Mark Weiss 

Thanks to Rock Paper Photo for hosting an amazing event 

South Banks : Drummer : Vinny Zerbo, bassist Chris Mitchell, and guitaris Alex Hayes 

Vinny Zerbo and artist David Banegas 

South Banks and David Banegas 

Jeff Davis, producer of the movie Rock of Ages, Phil Collen the guest curator and Mark Weiss the exhibiting photographer. 

Jess Snider ( Dee Snider's son, host of MTV2RoCK ), Phil Collen and Mark Weiss

Ed Baum CMO of Rock Paper Photo

My awesome new friends Lisa Yang and Whitney Hussein 

Mark Weiss talking about the exhibition 

John and Charlotte Mitchell with Karen Zerbo 

David working on his painting of Tom Cruise's character on Rock of Ages 

Dancing ? 

Stepping out to a rainy NYC night  

Vinny Zerbo, my self and Alex Hayes 

Lambburger, holy sheep it's delicious  

We discovered this guy shredding like nobody's business 

I wiould like to end with this awesome street art i found on a van