The David Z Foundation (DZF), which provides music education and programming for underprivileged children around the world, has revealed that it has partnered with acclaimed rock photographer Mark Weiss for a Charity Buzz auction that will support a DZF scholarship in Weiss’ late brother’s name Jay Weiss. The auction is currently underway at www.charitybuzz.com/support/DavidZFoundation and features some of his most iconic photographs including rare shots of Queen, Ozzy Osbourne, Jerry Garcia and more. The auction ends Thursday, February 9.
Weiss credits his brother Jay for his love of music and said “He took me to my first concert and introduced me to music. He had a garage band that practiced across the street from our house where I would go after school and hang out reading Circus magazine. I thank Paulie for inviting me to honor my older brother Jay, who sadly passed away in 2005 at the age of 48. Jay struggled with mental illness throughout his life; music often helped him get through to the next day.”
Weiss turned to DZF to create the scholarship for his brother as the non-profit was founded by singer/guitarist Paulie Z in honor of his own late brother David Z, who performed with Adrenaline Mob, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and ZO2. The two starred in their own TV series “Z Rock” on the IFC network and were known together as “The Z Brothers.” They were very active in developing young people through music and to continue the legacy, the DZF was created to raise money for music education in David Z’s memory.
Today, DZF works both domestically and abroad to bring students into the world of music by providing a deeper knowledge and experience with instruments, songwriting, recording, music video production, band dynamics, and live performances, through kids workshops and classes and personal training with some of the biggest names in the industry.
The Jay Scholarship will specifically provide music programming to youth that struggle with mental health challenges.
For more information about DZF, visit www.davidzfoundation.org.
Follow DZF @davidzfoundation
About The David Z Foundation
The David Z Foundation is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization started by singer/guitarist Paul Zablidowsky in memory of his brother and bandmate bassist David Zablidowsky. Inclusive of all and serving a diverse population of underprivileged kids, our aim is to instill a passion for music in kids while providing them with engaging music education opportunities and funding, putting together collaborations between kids and veteran music industry professionals and developing programs within academic school settings as well as music schools, both across the country and internationally. We bring students into the world of music by providing deeper knowledge and experience with instruments, songwriting, recording, music video production, band dynamics and live performances, and offer kids workshops on the music industry itself. In their own schools, the programs we co-design get kids to use the crafts of songwriting, recording and video production to create work which helps explain educational concepts in creative and stylish ways. The foundation’s interest in defining new avenues for music as a helping tool has also led to the application of music in programs for kids with emotional and mental health challenges. The foundation is looking ahead to future programs that will continue a strong focus on music education and well-being through music.
About Mark Weiss
Mark “Weissguy” Weiss is a world-renowned photographer who has traveled the globe photographing legends from Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Aerosmith, and Mötley Crüe to Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Bon Jovi, and KISS. Weiss’ iconic images capture the artists onstage, backstage, and behind the scenes. He visually documented historic events including the U.S. Festival, Live Aid, the Moscow Music Peace Festival, and the PMRC hearings in Washington, D.C.. His photographs have been published in thousands of magazines worldwide, and he is responsible for two of the era’s defining album covers, Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet and Twisted Sister’s Stay Hungry. His inimitable photographs helped craft the visual imagery of rock and metal in the 1980s.
###