When I was contacted to talk with Detroit photography legend Tom Weschler and I jumped at the chance. Tom has an exhibit now through September at the Detroit Historical Museum titled “Traveling Man: On The Road And Behind The Scenes With Bob Seger“.
The thing about Tom is that not only did he capture some great pictures of bands that came through Detroit in the late 60s, 70s, and 80s, but he’s an awesome storyteller of some of these great rock stories.
Tom told me lots of things including…
-How he started out in the business
-The legendary bands he’s had the chance to shoot throughout the years
-How and when he met Bob Seger for the first time and became his road manager
-How he got the iconic picture of the first time Bob Seger met Bruce Springsteen
-A great story of him and the late Queen singer, Freddie Mercury
-The rock band behind the name of his son, Ian ( I loved this story)
The late Ken Calvert was pivotal in the picture with Bob and Bruce. A phone call to Bob’s manager, Punch Andrews, made it happen. Tom explains the entire story, as well as how he got the iconic photo.
He also told me about the relationship he had with the guys from KISS, as well as a picture he recently gave Paul Stanley after the band received their first Gold record way back in the ’70s. He also relayed some Alice Cooper stories, including one of the band jamming in a local garage.
It wasn’t all about rock though. Tom told stories of working with R&B artists and more. He spoke to working with Run DMC and Richard Golden. Who remembers him?
I hadn’t realized but many of the pictures around the radio station were taken by Tom. You can see some of them below, along with the famous picture he took of Seger and Springsteen.
I really enjoyed my conversation with Tom, who has been around WRIF for many years. Thank you to his manager Alex Greene for setting up the interview.
Watch the entire interview below and enjoy some of the pictures he took.
Tom and I with his iconic photo
I walk by this picture every day at work. One of the most iconic pictures from Detroit’s musical past.
Bob Seger Meets Bruce Springsteen
Here is the original photo Tom took. As he explained in the interview, he was the only photographer in the room for a short period of time. He also took a photo with the guys, and the late, great “Casual One”, Ken Calvert.
tom with gene simmons of KISS
I LOVE this picture. It’s another one I walk past every day on the way to the studio. Guys from David Ellefson to John 5 have commented on this photo while walking through the building.
the romantics
Here’s a picture Tom took of the legendary Detroit band The Romantics. This was at Woodward Studio in 1979.
the who
Here’s another picture that hangs in the halls of the mighty RIFF. It’s The Who at the Grande Ballroom in 1968 taken by Tom.
ted nugent
Here’s a very young Ted Nugent signing albums. Tom took this photo at WABX in the ’70s.
Bob Seger and the silver bullet band
Look at those young faces. Sad to think that some of them aren’t with us anymore. This was for the Live Bullet Gold record presentation at Cobo Hall in 1976
The MC5
This is a picture Tom took of the MC5 at Meadowbrook in 1968.
