The Fuel that Drives Mark ‘The Animal’ Mendoza

Twisted Sister bassist continues to rock a new generation with solo projects, collaborations and storytelling

By Amy Nicole

With hit songs such as, “We’re Not Gonna Take It” and “I Wanna Rock” Mark “The Animal” Mendoza rose to fame as Twisted Sister’s bassist and has since left no stone unturned rocking on stage, talking about music as a profession, and living a life he promised he would.

Most people have defining moments in their life and for Mark, as he reflected on his career, he said, the first of many came from his parents. Both his parents, WWII veterans, gave him strong examples of courage as well as an introduction to music.

At about 6-years-old, living in Malverne, N.Y., the Long Island native said he recalled his first memories of music from when he watched his parents dance to swing music. Even though he didn’t know what it was really about, he said, the one thing that got him was the rhythm of the music.

“At the time, they were into two types of music. They were into big band music, swing and the crooners,” he said.

Having picked up his first salvaged guitar at the age of 9, Mark, who was seemingly determined from the start, took his meager savings to a local music store to get some strings. Thankfully Mark said, the man who worked there was kind enough to put the strings on for him and show him how to do it.

By the age of 12, Mark picked up his first bass; essentially self-taught listening to 50’s rock on the radio like Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis. He said he realized quickly there were many more openings for a bass player and the rest was history.

“Everything I have done professionally has been on bass,” he said.

Throughout high school Mark not only became engulfed in music, but he also became an avid mechanic with a passion for motors, cars, motorcycles and a life on the road he still lives out today.

In 1974 after he had graduated high school, his friend Freddy came to him to get him to try out for this rock band: The Dictators. In that instance, his entire destiny came to life.

At the time, he considered it a wild proposition. His friend told him it wasn’t going to be music he liked but told him he thought the band was going places. He recalled him saying: “just be yourself and show them how it’s done.”

Taking a leap of faith, Mark said he learned all ten songs in about ten minutes and showed up for the audition at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

“To this day when I play a great gig with Twisted Sister, Joel Rock and the Allstars, anybody, I will give a good poke in the chest and yell, ‘That’s how it’s done,’” followed by a two-word expletive he said, which has turned out to be a line many people he performs with have come to know him for.

Through his emerging years with The Dictators rocking giant hair and touring with bands like Blue Oyster Cult until 1978 fate then brought along his induction to Twisted Sister. The band founded by Jay Jay French and eventually Dee Snider, called home to Long Island and New Jersey and when Mark was home in between tours he said he would go check them out.

Already knowing TS, having seen them on the scene, Mark said he signed on to help out on the road as a tour manager in his downtime post Dictators. He traveled on tour with three loaded sets every night; giving him the opportunity to jump on stage and play all the time.

“I played every night. Sometimes during the main shows. I knew all the songs, all the copy songs. I knew the originals,” he said.

Despite his relationship with the band, he said, he was in complete shock when the tour was over and Jay Jay French called him up during the wee hours of one Sunday morning telling him he had a band for him.

While trying to wrap his brain around the conversation he was having, he could only ask: “What band?” In which Jay Jay simply said: “Twisted Sister.”

After an absolute “yes,” the true heart of the matter came to the forefront of his mind; telling his hero and veteran father who was gravely ill in the hospital.

Having always been supportive of Mark’s passion for music and knowing the guys in the band, Mark said his father congratulated him on the news. It was only four days before his opening show while visiting his father, who he recalls still being a powerful man, when he said he squeezed his hand and made him promise as he made that jump in WWII he would do the same no matter what happens.

The next day on December 7, 1978, Pearl Harbor Day, Mark’s father Ray passed away and in time of grief his mom insisted he make his debut. That’s what his father would have wanted him to do. Three days later, he kept going as promised and on December 10, 1978, Mark debuted as the new bassist of Twisted Sister.

“I think about the chronological order of those four days. The happiest times of my life and the saddest time,” he said.

Life for Mark was forever given new meaning in that moment, and he never looked back. In the years that followed Mark traveled the world with TS opening for bands such as Iron Maiden and Metallica. With that he also earned the nickname “the animal” among peers as a larger-than-life bass player who meant business on and off the stage.

Throughout the years Mark has never stopped working with independent artists, playing in bands, writing and producing songs, hosting radio shows, voiceovers, and even acting to his credit.

In a world where collaboration has recently become the mainstream definition of a working concept long been practiced Mark has built an entire career through the art of collaborating.

At any given time, he can be found getting on stage with local bands and stepping out to support, recording in the studio, writing songs, or at the radio station working on various projects.

Most recently, Mark can be heard on Long Island’s 94.3 The Shark on the new Sunday night rock show, “Rock and a Hard Place” hosted alongside longtime friends and radio personalities Rob Rush and Billy Mira.

While Mark is the founder of his own production company, Area 22 Productions, where during the pandemic the trio hosted their first show together, “Rollin With,” he said he is currently focused on his work with 94.3 The Shark.

In a time where the world of radio is ever evolving, Mark said he is grateful for station parent Connoisseur Media being such an example of great support giving Rob, program director for The Shark, the platform for them to bring their interviews, song picks and conversations of past and present rock music to listeners on the airwaves and through streaming.

“That’s the wave of the future and the future is here; It’s what people are doing, and I put it out it there to my fans around the world they can stream it,” he said.

For those local or visiting fans to Long Island looking to take in some Twisted Sister music history the Long Island Music & Entertainment Hall of Fame located in Stony Brook, N.Y. has become home to memorabilia and original costumes for the 2006 inductees.

Whether Mark is playing bass on stage, writing songs and scripts, acting in films as cameos like he did with Twisted Sister for “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure” in 1985 or independent films he is currently working on, he said he just loves doing it all.

“I love it as much as I did when I was 12 years old,” he said.