METALLICA Pays Tribute To JON And MARSHA ZAZULA: 'We Felt We Were Cared For By Them'

In a recent episode of "The Metallica Report", the podcast offering weekly insider updates on all things METALLICA, METALLICA frontman James Hetfield, drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist Kirk Hammett remembered Megaforce Records founder Jon "Jonny Z" Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula. Megaforce is widely credited for launching the career of METALLICA by releasing the band's first two albums, 1983's "Kill 'Em All" and 1984's "Ride The Lightning", before METALLICA landed a major label deal with Elektra. Megaforce's roster has also included such artists as ANTHRAX, TESTAMENT, OVERKILL, Ace Frehley, MINISTRY, KING'S X, STORMTROOPERS OF DEATH and RAVEN.

Lars said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was the spring of 1983, and we had just moved up to San Francisco. We got a call, an invitation from a very enthusiastic Jonny Zazula, who was in New Jersey."

Hetfield added: "I remember going out at the El Cerrito house, the METALLI-mansion, going around to a phone booth with Lars and him talking to Jonny over the phone. And he's, like, 'Yeah, I just connected with this guy who got our tape.' And back then tape trading was the thing. That's how you got your music around. I just remember talking on the phone with him and Lars just saying, 'Hey, this guy in New Jersey really likes us and he's passionate about us and it feels great. It feels right.'"

Ulrich continued: "We were ready for whatever at that time. We threw all our shit in a U-Haul truck. We spent about a week going across the country and ended up in Old Bridge, New Jersey."

Hetfield added: "We'd never met [Jonny], never seen him — nothing. And we hop in this U-Haul and go out. And I remember when we pulled up to his house eventually, one of the first things we had to tell him was, 'Hey, we're here and we're getting rid of our lead guitar player [Dave Mustaine].' He's, like, 'Okay. Well, let's keep going.' We shared the same vision. So it felt absolutely right at the time."

Kirk said: "Well, when I first arrived to the music building [in Jamaica, Queens], I remember meeting those guys, the rest of the guys in the band, and we started rehearsing right away. We rehearsed, like, two or three days. And someone was saying, 'Yeah, Jonny, he's the guy who's starting the record label, who's signing us.' And so we were gonna go out to [Jonny's record] store for the first time out in New Jersey, Rock N' Roll Heaven. So we all piled in the car. And then the very first picture I took with the band was out that day out in the parking lot after seeing Jonny and Marsha at Rock N' Roll Heaven. And at some point it just became intolerable to stay at the music building. There was no hot water, no heat, it was wintertime, there was snow. It was just horrible. So, we all moved in to Jonny's house, into the basement. And then that was something."

Lars said: "Ground zero for everything that was METALLICA and the Zazulas was in Old Bridge, New Jersey, was their house. I believe it was 60 York Street. Most of us didn't quite have the highest degree of social skills, but we managed to get through it without anybody getting too pissed off. And underneath it, obviously, was a sense of love and a sense of connection and a sense of appreciation for the doors that were opened."

James added: "Yeah, we were taken in by Jonny and Marsha and they were sustaining us with food and place to sleep, shelter, kind of parent-like, which was cool, which was needed at the time. We were just wild and kind of unruly, and we knew what we wanted to do, but we didn't know how to get there. And he helped us get there. Yeah, very, very, very kind and loving. Him and his family were there, and we're like extended family now. METALLICA is in the house. [Laughs]"

Kirk: "We liked it because it was like an actual roof over our heads and that we weren't staying in an office building. I mean, it felt like we were in a house even though it was just the basement. It was great."

Lars said: "We, basically, would sleep down in the basement. We would eat meals with them, the family, the kids. And there was definitely a very communal energy about all of it. Jonny and Marsha, obviously, were sort of the parents to not just their own kids, but to all of us, and they were very patient and gracious to let us sleep and kind of sort of inhabit their whole world."

James said: "In our late teens, early 20s, [we were] kind of drinking a lot and going a little crazy, dirty, destroying stuff and raiding their liquor cabinet. I remember we — yeah, there was no liquor left and we popped open some bottle of champagne, and he was pissed. He's, like, 'Dude, I was saving that. That was the champagne from our wedding.' And it's, like, 'Oh.' So they put up with a lot of shit from us. He found us a place to live after that, at Metal Joe's house out in more of a farm area, where we could just kind of be wild animals and not destroy his house."

Kirk said: "We didn't have anyone else. There was no one else to help us out at that point on the East Coast. And we didn't have any money. We didn't have any allies on the East Coast. [We couldn't] call [anyone] up and go, 'Hey, can I stay on your couch?' None of us had any of that. So, Jonny and Marsha opening up their house to us was an amazing thing."

James said: "What set the Zazulas apart was that they were extremely passionate. They were metalheads. They loved metal. They had worked with ANVIL. They had done a few things with VENOM and RAVEN. Yeah, they had other bands they were working with, but we felt we were cared for by them. They were representing METALLICA well. Most other management companies, they had a whole roster of bands and you kind of had to [go], 'Hello, can we get some tour support?' or 'Help us.' It was one-on-one with us."

Lars said: "But they were just a great team, Jon and Marsha. And Marsha was the backbone and really kept all these lunatic guys in line. Underneath all that was also a love for the music, a love for her husband, love for family, love for the bands. But she had to wear many, many hats and did it very, very well. But she could definitely keep everybody in line when they had to, but underneath it, obviously, we knew that she was part of the gang, so to speak."

On November 6, 2022, METALLICA played a special concert at the 7,000-seat Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. The show, which celebrated the life, legacy and achievements of Jon Zazula and his wife, saw the Bay Area metal legends play songs exclusively from their first two albums, "Kill 'Em All" and "Ride The Lightning". Support at the gig came from British/American metallers RAVEN, who were also originally signed to Megaforce.

When the concert was first announced in September 2022, METALLICA said in a statement: "Jonny gave us our first break in New York, released our first albums on his Megaforce Records label, and put us out on the road for our first real tour. With Marsha by his side, Jonny was a mentor, a manager, a label head, and a father figure to us all.... we would not be where we are today without the two of them. Sadly, we recently lost both Jonny and Marsha, just a little more than a year apart.

"We'll be cooking up a special setlist for you full of songs from our days with Jonny and Marsha at Megaforce. Our main touring partner from that time, RAVEN, will be joining us to add to the celebration and bring back the memories."

A portion of the proceeds from this show were donated in Jonny and Marsha's name to MusiCares, a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs to musicians and industry professionals. Additionally, All Within My Hands once again supported Feeding South Florida with a donation following the show.

Jonny Z died in February 2022 at the age of 69. Jonny died of complications of the rare neuropathic disorder chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP),chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and osteopenia, his family said. Marsha passed away of cancer in January of 2021.

Born in 1952, Jonny began his extraordinary journey as a renegade youth who went from living on the streets of the Bronx in New York City, to later working on Wall Street, and eventually (and unexpectedly) transitioning into the music business and discovering METALLICA, ANTHRAX and others.

After Wall Street, Jonny Z began selling records at a flea market store in 1981 to put food on the table for his family. Dubbed Rock N' Roll Heaven, the store eventually blossomed into a major record store that influenced the heavy metal movement as we know it today. In the winter of 1982, Jonny Z received an unexpected demo tape from unsigned underground band called METALLICA. Eager and determined to have the music heard by the entire world, Jonny and Marsha founded Megaforce the following year and released "Kill 'Em All". Through this release, Megaforce cemented its position as the de-facto music label in America for heavy metal.

Jon's acclaimed autobiography, "Heavy Tales: The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As Lived By Jon Zazula", was released in October 2019. The book tells the story of how the Zazulas ended up signing a band that shaped the sound of heavy metal for decades to come.

"It's all a blessing when you work hard and you stay smart and you go into the game and then eventually something comes your way and you're ready for it. And you're able to jump upon it and ride it," Jonny told Variety. "We were very fortunate, Marsha and I, that we have them to choose as a band that became the biggest band in the world. Not to mention a bunch of other great bands that made history."

Photo credit: Ross Halfin