Johny Zazula

John Zazula, also known as Johny Z or John "the well is dry" Zazula is the owner of New York's legendary "Rock'n Roll Heaven" record store and founder of record label "Megaforce Records". Zazula's record store in East Brunswick, NJ made him a central figure of the East Coast metal scene, regularly playing demo tapes sent to him through his underground tape-trading network which included the likes of Brian Slagel of Metalblade Records, Ron Quintana, the editor of Metal Mania, and Mark Whitaker.

Career

His central role in the East coast metal scene would later be an essential factor in launching the career of Metallica. Zazula offered the band their first opportunity to play in the N.Y. area and organized their first tours with Raven, one of the leading metal bands from the UK at that time. After hearing the demo tape No Life 'Til Leather. He started his record label, Megaforce, to release their work. Zazula released Metallica's debut album Kill'em all, and set up an east coast tour with private funding.

After the success of Kill 'em All, Zazula signed and worked with other artists including: Warren Haynes, Testament, Overkill, Frehley's Comet, Kings X, Ministry and Anthrax.

Marsha Zazula is partner co-founder of Megaforce Records

From 2005 thru 2008 Jonny Z was the director of Bodog Musics United States operation.

References

*The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music ISBN 0851129390
*The Complete Guide to the Music of Metallica - Page 1 ISBN 0711949026

External links

* [http://www.megaforcerecords.com Megaforce Records website]