Metallica, Anthrax and Testament have paid their respects to Marsha Zazula, the co-founder of respected US metal label Megaforce Records, who passed away on January 9. Zazula died at the Florida home she shared with her partner of 41 years, Jon Zazula, aged 68. The cause of death was cancer.
Together with her husband Jon, her partner in the New Jersey record shop Rock And Roll Heaven, Marsha Zazula launched Megaforce Records in 1982 in order to release Kill ’Em All, the debut album from Metallica, whose No Life ’Til Leather demo cassette was a top selling item in their store. The Zazulas welcomed the Californian quartet into their New Jersey home ahead of the recording of Kill ’Em All, and underwrote Metallica’s first national tour with labelmates Raven. Megaforce subsequently went on to release albums by Anthrax, Testament, Overkill, King’s X, Stormtroopers Of Death, and more.
After news of Marsha Zazula’s passing broke, Metallica posted a recent photo of James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich with the Zazulas, and wrote: ‘Rest In Peace Marsha. Thank you for everything.’ Drummer Ulrich also paid his own tribute, thanking Zazula ‘for making it happen’.
“For supporting us, for encouraging us, for advising us, for sheltering us, for feeding us, and most importantly for cheering us on and along with your husband Jonny, believing in the possibilities of how a gang of misfits and outsiders like ourselves could connect with a larger and likeminded audience…
You were an incredibly selfless matriarch and we’ll be forever grateful for the impact you had on our lives.”
Anthrax posted on social media: “It’s with much sadness that we hear of the passing of Marsha Zazula. A true pioneer along with Jonny Z. Those two were responsible for changing all our lives. Hard to put into words what a world this might be without their belief and dedication to metal and all of us. Our love to her family.”
In his own tribute, guitarist Scott Ian wrote: “Marsha was an integral part of our career and a force to be reckoned with – knocking down (with Jon) whatever doors stood in our way in those early days. We were like a family, a big head-banging metal family and we took care of each other.”
Alex Skolnick, Testament’s guitarist, paid tribute to Zazula in an interview with Variety.
“She kept things balanced,” he said, “She was this steady hand, a calming force, during these intense moments — and there were intense moments! Jonny and Marsha were really a team; she was there for every decision. Jonny, bless him, was the stereotypical hot-headed, East Coast label executive — patience and calm may not have been his strong suits — and she balanced him out.”
“She kept things balanced,” he said, “She was this steady hand, a calming force, during these intense moments — and there were intense moments! Jonny and Marsha were really a team; she was there for every decision. Jonny, bless him, was the stereotypical hot-headed, East Coast label executive — patience and calm may not have been his strong suits — and she balanced him out.”
All at Metal Hammer send our condolences to Jon Zazula, and the couple’s family and friends.
Plus Lynyrd Skynyrd—Last Show In Their Northern Florida Home Area—
Godsmack, Deftones, Social Distortion, The Offspring, Staind,
Lamb of God, Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Mastodon,
Gojira, Royal Blood, Alter Bridge, The Pretty Reckless, Anthrax & More
Florida’s Biggest Rock Experience
Heads To Its New Home At The Daytona International Speedway
In Daytona Beach, FL
May 8, 9 & 10, 2020
Weekend, 2-Day & Single Day General Admission & VIP Passes
And Camping On Sale Now;
Layaway Options Available
With a new home at the world-renowned Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, the 10th year of Welcome To Rockville features an unparalleled lineup of today’s top rock and metal artists and up-and-coming talent for Florida’s Biggest Rock Experience, happening on Friday, May 8, Saturday, May 9 and Sunday, May 10, 2020.
As previously announced, Metallica—recently named the world’s biggest all-time touring act by Pollstar—will exclusively headline all five Danny Wimmer Presents hard rock festivals in 2020, including Welcome To Rockville, in a unique collaboration unprecedented for any American festival promoter or band.
In addition to Metallica, who will perform two different sets (Friday, May 8 and Sunday, May 10), fan-favorite Disturbed will headline Saturday, May 9. The diverse lineup also includes Lynyrd Skynyrd (their last show ever in their Northern Florida home area), Godsmack, Deftones, Social Distortion, The Offspring, Staind, Lamb of God, Rancid, Dropkick Murphys, Mastodon, Gojira, Royal Blood, Alter Bridge, The Pretty Reckless, Anthrax, Ghostemane, Hellyeah, Hollywood Undead, Bad Wolves and many more.
“As a lifelong fan, it was an overwhelming experience to attend Lynyrd Skynyrd’s final hometown show at a sold-out stadium (TIAA Bank Field) in Jacksonville in September of 2018. Lynyrd Skynyrd is a band that has known tragedy and responded with nothing but triumph for over 50 years. They defined Southern rock, and they were a definitive part of my own rock n’ roll education growing up in Jacksonville,” says Danny Wimmer, founder of Danny Wimmer Presents. “After nine great years in Jacksonville, it was a difficult decision to move Welcome To Rockville to a new home — but it was a necessary decision for the festival to continue to grow and deliver the kind of experience that Florida’s rock fans deserve. I’m so humbled and honored that Lynyrd Skynyrd is coming with us to Daytona Beach to celebrate 10 years of Welcome To Rockville with their last-ever North Florida area show.”
The three-day destination festival will feature three music stages, premium food, and beverage selections and enhanced onsite experiences.
Weekend, 2-Day (new for 2020) and Single Day General Admission and VIP passes, as well as tent and RV camping passes for Welcome To Rockville are on sale now at https://welcometorockvillefestival.com.
The current music lineup for Welcome To Rockville 2020 is as follows (subject to change):
Friday, May 8
Metallica, Deftones, Social Distortion, Dropkick Murphys, Rancid, Royal Blood, Ghostemane, Motionless In White, Knocked Loose, Bones UK, City Morgue, Dinosaur Pile-Up, Brutus, Killstation, Brass Against, Ego Kill Talent, Zero 9:36
Saturday, May 9
Disturbed, The Offspring, Staind, Lamb of God, Alter Bridge, The Pretty Reckless, Hollywood Undead, Hellyeah, Bad Wolves, The Darkness, Power Trip, Jinjer, ??? ??, New Years Day, 3Teeth, Brkn Love, Toothgrinder, Joyous Wolf
Sunday, May 10
Metallica, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Godsmack, Mastodon, Gojira, Anthrax, Code Orange, Dance Gavin Dance, Sleeping With Sirens, Of Mice & Men, Sick Of It All, Agnostic Front, Fire From The Gods, Counterfeit., Airbourne, Goodbye June, Stitched Up Heart, Hero The Band
Festival entry begins each day at 11:30 AM.
Welcome To Rockville
After welcoming sold-out crowds of 90,000-plus the past three years, the move to Daytona International Speedway will allow Welcome To Rockville to increase its audience capacity while at the same time providing more enhanced audience experiences. A recent $400 million renovation of the Speedway and additional $200 million invested in the surrounding area in recent years has transformed the destination into a world-class facility, including numerous hotels within walking distance, many dining options and expanded space for camping, allowing Rockville attendees a convenient and well-rounded experience.
At Welcome To Rockville, Danny Wimmer Presents is proud to offer collaboration with Metallica’s Blackened American Whiskey and Enter Night Pilsner. Blackened is a super-premium American whiskey blend, crafted by the late Master Distiller Dave Pickerell and finished in the earth-shattering music of Metallica. The finest bourbons, ryes, and whiskeys were hand-selected to create something revolutionary—finished in black brandy casks and pummeled by sound. Enter Night Pilsner is Metallica’s collaboration with the rock stars of craft brewing, Stone Brewing. Blackened and Enter Night will come together under one roof to offer guests a one-of-a-kind music festival experience. The massive Boilermaker pop-up will feature a Blackened & Enter Night Pilsner Boilermaker, as well as craft cocktails and ice-cold Enter Night Pilsner. This exciting collaboration marks the latest in a long line of amplified guest experiences only available through Danny Wimmer Presents music festivals. Learn more at http://BlackenedWhiskey.com.
Current pass prices for Welcome To Rockville are as follows:
3-Day Weekend GA: starting at $209.50 + fees
3-Day VIP: $499.50 + fees (close to selling out)
3-Day Military General Admission: $175.00 (fees included)
2-Day GA (Friday/Saturday, Saturday/Sunday or Friday/Sunday): $169.50 + fees
Single Day GA: $99.50 + fees
Single Day VIP: $199.50 + fees
A limited number of weekend GA 4-packs are available for $758.00 ($189.50 per pass) + fees.
Layaway options are available throughout the month of December for just $20 down per pass, with additional monthly payments due on January 2, February 3 and March 2, 2020.
Weekend tent and RV camping passes are available for purchase. Campgrounds will be open from Thursday, May 7 through Monday, May 11. All campers will have access to showers, portable restrooms, food and drink vendors, charging stations, information, and medical services. A car or tent camping pass accommodates up to 4 people and an RV camping pass accommodates up to 6 people. Camping and parking prices and locations are as follows:
General Campgrounds Car & Tent Camping: $225.00
General RV Campgrounds, no hookup: $299.00
Premium RV Campgrounds, no hookup: $399.00
Premium RV Campgrounds, with hookup: $599.00
Premium RV Campgrounds, Driver/Owner lot: $799.00
Camping Early Entry (enter campgrounds 3 hours early): $50.00
Parking prices are as follows (if purchased in advance):
Weekend GA Parking: $75.00
Weekend Premium Parking (closer to the festival entrance): $125.00
Welcome To Rockville VIP passes will provide access to all General Admission festival areas, plus: dedicated entrance lanes into the festival, access to the exclusive VIP hang area, VIP-only viewing area of the two main stages, access to the VIP tent—a shaded hang space with dedicated premium bars and comfortable furniture featuring live audio/video streams of the two main stages, air-conditioned, flushable restrooms, a dedicated merchandise stand for convenient shopping, dedicated food and beverage offerings (for additional purchase), private locker rentals (for additional purchase), a commemorative VIP-only laminate and RFID wristband.
At Welcome To Rockville, fans 21+ can enjoy multiple specialty curated beverage experiences including Heavy Tiki Bar presented by Kraken Black Spiced Rum, which will provide a shaded tropical oasis filled with killer cocktails.
Welcome To Rockville is produced by Los Angeles-based Danny Wimmer Presents, one of the largest independent producers of destination festivals in America. Additional DWP events include Aftershock, Bourbon & Beyond, Epicenter, Hometown Rising, Louder Than Life, Sonic Temple Art + Music Festival and more. They’re also the co-creators of Rock On The Range, America’s largest and most acclaimed rock festival, which celebrated its 12th and final year in 2018 with 140,000 in attendance.
Welcome To Rockville partners include Monster Energy, FYE, Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, Jose Cuervo Tequila, Three Olives Vodka, Kraken Black Spiced Rum, The Music Experience, Demons Behind Me, Ernie Ball and ESP Guitars.
Daytona International Speedway is located at 1801 West International Speedway Blvd, in Daytona Beach, Florida. It’s just minutes away from the Daytona Beach International Airport, and less than two hours from Jacksonville and Orlando.
For more information on Welcome To Rockville, visit:
The Tea Club is a band from New Jersey consisting of Patrick McGowan (vocals/guitar/keyboards), Dan McGowan (vocals/guitar/keyboards), Jamie Wolff (bass/violin/cello), Joe Dorsey (keyboards) and Dan Monda (drums).
In 2008, the band was discovered by producer Tim Gilles (Anthrax, Taking Back Sunday, Hades, Bear vs. Shark, Thursday), who recorded, produced, and mixed their first album at Big Blue Meenie Studios. “General Winter’s Secret Museum” was released in July 2008. The album included original artwork by Dan and Patrick McGowan, with an album cover by artist Kendra DeSimone.
Following a brief East Coast tour, The Tea Club returned to Tim Gilles and Big Blue Meenie Studios to record their second album entitled “Rabbit“ which was released on October 9th 2010. The album featured guest keyboardist Tom Brislin (Yes, Renaissance, OK Go, Meatloaf, Camel).
Like General Winter’s Secret Museum, the album cover was painted by Kendra DeSimone and featured original artwork by Dan and Patrick McGowan. Rabbit was met with very positive reviews. The Organ ‘zine praised The Tea Club for being a band that is ”not afraid to nail their colours firmly to their mast and fly directly in to the face of fashion”. Indie Music Reviewer said that Rabbit ”can appease any listener of just about any genre”, giving the album 5 out of 5 stars.
They spent the rest of 2010 and 2011 touring the East Coast, including performances at the ProgDay Music Festival in North Carolina, the Philly Film & Music Festival, and the NJ Proghouse Music Series. Reviews and articles about the band were featured in publications such as Metro Philly, Indie Music Reviewer, Origivation, and JUMP. The band also released several homemade music videos for songs from the Rabbit album. They ended 2011 by opening for Jimmy Gnecco of the band Ours in Philadelphia.
In early 2012, The Tea Club once again returned to Big Blue Meenie Studios to record their third album with producer Tim Gilles. Following these sessions, the band was invited to support Beardfish on their mini-tour of the United States in May 2012.
The Tea Club’s third album, “Quickly Quickly Quickly”, was released on November 15th, 2012. Once again, the album cover was done by Kendra DeSimone with artwork by the McGowan brothers. Quickly Quickly Quickly was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews and made several “Top Albums of 2012” lists. Dangerdog Music Reviews called the album “wildly inventive”, while Instrumentali.com said that “The Tea Club has taken the dormant rock beast and tied a choke chain onto it.” Conor Fynes of The Metal Observer had this to say in his review of Quickly Quickly Quickly: “Although 2012 was a year host to output of impressive records from some of progressive rock’s finest, The Tea Club just may have topped them all.”
In 2013, The Tea Club travelled to Canada to perform two 90 minute sets at the Terra Incognita Festival in Quebec City. In August 2013, the band toured the United States with Thank You Scientist. The tour included a performance at Indie Music Reviewer’s IMR Music Festival 2013 in Atlanta, GA.
The Tea Club spent 2014 writing and recording at Big Blue Meenie Studios. These recordings became The Tea Club’s fourth album, “Grappling”, which was released on November 17, 2015. Grappling was met with critical acclaim, with many reviewers calling it the band’s greatest achievement, solidifying the band as a major presence in progressive rock.
2016 The Tea Club supported HAKEN in September on part of their “Affinity” Tour of the USA. The Tea Club also announced the upcoming release of the Grappling Graphic Novel, a 6-issue comic book series that elaborates on the stories told in the lyrics of their Grappling album. Written by Patrick McGowan with artwork by Dan McGowan and Kendra DeSimone, the first issue will be available October 10th, 2016 In December the band has embarked on a support tour of Thank You Scientist.
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