Heavy Tales, Jon Zazula
Heavy Tales, Jon Zazula
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Heavy Tales
The Metal. The Music. The Madness. As lived by Jon Zazula

Author: Jon Zazula, Chuck Billy

Narrator: Jon Zazula

Unabridged: 7 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/21/2020


Synopsis

Heavy Tales is the detailed, never-before-told story as lived by Jonny Zazula. A riveting tumultuous journey from renegade youth to metal music mogul, with detailed accounts of the struggles and successes along the way. How he created Megaforce Records, CraZed Management out of a flea market in New Jersey with his wife, Marsha, to discovering Metallica and launching a musical genre that forever changed the scope of music history. The hundreds of artists they worked with would go on to release some of the most prolific and important albums in heavy metal history, giving it its Golden Era.Penned by Jonny Zazula and co-written by Harold Claros-Maldonado, Heavy Tales details the stories of how Jonny Z worked miracles by managing and releasing albums by Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Mercyful Fate, Raven, Overkill, Exciter, Stormtroopers of Death, Method of Destruction, Ace Frehley’s Comet, King’s X, Ministry, Mindfunk, Nudeswirl, Warren Haynes, Disco Biscuits, and many more, and how one night in 1984, he jokingly created Rap Metal before anyone else conceived the idea.With a foreword written by Chuck Billy, plus a bonus feature gallery with over one hundred rare photographs unearthed from the MegaVault, Heavy Tales is the definitive American story of a family man with a dream, determined to prove to the world that heavy metal belonged on the stage, on the radio, and in your living room.Exclusive only to the Heavy Tales audiobook is a collection of Q+A’s taken from 10 live broadcasts from the Brothers Grimm radio show on Cranium Radio.com, where Jonny answers 89 unfiltered questions from listeners giving an even deeper look into his life.

About Jon Zazula

Jon Zazula is the owner of New Jersey’s Rock n’ Roll Heaven record store and founder of Megaforce Records. Zazula’s record store in East Brunswick, New Jersey made him a central figure of the East Coast metal scene, regularly playing demo tapes sent to him through his underground tape-trading network. 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 New York area, coordinated a touring schedule, and later released their debut album Kill ‘Em All. Zazula went on to sign and work with other artists including: Warren Haynes, Testament, Tad, Overkill, Frehley’s Comet, King’s X, Ministry, and Anthrax. He lives in Furlong, Pennsylvania, with his wife Marsha and daughter Blaire.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Patrick on December 27, 2019

It's an interesting book, if a bit of a rambling take of one participant's view of the early thrash scene. A couple things stand out about this book - I haven't read what other reviews of this book say, nor have I seen anything about any reaction to it, but I bet that he takes a bit too much credit......more

Goodreads review by Armand on September 13, 2021

I grew up in NJ and in the 80's loved to go to the flea market and buy imports. I believe I bought the No Life Til Leather demo from their store, too. Lots of cool stories about the humble beginnings of Megaforce. I lost track of them when they steered away from the heavy metal that put them on the......more

Goodreads review by Steve on July 29, 2021

Quick fun read. Lots of great stories from a great era of music. Just wish it was longer.......more


Quotes

“The story follows the Zazula’s early beginnings in the flea market and eventual expansion of the store and a once-in-a-lifetime moment of a fan bringing a demo of a band that would light fire to a musical movement that lasted a decade…He brings the reader on a rock-and-roll-journey through the decades, from his early days as a loyal fan of the Grateful Dead to finally putting the pedal to the heavy metal in the ’80s and ’90s…The book also reads as a love story and a partnership of a couple that met the music industry on their own terms.” Variety