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NICK MENZA

Former MEGADETH Drummer NICK MENZA Says He Was Forced To Change Title Of His Forthcoming Book

Manos Spanos
Former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza was interviewed on the May 15 edition of "Rock 'N' SeXXXy UnCensored", the Internet radio show hosted by adult film star Amber Lynn. You can now listen to the program at this location. Speaking about his forthcoming book, which is being written with J. Marshall Craig best known for his critically acclaimed work as a writer for Eric Burdon's "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", THE ROLLING STONES keyboardist Chuck Leavell's "Between Rock And A Home Place" and the West Coast hip-hop history "Guilty By Association", Menza said: "My book is about me and my life. It includes all kinds of stuff, from my childhood up until just as of recently. And I'm actually adding another chapter to it, probably, because it's taking so long to finalize everything — legal stuff, the cover artwork, the picture that's gonna be used… we're not really sure yet." He continued: "I don't know what I can tell you about it. There's a lot of funny things in it. It's all true stuff. There's some government conspiracies and alien coverups and all kinds of stuff in there. Now that I'm into space exploration and research stuff — that's kind of what I'm into right now. I've always been into aliens and stuff like that. We are are the aliens and that's why we're here. All the evolution of everything is from alien technology. "Before, back in the Stone Ages, like when we were just regular humans, we didn't have brains in us and then the aliens came down and they intervened and they put brains in our heads and now we're all smart and we're starting to figure things out, ascending to the next level and a higher level of conscious awareness and that sort of stuff. "If you listen to your brain, your brain's always gonna get you in trouble. If you listen to your heart and you follow the path of your heart, it will lead you and it will never lead you down the wrong path. So always follow your heart. That's what I tell people. Follow your heart, go with your heart. Don't listen to your brain, 'cause your brain's gonna kill you. "You know what's weird? When people that don't even know each other, they get into a room, the hearts are already communicating with each other before you even speak words. When you feel something from another person or something like that. That's why I say I can't just be with a girl that I don't have a connection with. You know right away when you meet someone: 'Yes, I would' or 'No, I wouldn't.' And that's how that works. If you're emanating a lot of love out of your body, you'll attract people that love, and that's how that works. With any job, or any place you go, people communicate. It's, like, the heart's code. They're, like, all talking to each other. There's a book out called 'The Heart's Code'. It's really interesting. If you haven't read it, you should check it out." Originally announced as "Megalife", Nick's book will now be titled "Menzalife". He explained: "It got changed just as of recently, because I can't use 'Megalife'; someone's already using that name and it's trademarked. No big deal. It's still the same content inside. It's gonna be for sale at the stores and stuff like that. A publisher is gonna put it out. I don't have a deal as of yet, but the book is really cool." Menza's first performance was at the age of two on stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival when legendary jazz percussionist Jack DeJohnette (Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson) placed Nick on his kit. Thirty years later, he was stepping out on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans every night. Menza, son of legendary jazz saxophonist Don Menza, was at the top of his game when MEGADETH started a world tour in support of its album, "Cryptic Writings", but began to suffer knee problems and escalating pain. Doctors diagnosed him with a tumor. Surgery waylaid the drummer briefly, but he was relieved to learn the tumor was benign and was eager to rejoin his bandmates, who had continued their tour with a replacement drummer. But deteriorating relations within the band exploded and Menza was replaced permanent
04 min read

Ex-MEGADETH Drummer NICK MENZA Claims DAVE MUSTAINE ‘Blew Him Off’ At NAMM

Manos Spanos
Ex-MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza claims that he attempted to reconnect with his former bandmate, MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine, at this past weekend's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show in Anaheim, California, only to be brushed off and told to "go away." Menza, who was a member of MEGADETH from 1989 to 1998 and appeared on four of the band's studio albums, wrote on his Facebook page earlier today: "I had a blast at NAMM hanging with fans and old friends I also made a major mistake for trying to saying hello to Dave Mustaine at the Dean booth, [which] he totally blew me off and wouldn't even look at me then had his hired goons / bodyguard tell me go away, pretty lame! I'm over it and life goes on!!!" He added: "I don't hate Dave nor was I trying to get back in the band. [I just wanted to say a] friendly hello, that's all. Nothing more nothing less! "I have so many other things going on right now that even if Dave asked me back in the band, I would have to turn down the offer." Asked last September by Argentinean rock journalist Lucas H. Gordon if there is a possibility of him ever doing anything with MEGADETH again, Menza said: "You never know what can happen in the future. It's, like, I'm open to whatever. I would never say, 'I'll never join MEGADETH back up again.' But it's really up to Mustaine. I put the ball in his court." Following the reissue of the entire MEGADETH catalog, Menza was invited to reunite with the band in 2004. Days after a reunion was announced, Menza was fired after rehearsals and replaced with Shawn Drover. Mustaine said that this was because Nick "just wasn't prepared." Menza has been writing, recording and producing constantly but only releasing sporadic singles for years. That will all change when he opens the floodgates with the upcoming release of his memoir, "Nick Menza: Megalife", by acclaimed writer J. Marshall Craig. "MEGADETH was a big part of my story," Menza said, "but it was just one part. Jeff [Craig] has got me to talk about it all!" Menza is currently negotiating a publishing deal for the book, which was written over the past 18 months. It features rare and never-before-seen photos of Menza with every band he's ever been in, including, of course, MEGADETH. "It's a memoir of music," writer Craig said. "But a lot more. It's a book about chasing the ultimate gig, the ultimate drum setup, the ultimate sound and, it will come as no surprise to Nick's fans, the ultimate aliens, government conspiracies and anything else his muse sees fit to lay across his path." Menza's first performance was at the age of two on stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival when legendary jazz percussionist Jack DeJohnette (Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson) placed Nick on his kit. Thirty years later, he was stepping out on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans every night. Menza, son of legendary jazz saxophonist Don Menza, was at the top of his game when MEGADETH started a world tour in support of its album, "Cryptic Writings", but began to suffer knee problems and escalating pain. Doctors diagnosed him with a tumor. Surgery waylaid the drummer briefly, but he was relieved to learn the tumor was benign and was eager to rejoin his bandmates, who had continued their tour with a replacement drummer. But deteriorating relations within the band exploded and Menza was replaced permanently.
05 min read

Drummer NICK MENZA Is ‘Open’ To Playing With MEGADETH Again

Manos Spanos
Argentinean rock journalist Lucas H. Gordon, who currently resides in Hollywood, California, conducted an in interview with former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza at The Rock N Roll Autograph Show, which took place September 13-15 at The Westin Los Angeles Airport. You can now watch the chat below. Asked if there is a possibility of him ever doing anything with MEGADETH again, Menza said: "You never know what can happen in the future. It's, like, I'm open to whatever. I would never say, 'I'll never join MEGADETH back up again.' But it's really up to [MEGADETH mainman Dave] Mustaine. I put the ball in his court." Following the reissue of the entire MEGADETH catalog, Menza was invited to reunite with the band in 2004. Days after a reunion was announced, Menza was fired after rehearsals and replaced with Shawn Drover. Mustaine said that this was because Nick "just wasn't prepared." Menza has been writing, recording and producing constantly but only releasing sporadic singles for years. That will all change when he opens the floodgates with the upcoming release of his memoir, "Nick Menza: Megalife", by acclaimed writer J. Marshall Craig. "MEGADETH was a big part of my story," Menza said, "but it was just one part. Jeff [Craig] has got me to talk about it all!" Menza is currently negotiating a publishing deal for the book, which was written over the past 18 months. It features rare and never-before-seen photos of Menza with every band he's ever been in, including, of course, MEGADETH. "It's a memoir of music," writer Craig said. "But a lot more. It's a book about chasing the ultimate gig, the ultimate drum setup, the ultimate sound and, it will come as no surprise to Nick's fans, the ultimate aliens, government conspiracies and anything else his muse sees fit to lay across his path." Menza's first performance was at the age of two on stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival when legendary jazz percussionist Jack DeJohnette (Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson) placed Nick on his kit. Thirty years later, he was stepping out on stage in front of thousands of screaming fans every night. Menza, son of legendary jazz saxophonist Don Menza, was at the top of his game when MEGADETH started a world tour in support of its album, "Cryptic Writings", but began to suffer knee problems and escalating pain. Doctors diagnosed him with a tumor. Surgery waylaid the drummer briefly, but he was relieved to learn the tumor was benign and was eager to rejoin his bandmates, who had continued their tour with a replacement drummer. But deteriorating relations within the band exploded and Menza was replaced permanently. "Nick Menza: Megalife", by J. Marshall Craig, is due in stores, in Kindle and eBook versions, in late 2013.
03 min read