It’s not every day that you get to see a documentary movie premiere with the creators of the movie, some of those IN the movie and friends and family of the subject of the movie.
This was the case recently when I was given the opportunity to attend the East Coast premier of the documentary “Nick Menza- This Was My Life”. Upon walking into the theater there were throngs of people, many of which were families, in the vestibule of the Hawthorne Theater. As it turns out, there was a double premier going in that day with a religious film being shown across the hallway and prior in the same theater we were all to see the Nick Menza.

It was nice to meet Holly the director and to see Dave Ellefson who pulled somewhat triple duty on the movie as narrator, co-producer, and co-star in the film. Dave “Junior” as he is known to many was near the entrance-way taking photos with fans and some friends including NJ’s own Bobby Blitz from Overkill, Holly Grayson (the film’s director) and one of Nick’s sons. Interestingly a fan showed up dressed up as Nick. Ellefson commented on how much he looked like him. He had the look down pat- sunglasses, shorts, t-shirt, five-o-clock shadow beard, long hair, baseball cap, and an authentic Megadeth leather bomber jacket from the 90’s.

Upon the start of the movie, you really got the feeling that Nick was someone who not only was born to be a musician but also truly left an impression on the people who crossed life paths with him. Being born the son of famed jazz musician Don Menza, Nick was surrounded by music from day one. As a small child he was photographed at the Montreux Jazz festival on a drum kit already showing some skills and having someone comment about his “independence” in playing. This is a skill that drummers usually learn later on in their education as you want to be able to use each limb independent of the others.

Nick was characterized as quite the jokester and shocker throughout his life. This was most notable when he attended a court date for his sister dressed in basic beach attire, and throughout his career in Megadeth playing countless jokes on the band members, and even doing a Steve Irwin impression for his niece on the phone making her believe it was the real Steve Irwin on the other end of the phone. Nick seemed to be the perfect foil to Dave Mustaine while he was in Megadeth- the Joker to Dave Sr’s Batman if you will.

He led a physical life- mountain biking, exercising, drumming. He loved to cook, even starting an Instagram page @ChefNickMenza. He had an affinity towards aliens and the great beyond. He loved his friends and family dearly, and he loved his music.

Documentaries are often boring and trite, taking the viewer through the lifespan of the subject and being narrated by someone like Sir David Attenbourogh or Morgan Freeman. This documentary was nothing like that. It came across as a true slice of Nick Menza’s world as told by friends, family and many of those whose life Nick touched.

Nick Menza, a man, a musician, a father, a partner, a jokester, a friend. A man whose legacy continues to live on almost a decade after he passed.
This was the big take from seeing the documentary “Nick Menza- This Was My Life”. There was talk of the movie being available sometime soon on DVD as well as on a streaming platform sometime in the future. If you are given the opportunity to see the documentary, I highly recommend it.