Zolz Entertainment

ZOLZ "IN THE NEWS"

From the Poughkeepsie Journal:

Tunes add humor, edge to game - By Ken McMillan

Rick Zolzer treats every night at the ballpark as ‘a wedding with 4,300 people.’ Music is the most important element to the entertainment, and the multitalented Zolzer makes a steady living spinning tunes. If he’s not dee-jaying a weekend wedding, he can be found on most summer nights at Dutchess Stadium as the public address announcer for the Hudson Valley Renegades.

When Zolzer is not playfully abusing fans and umpires and opposing teams with his quick, razor-edged wit, he is the master of ceremonies to the sideshow that coincides with the baseball action on the field. The contests and side acts he coordinates get the fans laughing, but it’s the music that he plays which inspires players and gets people literally dancing in the aisles.

‘‘You have to play a little of everything so that each person who likes something can hear what they want to hear,’’ Zolzer said. ‘‘We play every demo on the planet. ‘‘People come here to be entertained and they want to hear music they are familiar with. They don’t mind hearing something they may not be familiar with as long as what they are hearing is the largest section of what they are familiar with.’’

Zolzer mixes in a steady diet of classic rock ’n roll songs with oldies and alternative rock. Undoubtedly, the Renegades players get into the mix as well, striding to the plate several times a game with a familiar song. When Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves steps to the plate, you can guarantee someone at Ted Turner Field is playing ‘‘Crazy Train’’ by Ozzy Osbourne. ‘‘I think every player should have a signature song,’’ said former Poughkeepsie resident Dave VanDeWater, the director of marketing/sales and public address announcer for the Adirondack Lumberjacks, an independent team in the Northern League and based in Glens Falls. ‘‘Some of the players use it to get hyped up to.’’

Zolzer made his impact known as soon as the Renegades were established in Fishkill. The first team in 1994 had an outfielder named Dom Gatti. Zolzer mispronounced his name, calling him ‘‘Gotti’’ (tied in to the New York City crime boss John Gotti) and playing the Tarrantella, an Italian dance song. ‘‘The crowd immediately attached to that,’’ Zolzer said. However, Gatti did not appreciate the link and demanded Zolzer stop, which he did. ‘‘Some fans got upset because they had linked him as the Godfather. When everyone came back negative, (Gatti) said, ‘Zolz, forget about it. Go back to Gotti. Do what you gotta do. I like the reaction.’ ’’