I am continuing our new feature: Ask "Mr. Music." Now in its 23rd year of syndication (1986-2008), Jerry Osborne's weekly Q&A feature will be a regular post every Wednesday from now on. Be sure to stop by Jerry's site (www.jerryosborne.com) for more Mr. Music archives, record price guides, anything Elvis, buy & sell collectibles, record appraisals and much more. I thank Jerry for allowing the reprints.
FOR THE WEEK OF AUGUST 31, 2009
DEAR JERRY: According one internet site, a record label named Zyanya existed about 35 years ago. It appears to have ceased operations in the 1970s.
Do you have any idea how they came up with that name?
I ask because one of my favorite historical books of all time is “Aztec,” by Gary Jennings, and the key woman character is Zyanya, wife of Mixtli, whose life and family are the main story.
Proof of the impact “Aztec” had on me is how vividly I remember the characters and events some 30 years later.
I am dying to know if they named their record label after the Mexican gal in the novel. Or, did Gary Jennings name her after the record company? The only other alternative is the whole thing is one big coincidence.
Hopefully, there's a sufficient musical connection here to be of interest to you.
—Miguel Polanco, Harrisburg, Pa.
DEAR MIGUEL: Mere interest is understating this compelling topic — a blend of 16th century Mexico and 20th century record production, all with a Frank Zappa sidebar.
Gary Jennings himself wrote me 15 years ago (September 1994), asking:
“According to a recent Schwann catalog, there exists a record label named Zyanya. It may be a subsidiary of Rhino records.
“Do you know where they got the name Zyanya?
“As far as I know, Zyanya has only been used once before, as the name of a female character in “Aztec,” a novel I first published 14 years ago [1980].
“For the record, Zyanya means 'always' in the old Zapotec-Nahuatl language of Mexico, before the Spanish Conquest.
—Gary Jennings, McGaheysville, Va.”
Sadly, Gary Jennings died from heart failure in February 1999, on Friday the 13th, in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey. He was 70.
Figuring Rhino would know all about Zyanya (sounds like Zon-ya), I called their National Publicity Manager, David Dorn. He confirmed Rhino's release of a few Latino albums on Zyanya, in the mid-'80s.
Dorn also said Rhino discontinued the Zyanya label after those, and it has not been used since.
On my own, 15 years later, I learned it is Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara, formerly of the Apollo Brothers, of “My Beloved One” fame, who managed the short-lived Zyanya label.
Three consecutively-numbered Zyanya vinyl LPs came out, all in 1983: “History of Latino Rock - Eastside Sound, Vol. 1: 1956-1965” (Zyanya/Rhino 061); “Los Angelinos: The Eastside Renaissance” (Zyanya/Rhino 062); and “Best of Thee Midniters” (Zyanya/Rhino 063).
As for a connection between the Zyanya in the book and the record label, the only way to know for certain is to ask its creator, Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara.
That I did, and here is his reply:
“Thanks for writing, and for asking about the source of the label name.
“Yeah, I got the name from Gary Jennings' book, “Aztec,” which made a great impression on me as a historian, writer, and story lover. What a magnificently researched and written book. I still sigh at the memory of Zyanya. Such a beauty! A classic and one that I have been recommending to friends and students for over 25 years.
“For a detailed and eye-popping look at the Aztec empire before it fell, that book is the source.
“I'm flattered Jennings inquired about Zyanya. I hoped he would see the label someday. It was an homage to both Zyanya and Gary.
“But the real inspiration is the heroine, Zyanya — an unforgettable character!”
IZ ZAT SO? Having found Rubén Funkahuatl Guevara, who better to recap his affiliation with Frank Zappa:
“I met Frank in his dressing room during an intermission of his legendary L.A. concert at the Shrine Exposition Hall in 1969. He was promoting his new LP “Cruising with Ruben and the Jets” (Verve 5055).
“I thanked him for recording doo-wop during the height of the psychedelic era and told him I was an R&B and doo-wop singer in the late 1950s and early '60s — who's name is Ruben. He said, “That's a grand name” and asked if I was still singing. I told him I was studying composition and my singing was on hold for the time being. He asked if I could drop off my 1961 Apollo Brothers single, “My Beloved One”/“Riot” (Cleveland 108), at his office, but I never did. I wanted to become a film composer and was not interested in pursuing a singing career.
“The other Apollo Brother was Pablo Amarillas. We named ourselves after the Apollos car and social club in the San Fernando Valley, of which we were members.
“A subsequent meeting at Zappa's house in 1971 was a major turning point in my career. He played records by his favorite R&B and doo-wop artists until dawn. Then we talked about our favorite avant-garde composers, like Varese, Stravinsky and Cage, while playing their records. We covered a vast musical terrain, from the Penguins to Bela Bartok. Then he asked if I would be interested in forming a real Ruben and the Jets. I told him I wasn't interested in rock and roll, with its many detours. To this he replied: “Build your own roads.”
“So I decided to give it another shot and gathered some Chicano musicians from East L.A.: Tony Duran (guitar-vocals); Robert “Froggy” Camarena (guitar-vocals); Bill Wild (bass-vocals); Johnny Martinez (Hammond B-3-vocals); and Bobby Zamora (drums). Zappa suggested Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood on baritone sax from the Mothers of Invention, and friend Bob “Buffalo” Roberts on tenor sax. We were one of L.A.'s first multicultural rock and roll bands.
“In 1973, Frank Zappa produced our first album, “For Real” (Mercury 659).
“We even opened for his band on a West Coast tour then toured the East Coast with T-Rex, Three Dog Night, and West, Bruce & Laing.
We recorded a second album, “Con Safos” (Mercury 694) produced by Denny Randell, but, in the end it didn't work out. I later recorded vocals on Zappa's “Apostrophe”; “Zoot Allures”; and “Live at the Roxy.”
Copyright 2009 Osbourne Enterprises- Reprinted By Permission
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