Interview With New World Zorro Composer Jay Asher by Mary-Jo Sawyer.
It's so hard to believe I had found my New World Zorro VHS tapes I'd
made when they were on TV, in 2010. From there I found, then lost (due
to copyright issues),the episodes on YouTube. Then the series became a
reality on DVD in January 2011. While we were discussing the episodes
in this group (http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/New_World_Zorro/), we tended to focus more on the acting and dialogue, with
just an occasional nod to the music. Even back in January 2010, Daryl
was hinting at the possibility of the soundtrack for the New World Zorro
becoming a reality...and it's now available on CD baby! Take a listen
if you haven't yet at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/jayasher2
Listening
to the music takes you right back to the series. When I heard first
heard Track 6 ( Mendoza the Magnificent ), I could immediately visualize
Senor Mendoza walking around and hosting his first dinner party in
"Ghost Story" (Disc 4, Season 1). And the beginning of Track 13
(Remembrance ) transported me to the dream sequences in
"Explosive Situation." There are so many little snippets, that I know
many of you will relate to different episodes.
One
of my favorite songs is track #12 (True Believer). While I recognize
the beginning, the second part is beautiful, I just can't place it in
the series. I'll keep looking, but if anyone knows in which episode it
occurs, please let me know!
Jay Asher, the music composer of the series was kind enough to answer my many questions (those in bold) about the music.
1-
Could you tell us about the process of creating the music for NWZorro?
Did you have a copy of the scripts so you would know what type of music
to write, or were you just given general ideas?Or did you have the
actual film and wrote the music after they finished shooting? The music
seems to fit the scenes so well!
Originally
I created a library from nothing but my imagination, which they
digitally edited in. After that, once a year they would give me a few
partially finished episodes that i would compose to, which was much more
satisfying and they then became part of the library.
2-Did you have any say in how the music was used in the episodes, or did someone else do the editing?
Ron
Franklin did the editing, and quite well IMHO. If it were now, I would
do it myself but back then I did not know how or have the
equipment,which was very expensive.
3- During this time period, how was music recorded for TV series, especially one filmed in another country?
I recorded it here in Los Angeles.
4-Did
you write the musical scores only, or did you have to gather the
various musicians to play the scores before it was considered for the
series?
I
did write the scores and recorded the live players, which was later
supplemented MIDI based samples and synthesizers and mixed with my
engineer.Then Ron edited it into the show. (MIDI
is a set of instructions that tells a synthesizer or sampler what to
play, which then generates a sound either by triggering a sample or a
MIDpatch meant to emulate a sound).
5-What
were any influences or inspirations you had for the different tracks?
To name a few...Track 20- Rocky Mendoza, Track 21-Legend of the West,
Track 6-Mendoza the Magnificent, Track 13- Remembrance, and any others
you care to mention.
Well
Rocky Mendoza clearly was a spoof on the "Rocky" theme."Legend of the
West" is Aaron Copeland lite:) The rest was just me doing my gringo
version of Spanish music in the vein of the original Disney series. Not
terribly original but people seemed to like it. (Yes, we liked it!)
6-Were
there any specific Spanish music influences for the different tracks?
Did you use any particular instrument or combination of instruments to
give the music more of a Spanish flavor?
Not really although trumpet, nylon string guitar, Latin percussion,and strings were frequently featured.
7-Do you have any favorite tracks?
Sorry, I don't remember. It was a long time ago and I have rarely watched any of it since. I really should though.(Yes, you should because the music is wonderful!).
8-Were any of the tracks (or partsof the tracks) on the CD not actually heard on the TV series?
Probably.
"Legend o the West" almost certainly was not used. There was so much of
the music that is lost as I only had my copies on DATs and some of them
no longer worked. Lord knows what happened to the originals that were
kept at a place called Interlock. So I just rescued and edited for the
CD all that I could find that I could make interesting. (DAT stands for Digital Audio Tape, which was the hot media in the early 90's).
9-Both
theme songs are beautiful! I know many of the NWZ fans have a definite
preference. Do you prefer one version over the other? Why did they
choose Track 1 over Track 2 for the series?
I
greatly prefer the original because the show was a period piece but
Terry Botwick of The Family Channel wanted a modern arrangement to
appeal more to younger viewers. He probably was right, but I still
prefer the original.
I
hope everyone gets a chance to listen on CD baby then order a CD or get
a download. It's only $13.99...and Christmas is not that far away, or
it would make an excellent birthday gift. Or, just go out and buy
you're a fan and you deserve it!
