Reuben Ortiz

REUBEN ORTIZ

The bandleader of Silverbird is Ruben Ortiz (or Reuben Ortiz) who now goes by the name of J. Reuben Silverbird – in fact, almost the entire family now seems to use the Silverbird surname. He has a Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/jsilverbird?fref=ts – and also a Facebook “fan club” page – https://www.facebook.com/groups/73767990708/ .

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After the Ortiz family settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, their first musical foray was as the Ortiz Trio, evidently consisting of siblings Ruben Ortiz, Anita Ortiz and Steven Ortiz. Ruben described the music as “Ranchero style and Bolero style”.

After they moved East, the band’s name was changed to the Coronados; Ruben changed his name slightly to Reuben Ortiz, and Steven Ortiz masqueraded as a brother-in-law, rather than a brother, by the name of Steven Coronado. Sources vary, with some saying that Anita Ortiz continued in the Coronados; but at least by 1965, Reuben’s wife Ginger Ortiz was on board. The Coronados recorded a few 45’s and one album, called Hey, Love!; their music was released on Jubilee Records and RCA Victor Records.

Meanwhile, the four teenaged children of the bandmembers in the Coronados – who sometimes appeared with their parents on stage – were being attracted to rock music and began singing and performing together as the Real Americans. Gilbert Ortiz (now known as Gil Silverbird), Perry Ortiz and Mark Ortiz are the sons of Reuben Ortiz and Ginger Ortiz; Joerey Ortiz is the son of Steven Ortiz. Reuben Ortiz encouraged them in this endeavor, and he recorded the songs that they were writing using a company that he had formed earlier having the innocuous name of Recording Artists, Inc. Ginger Ortiz began singing with the Real Americans as well, supplying the high vocals that Perry Ortiz was beginning to lose as he matured.

As an experiment, Reuben Ortiz decided to see how the Coronados and the Real Americans would sound if their music were combined. Ginger Ortiz recalled: “There was a kind of realism to this music. It was a nice contrast to what we’re always supplying as the Coronados: those dreams that our audiences want.”

The result of this merger of the two bands is Silverbird. Their career was launched on May 2, 1971 on one of the Fanfare programs on National Educational Television (NET), a precursor to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

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My copy of Silverbird’s second album Broken Treaties went through Hurricane Katrina, so all I have is the disk. If not for a blog at www.weapon-shaped.com, I might not have gotten all of the bandmembers’ names on the album: Reuben Ortiz, Joerey Ortiz, Perry Ortiz, Steven Coronado, Gilbert Ortiz, Ginger Coronado (now also a Coronado, like Steven), and Mark Ortiz.

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When their third album Silverbird came out later in 1973, the bandmembers in Silverbird are listed (mostly without surnames) as Mark (acoustic, electric, lead, and bass guitar), Reuben (acoustic and bass guitar), Gilbert (piano, Rhodes and organ), and Perry (flute and drums), plus Brian McManus (banjo and guitar). The producer though is listed as Reuben Ortiz.

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A new band called Silverbird Family was launched more recently; they are a contemporary Christian group whose song “Happy Mother’s Day” won Reuben Ortiz semi-finalist status in the songoftheyear.com songwriting contest. This band has a Facebook website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Silverbird-Family/522630197763115 . The bandmembers in Silverbird Family include Silverbird alumnus Mark Silverbird, his wife Tania Silverbird, and their three children: Natasha Silverbird (12), Richard Silverbird (10), and Caroline Silverbird (8). The website notes that these children represent the 5th generation of entertainers in their family.

(August 2013)