Wantz, Sunny Collection, Guide to the, bulk c. 1981-2005, bulk early 1980s and mid 1990s

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Summary

Title:
Sunny Wantz Collection
Dates:
bulk c. 1981-2005, bulk early 1980s and mid 1990s
Abstract:
Janna "Sunny" Wantz opened "Sunny Productions" in the early 1980s, promoting local bands at live venues in Sacramento. After closing the business in the mid-80s, Sunny shifted to journalism, writing for the Valley Music News in the 1990s as "Jane" Wantz. This collection includes papers, photographs, ephemera, and cassette tapes from her work at "Sunny Promotions" and the Valley Music News.
Extent:
2 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Sunny Wantz Collection, MC 138, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California

Background

Scope and content:

The Sunny Production Collection includes papers, photographs, posters, ephemera, and cassette tapes from both "Sunny Promotions" and the Valley Music News. The "Sunny Promotions" material dates primarily to the early 1980s and includes numerous "Press Kits" or promotional material from a number of musical acts that were active in the Sacramento Valley during this period. The collection also includes promotional material and newspaper clippings from the 1990s, when Sunny, now known as "Jane," was collecting material for articles on the current local music scene. In order to aid researchers, as the material was not previously organized and was in no apparent order, the collection has been arranged into five series with additional subseries as needed.

Biographical / historical:

Sunny Wantz was born Janna Lynn Wantz in Sacramento, on 22 July 1955. According to her resume, which is included in the collection, she graduated from El Escalon High School and attended Sierra College. She earned a cosmetology license and worked as a cosmologist for over five and a half years. However, her love was the music scene and in 1981 she formed "Sunny Productions," doing local promotions for musical acts touring the Sacramento Valley. Aside from running her own company, she also managed a band called "The Veil" for a number of years. When many of the live music venues in Sacramento changed hands and changed "scenes" – Sunny closed her production company and moved from music promotion to music journalism. She wrote a short-lived newsletter called "Sacramento Progressive Arts and Music" (SPAM) but eventually moved to the Valley Music News, where she went by Jane Wantz. Sunny died 31 December 2005. She was memorialized in her friend Jerry Perry's publication "Alive & Kicking," in January 2006.

Arrangement:

This collection is arranged into five series, two of which have been further arranged in subseries:

Series 1. Janna "Sunny' Wantz – ca. 1980s-2005

Subseries 1. Personal Documents – n.d.

Subseries 2. Sunny Promotions – Organizational Files - ca. 1982-1984

Subseries 3. Jane Wantz & the Valley Music News - ca. 1990s

Subseries 4. General – n.d.

Series 2. Promotional Material – ca. 1982-1997

Subseries 1. Press kits – ca. 1982-1997

Subseries 2. Other – ca. 1982-1997

Series 3. General – ca. 1982-1997

Series 4. Cassette Tapes – ca. 1990s

Series 5. Artifacts – ca. 1982

Dimensions:
1.5 feet
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Erin Estrup
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-03-25 11:56:15 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

All requests to publish or quote from private collections held by the Sacramento Public Library must be submitted in writing to sacroom@saclibrary.org. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Sacramento Public Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the patron. No permission is necessary to publish or quote from public records.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Sunny Wantz Collection, MC 138, Sacramento Room, Sacramento Public Library, Sacramento, California

Location of this collection:
828 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814, US
Contact:
(916) 264-2976
sacroom@saclibrary.org
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