top of page

March 2019 - Feature Interview: Joanie & Sparrow - Continuously Creating

Updated: Mar 6, 2019



Joannie Pallatto and Bradley Parker-Sparrow, the husband and wife team that founded Southport Records, sit down with Mike Jeffers to talk about their background, new releases, the music business and much more in this four part interview.


Part 1 - George the Bomb

Part 2 - Southport Records

Part 3 - Construction and Art

Part 4 - Mini Hits: The Jingle Business


Southport Records

Visit www.chicagosound.com



PART 1 - George the Bomb

In April 2019 Southport Records will be releasing George the Bomb a new recording by the legendary guitarist George Freeman with special guest Billy Branch. This will be Southport's 148th release, which is a monumental achievement in this modern era of the recording business. Part 1 of the interview focuses on the recording process, the concept of the new release, some fun stories about George and Billy and the challenges of getting a new recording promoted in 2019.


Watch Part 1 - Chicago Jazz Magazine Feature Interview - March 2019





Part 2 - Southport Records

With an interest in recording his own music, Sparrow, started volunteering his time at a local recording studio, learning the craft and trading his services for studio time. He soon started recording groups in a coach house where he lived. He and Joanie soon after met and moved to Southport Ave where the record label was born.


Watch Part 2 - Chicago Jazz Magazine Feature Interview - March 2019



Part 3 - Construction and Art

Sparrow talks about the relationship between general contracting (construction work) and how he relates it back to art. Although he is an accomplished artist, owner of Southport Records and Sparrow Sound Design he continues to do general contracting work but his take on how he things of it relates directly back to how he thinks about art.


Watch Part 3 - Chicago Jazz Magazine Feature Interview - March 2019



Part 4 - Mini Hits: The Jingle Business

For many years Joanie worked in the jingle business in Chicago, sometimes doing 2 or 3 sessions per day. She talks about her background in music, how working in the studios helped her to get a new perspective on the process of recording and performing on those sessions. She also talks about how it gave her a different perspective on the recording process and how it has helped her work with musicians recording on her label.


Watch Part 4 - Chicago Jazz Magazine Feature Interview - March 2019














bottom of page