SoundNews Vol 88
Summer 2024
Sparrow Sound Design, Southport Records News & Commentary
by b.p. sparrow
Old Tires and New People
All of a sudden I woke up and I am old. Not sure when or how it happened.
Perhaps when I was asleep last night? Perhaps in the middle of a piano solo.
When I was walking down the street today younger people did not see me. I had to
get out of their way. There was no eye contact. Was I or they the Zombie? There was no eye contact because they were all young and happy. The 30's, the 40's, the 50's the 60's, the ???.....perhaps I should look for a phonebooth since ALL of the people are on their phones...young people on a date both pressing their phones walking into old people that try and cross the street to fetch groceries or medicine.
All of a sudden I woke up this morning and I am old. Then a little puppy dog shot over to me on the sidewalk, bending it's rear end and tail tongue plunging out of his mouth and he or she danced jumped up on my leg and knew that, alas I am still here!
The owner of the dog was on their cell phone.
Gas Pipes In Chicago?
How did the gas pipes in underground Chicago get so old? We all pay our bills.
Now they are tearing up all the streets and sidewalks to replace. The state put a
hold on the job and now gas meters are hanging from buildings....they are over budget.
At the same time the City of Chicago wants to "ban" natural gas and go all electric?
So we will have new gas lines and can't use gas? Who is talking to who? And what about the lead water lines that need to be replaced? Can't we do those first?? Or at the same time?
Windows For Dummies
Windows 11 keeps telling me that my computer can not update from Windows 10. Why?
Do they want to destroy all the computer networks in the world at the same time?
Parking Meters In Chicago
In the old days you could put a Quarter in da parking meter and "get" 1/2 hour.
Now when you insert a quarter in the electronic cyber meter you get 6 minutes,
(in my hood, near north.) Downtown you get 10 seconds, enough time to get another
quarter out of your pocket. The funds are to sent to a Saudi Arabian company.
The Sound Of Stereo and 75 cent basement haircuts
Way back when I was a kid Viet Nam Vets who made it home would purchase a large muscle car like a Pontiac 442 and an even larger stereo system. The larger the modular speakers were, the better. Walter Boyde, son of the local basement barber had speakers that seemed 10 feet tall, spread left and right to his new black leather sofa.
The "stereo" had a 300 watt Sansui receiver and would accept other inputs, like 8 track tape deck, turntable. There would be volume wars in the neighborhood called the pocket on 7000 South Woodlawn. The recent death of the CD format and a move back to LP's is sad. There are no more home stereo systems, just buds that go into the ear. No more personal CD collection with graphics and information, just cloud music...and no more 10 feet tall speakers, just anonymous streaming data..I cry.......who is that band? If the streaming cloud ever had a technical problem and all of your music was lost...what would you do. There is no backup.
THE SOUTHPORT LABEL CONTINUES, NEW RELEASES!! 2024
"April & Joanie Sing!"
Vocalists April Aloisio and Joanie Pallatto have been friends in both music and life for over 40 years. For a time in the Cincinnati area they paid all the singers dues, playing gigs in tiny bars and hotel lobby's. Over the years they often have sung duets on a variety of Albums and CDs. Our new Southport release is a collection of these duets from both of their projects. Along with all of this are two newly recorded duets with famed guitar master Fareed Haque. They are the George Harrison Beatles classic "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and from the band Cream-"I Feel Free." So, take a journey with April and Joanie blending music and friendship with "April & Joanie Sing!" A late summer CD, 8 track, LP and cassette release (Just kidding about the formats..Ha Ha. Look for shows in Chicago and Cincinnati and Kentucky..Kentucky??
“Joanie & Sparrow… Duets”
Label founders Joanie Pallatto and Sparrow are recording their first duo CD, if Blue Note does not pick it up, Southport will release it on the coldest winter day in 2025.
Passing Tones
In the news: Polish Composer Kaczmarek dies:
Jan A. P. Kaczmarek
(29 April 1953 – 21 May 2024)
Kaczmarek’s death was announced by Poland’s Music Foundation which had been informed of his passing by the composer’s wife, Aleksandra Twardowska-Kaczmarek. He had suffered from MSA, a rare degenerative neurological disorder. Jan A. P. Kaczmarek, who won a 2005 Oscar for his original score to "Finding Neverland" was 71.
On a personal note, our hearts are full, hearing of the death of Mr. Kaczmarek. So many years have passed, and we followed his distinguished career from afar. Our deepest condolences to his family and colleagues.
Joanie and I had the privilege of working with these amazing musicians in 1982. I met Mr. Kaczmarek when I was working as a sound engineer and sometimes bartender at Crosscurrents cabaret in Chicago. He wanted to record his first album at our studio because he read that we had a Tascam Model 15 mixing console. We bought it brand new and it came with no instructions. He said they had the same console in Poland, and Tomasz Jaskowiak knew how to work the Tascam. We thought that was a plan, having no idea of the compelling music that would take place. Jan played the Fidola on the recording, and I took the cover photo for the LP at a train car in Chicago, in black and white.
Orchestra of the Eighth Day
Music for the End (1982)
Executive Producer: Bruce Kaplan, Flying Fish Records
Recorded at Sparrow Sound Design, Chicago
Recorded By – Tomasz Jaskowiak
Mixed and Mastered by Mike Rasfeld, Acme Recording
Liner Notes by Studs Terkel
April & Joanie Sing!
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