THE BIZ : House Music

Southern California, home of garage sales and garage bands, also boasts another cottage industry: A garage record company.

The Pasadena garage of John Delgatto is the site of Sierra Records and its inventory of more than 20,000 records, tapes and CDs. The independent label produces rare country, rock and bluegrass recordings and over the past 20 years has cultivated an international mail-order clientele of about 7,000 music lovers.

The office of this two-person operation may be humble, but its achievements aren’t. The label was nominated for a Grammy in 1983 for “Graham Parsons, Emmylou Harris and the Fallen Angels, Live 1973.” It has won acclaim for its distinctive roster of bluegrass musicians, including Clarence White, the Kentucky Colonels (once dubbed “the Blind Faith of bluegrass”), Muleskinner and Doug Dillard. It also features works by rock violinist Richard Greene, the groundbreaking ‘60s comedy troupe Credibility Gap and other aural odds and ends.

By licensing individual tracks from other companies, Sierra has acquired an eclectic collection of rare and out-of-print songs. “We specialize in recordings that other companies are not interested in putting out on the market,” he says.

As for his work space, Delgatto shares four words of sage advice to other garage-minded entrepreneurs: “Find shade. Avoid water.”