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The thrum of insects on a hot August night. A saw blade biting kiln-dried hemlock. The lonesome highway whine of long-haul trucks. A crude swallow of cheap whiskey that tears at your throat. Tears of loss and the easy laughter of old friends. This is the sound of Rod Picott’s world.
Over twenty-three years, twelve albums, three published books and a few thousand shows Rod Picott has worked; powered by the fuel of the blue-collar world he was born into. The son of a hard drinking welder and a homemaker, Picott’s youth set him on a road of self-reliance and fierce independence that at fifty-eight years still runs through his blood. Raised in the small town of South Berwick Maine, Rod Picott was a restless and rebellious youth and after high school, a construction worker by trade until moving to Nashville TN. in 1994. He turned down the one record deal he was offered at the start of his career and did not look in the rearview mirror; choosing instead to cut his own path and lay a bet on his own hard work.
“My parents had that worry over my future that all parents have. Their dream for me was to be an electrician at the shipyard but by fifteen years old I’d already seen Chrissie Hynde in leather pants so I sort of had other things on my mind – and they weren’t in South Berwick Maine.” – R.P.
Through luck and white knuckled determination Picott has been fortunate to open a tour for Alison Krauss and Union Station, play the Shrewsbury Folk festival, appear several times on the BBC2 Bob Harris sessions, play the Maverick Festival and receive the “Song of the Year” award for his co-write (w/Slaid Cleaves) “Broke Down” at the Austin Music Awards.
Rod Picott’s latest album, Starlight Tour, was produced by musician and filmmaker Neilson Hubbard (John Prine, Lucinda Williams)Starlight Tourfeatures some of Picott’s sharpest writing to date. The album ponders the songwriter’s own difficult past and peers into an uncertain future. The album has a feel of noir cinema. There is a darkness and uncertainty roiling through the collection of songs but there is also hope and grace shadowing alongside.
Picott has had songs placed in television and film projects including The FX series Justified and the Michael Douglas film Solitary Man. His song "Circus Girl" was featured in the PBS documentary Circus.
Picott types with two fingers as he failed typing class – though excelled in English and Literature. Rod Picott has toured as the opening act for Alison Krauss & Union Station and won the song of the year award at The Austin Music Awards for his song “Broke Down” co-written with Slaid Cleaves. Picott’s double cd titled Wood, Steal Dust & Dreams features the twenty-three songs co-written with Slaid Cleaves over the last thirty years.
For more information on Rod Picott’s work visit: www.rodpicott.com
Contact Rod at Mail@RodPicott.com He likes to hear from people. He lives alone.
The new album Starlight Tour has arrived. We are getting some of the best reviews of my career for this piece of work. Produced by Neilson Hubbard and featuring Lex Price, Juan Solorzano and Neilson himself pounding the drums; Starlight Tour is possibly the finest album I’ve made in 23 years of digging these ditches. I’ll let you decide…
For U.S. shipping: $19
For Europe shipping $30
PayPal: PayPal.me/RodPicott
Rod Picott so vividly conveys the lives of those on the edge, struggling to earn a living or those just too exhausted to carry on. Much of his inspiration is personal; he has lived that life himself. A trademark of his writing are the characters through whom he portrays his vista of bleakness. Starlight Tour is a bit different.
Unchanged is Picott’s relentless melancholy. What is different is his perspective. He looks back at his life but also ponders darkly what lies ahead. With far fewer years to go than have passed, Picott, who lost his mother three years ago and fears for his elderly father, thinks about his own mortality, a theme that runs through the entire album. There is a sense of reckoning but also defiance, grace, and dignity.
Starlight Tour opens with “Next Man in Line,” which sets the scene as only Picott can. Who can’t imagine “Two old dogs sitting on a Goodwill sofa / One wears plaid on plaid / You couldn’t wake him with a Louisville Slugger.” But this is no illustration, this is Picott Sr., once a boxer and now frail. Picott the son knows that he really is now the “next man in line.” The band’s jaunty beat belies such dark thoughts.
Behind Picott on the album is a first-class group of musicians; Lex Price on bass and mandolin, Juan Solorzano on guitars and keys, and drummer Neilson Hubbard who, as producer, pulled the whole effort into a distinct sound. Tight, at times upbeat, these players create the oxygen for Picott to breathe his songs.
“Digging Ditches” is autobiographical. To a bluesy backdrop Picott rasps,” decorated with scars and stitches / guys like me digging ditches.” A dad who says little, mom keeping house, and everyone working themselves to the bone. Picott rams home a sense of inevitability. There is no other life for these folks. From the general Picott knows when to zoom in to the particular. A respite from a life of toil could be that of a “Television Preacher.” In a voice laden with sadness yet with deep sympathy, Picott mourns how these charlatans prey on the vulnerable.
Screenwriter Brian Koppelman and Picott’s long-standing collaborator Slaid Cleaves had written “A Punchers Chance,” then sent it Picott, who put it to music and gave all the boxing references a metaphorical ring — essentially, “Will you take a chance on me?” For “Combine,” which originated with Koppelman, Picott added details that only one who has worked on such a machine could. His intense anxiety about bringing in one more harvest is palpable. With Amy Speace, Picott wrote “Homecoming Queen,” a story of hope and potential that never survived youth. Picott’s wistful vocals outweigh the band’s cheery tempo to ensure a desolate ending.
As Picott admits in a press release announcing the album, melancholy is “my stock-in-trade.” “Pelican Bay” is the tragic story of the total disintegration of a Vietnam veteran’s life. In scarcely more than a whisper, Picott takes the listener right to that seashore, where the vet is all alone, “watching birds dive on Pelican Bay.” Closing song “Time to Let Go of Your Dreams” is by his own admission the saddest song he’s ever written. The character is a 59-year-old singer-songwriter facing up to his life, his work, his aging father, the profound depression he’s suffered, and his future. Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits must be looking down as Picott’s gravely funereal voice and accompanying distant horn seem to signal the end. But it isn’t. Picott ends on hope: He will do things differently because “it’s time to find a new dream.”
Starlight Tour is raw and totally absorbing. Rod Picott has bared his soul to such an extent he rates this one of the best albums he’s ever made. It’s hard to disagree.
– Lyndon Bolton/ No Depression
“Rod Picott is one of our too-little-known songwriting treasures. Like Hemingway, he peers into the jangly tentativeness of the relationships between men and women. Like Harry Crews, he captures the spectral gothic shadows that haunt rural settings. Like Townes Van Zandt, Picott tells riveting tales about memorable characters — the moonshiner, Sonny Liston, his daddy — that plumb the misery and the fleeting moments of hope that mark the human condition.”
Henry Carrigan, No Depression
“A truly brilliant example of skill and savvy,”
Lee Zimmerman, The Alternate Root
“Picott has loyal fans behind him, loyal from hearing decades of his sincere, classy songwriting. But I would like to announce to them all that this album is not “just another Rod Picott album.” Yes it has the same depth of talented songwriting you’ve come to expect, yes it still taps into the core of human angst, and yes it is full of grizzled and raw characters.”
Melissa Clarke, Americana Highways
“Picott says he thinks this might be the best album he’s made. I think he may be right.”
Mike Davies, Folk Radio UK
“Picott was always a master musician and lyricist – and this album is really special – chock full of fantastic songs that will linger in the listeners mind for ages after first listening. Simply masterful.”
Paul Russell, Americana UK
“Picott’s albums are like that aged bottle of wine or whiskey you hoard for special occasions to be shared only with your significant other or maybe just alone. You marvel at his storytelling and dive in intensely as if it’s just he and you in that one room. His songs are just too good to share with casual listeners who don’t appreciate great writing.”
Jim Hynes, Glide Magazine
“A collection of honest stories about injustices and resilience, and persevering despite adversity. Throughout the album, Rod Picott’s voice is soulful but cracked, as if he’s keeping a tight rein on his own emotions to ensure that his devastating lyrics hit their target: your heart, mind and soul.”
Alan Cackett
“In creating an album with so much honesty and emotional perception on a personal level, Rod Picott has tapped into the seam of the universal. Musically, it’s been perfectly crafted – stand up and take a bow Neilson Hubbard – around the timbre of Rod’s vocals and it’s drawn some wonderful vocal performances that ally the medium and the message. I love it when artistically, everything falls into place for an artist – and that’s true of Rod Picott’s.”
Nick Barber, The Rocking Magpie
“Rod Picott doesn’t leave anything to chance. His songs are expertly crafted, living creations filled with marks of the human condition. He continually impresses, constantly grows within his art. Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows reveals an inability to rest on well-earned laurels.”
Donald Teplyske, Fervor Coulee
“The production is perfectly aligned with the stark delivery so the songs stand like beacons unadorned…Picott is an exceptional songwriter and life observer.”
Rob Dickens, Listening Through The Lens
“The ace story teller brings things to their basics, delivers his sharpest writing yet and totally knocks you over. Singer/songwriter material at the top of it's game.”
Chris Spector, Midwest Record
“On ‘Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows’ he has delivered a beautiful and haunting record featuring vivid characters, social situations and personal stories.”
Gerry McNally, Folk and Tumble
Patreon:
For those who have joined me on Patreon: Thank you! For those who are interested but unsure you can check it out here: https://www.patreon.com/RodPicott
Patreon is a website that allows artists to host demos, music, writing, videos and all sorts of work that would otherwise not see the public eye. It’s a way for listeners, readers and fans (I’ve never gotten used to that word) to support artists with a small monthly donation. You can opt out at any time, you’re not trapped there once you sign up. You can join for as little as $5 per month. My own Patreon page has never-released demos of old and new songs, writing, videos, poetry and readings from the in-the-works novel.
Wood, Steel, Dust & Dreams is a double CD of all the co-writes Slaid Cleaves and I have written together over 32 years. These are all new recordings of the songs. Many are reimagined and have special guests such as Slaid himself as well as Matt Mauch, Will Kimbrough, Lex Price and Nielson Hubbard. The project is a limited release but there are a few copies remaining. The CD includes a 32 page booklet with notes on the songs. If you would like to purchase one of the remaining copies you can PayPal $50 plus $3 Shipping U.S. There are very few copies left and when it’s gone it’s gone forever…
*U.K. residents – There is now a small stock of this project in the U.K. so you can save quite a few pounds by simply sending me an email Mail@RodPicott.com Please remember to include your shipping address!
"Picott sings with a bare and bones grace reminiscent of Springsteen’s Nebraska and the off the cuff lyrical and musical directness of the late Jason Molina. Too many important artists fly under the musical radar today, and Picott is yet another valid wordsmith that needs to be heard." – Glide Magazine
Quotes from past releases:
“mesmerizing” - Rolling Stone.com
“songs like Raymond Carver short stories” - Houston Chronicle
“proves once again he’s a ringmaster at turning misery into art” - Boston Globe
“carefully crafted and vibrant” - American Songwriter
“perfectly crafted” - NewsHub
“it’s the songwriting that really makes the difference” - The Bluegrass Situation
“a truly great songwriter” - 3rd Coast Music
“poignant, blatantly honest and emotive” - The Boot
“seriously gifted” - No Depression