Rod Picott used to be a construction worker but since forsaking manual labour for artistic endeavour he has released twelve albums, two poetry collections and a book of short stories.
He was born in New Hampshire, raised in Maine and has lived in Nashville, Tennessee for twenty-five years. At the age of fifty-six it's evident that his creative juices are still flowing well. He still has the Fire Inside.
Picott’s latest work is a double album featuring twenty five songs co-written with Slaid Cleaves over the last thirty years. Cleaves says of their working relationship that “Working together, we can often see what the other is missing.”
You won’t find this album on any streaming sites although most of the songs have appeared in different versions on previous albums. The only way you can hear all these freshly recorded collaborations is to buy the album direct from Picott.
Each copy will be numbered and signed and when they are sold out they’ll never be made available again. Explaining this decision, he says: “It’s not about the money. If I’d wanted to chase that particular drug I’d have gone into banking or investing.”
Delivered in what Picott calls “my groaning wound of a voice”, the strength of these songs is that they derive from authentic experiences of blue collar workers and drifters looking to find a direction in life and a future that makes some kind of sense.
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A world formed by a Drunken Barber's Hand is never going to be logical, fair or easy but Picott and Sleaves’ unfiltered perspective is always pragmatic rather than despairing.
Produced by Neilson Hubbard, the arrangements are stripped down to essentials, mostly simply vocals, acoustic or electric guitar and harmonica; no percussion or obvious overdubs.
The stories are told in the first person or from the point of view of characters aware of the disconnect between dreams of better days and reality. Broken hearts still beat and hopes remain intact.
On Rust Belt Fields, Picott sings “No one remembers your name just for working hard.” This album is the fruit of hard work but also demonstrates a mastery of the song writing craft and it is for that he will be remembered.
Rod Picott’s website
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