Rod Picott and Pierce Pettis – April 22, 2023

Rod Picott has released thirteen albums over the last twenty years and at the age of fifty-seven his engine is still running strong. Picott, a former construction worker, traded his hammer for a guitar and never looked into the rear view mirror. Picott has written two poetry collections God In His Slippers and Murmuration (Mezcalita Press). His book of short stories titled Out Past The Wires is published by Working Title Farm. Rod Picott was born in New Hampshire, raised in Maine and has lived in Nashville Tennessee for twenty-five years. He is unnaturally prolific and released four albums in the last three years to rave reviews.

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 latest release is a double cd titled Wood, Steal Dust & Dreams featuring the twenty-three songs co-written with Slaid Cleaves over the last thirty years. 

2022 saw the release of Rod Picott’s fourteenth album titled Paper Hearts & Broken Arrows. It is a collection of some of the strongest songs Picott has put to tape, ranging from a heartbreaking narrative of boxer Sonny Liston’s tragic life to a full-throated and rocking declaration of loyalty. The album was produced by noted producer/ videographer Neilson Hubbard (John Prine, Lucinda Williams, Orphan Brigade). Pre-sales are accompanied by a raw collection of the acoustic demos recorded at Picott’s minimal home studio ­– bumped guitars, cursing, barking dogs and overhead planes are included. 

After a lifetime of crafting finely-wrought, heart-touching songs, singer-songwriter Pierce Pettis feels that he’s finally found his comfort zone. “The biggest change,” he says of this point in his career “has been getting over myself and realizing this is a job and a craft. And the purpose is not fame and fortune (whatever that is) but simply doing good work.” 

“From the time I was very little, I always had the music going in my head,” Pettis explains. “Like my own personal soundtrack or something. I also come from a fairly musical family: my mother went to music school and was an excellent organist and pianist.  And my sisters all played piano and other instruments.  In school, I met other kids who wanted to be rock stars, just like me.  From the time we were around 10 or so up through high school, we put together various bands — all of them horrible.”

His “horrible” bands didn’t deter him though and even though he had a nagging feeling  (“I thought I was supposed to be a doctor or something.”) he persevered, not only playing music but writing songs in a mix of rock, folk, country and R&B genres that landed him an unpaid position as a staff writer for Muscle Shoals Sounds Studios. While there, his track “Song at the End of the Movie” found its way to Joan Baez’s 1979 album Honest Lullaby.

Pettis hit the road and became a member of the “Fast Folk” movement in New York in the mid-1980’s.  He released one independent solo album, Moments (1984) before signing with High Street Records, a division of Windham Hill.  There, he released three albums: While the Serpent Lies Sleeping (1989), Tinseltown (1991), and Chase the Buffalo (1993).  His relationship with Tinseltown producer Mark Heard transcended the album.  After Heard’s untimely death in 1992, Pettis committed to including a song of Heard’s on every one of his own albums, a practice that continues to this day. 

Pettis was a staff songwriter for PolyGram from 1993-2000 and when his High Street contract ended, Pettis signed to Compass Records where he has released Making Light of It (1996), Everything Matters (1998), State of Grace (2001), and Great Big World (2004).  Pierce Pettis’ songs have been recorded by artists including Susan Ashton, Dar Williams, Garth Brooks and Art Garfunkel.

His album, “That Kind of Love” on Compass Records was released January 27 2009.  In 2013, “New Agrarians –Songs & Stories of the Southland” was released, a co-effort by Pierce Pettis, Kate Campbell & Tom Kimmel.  “Father’s Son”, Pettis’ newest solo project for Compass Records Group, was released January of 2019 to widespread critical praise in the US, UK and Europe.