Round about 15 years ago, Rod Picott was working construction. Now, he's writing songs, telling stories, and traveling highways. It was 2001's Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues that got things started with the upcoming Fortune (out August 14) being the latest notch on his artistic tool belt.
More often than not, Picott has turned his gaze outward and cast a wide array of characters in his songs. On this, his seventh set, he pivots to his own life, putting himself under the musical microscope instead. To capture the raw vulnerability of the songs, Picott and company — guitarist Will Kimbrough, bassist Lex Price, and producer/drummer Neilson Hubbard — recorded fast and loose … and live. But it's the songwriting that really makes the difference.
“I don’t usually write finger-pointing songs, but I have to admit it felt satisfying to snarl a bit on this record,” Picott offers. “'I Was Not Worth Your Love' was written as a push back to the people in our lives who make us feel less than we are. Every one of us navigates these people at one time or another. It could be a lover, a partner, even a parent who puts you on your back foot. It’s a song about standing up for yourself and calling them out, but it’s also about forgiveness. The last line is the whole song really: 'The night sky is different now — your star doesn’t hang where it was. Back when it killed me that I was not worth your love.' I’m beyond your reach now. I’m my own person in the world and I’m taking my place without your permission.”
Photo by Stacie Huckeba
