Song Premiere: Rod Picott, “Where No One Knows My Name”

The Artist: Rod Picott
Who’s That: A hard-working American who writes about the day to day with a powerful eye for detail.
The Song: “Where No One Knows My Name,” from his forthcoming album Hang Your Hopes On A Crooked Nail.
Fun Fact: Picott grew up with fellow songwriter Slaid Cleaves, and used to date Amanda Shires. Small world.
Sounds like: a man making his mark; the antithesis of the Cheers theme song.
Author’s Notes: “‘Where No One Knows My Name’ was written to my 13-year-old self,” writes Picott. “I grew up in a very small town in southern Maine. While I see the beauty and idyl of that place now, at the time it was incredibly claustrophobic for me. We didn’t have much and neither did most of the people around us. There were essentially two jobs, the shoe shop or the navy yard.

“The essence of the song is in the line, ‘Don’t get above your raising son, you’re just a townie kid.’ That attitude filled the air where I grew up. Who do you think you are to be different? I had a lot of things on my mind as a young kid and none of them were in South Berwick, Maine. I had seen a Penthouse Magazine and The Who at Boston Garden. So you know, it’s hard to keep the kid on a paper route after that. The pace and thickness of the track is intentional. [Producer] R.S. Field and I wanted the track to feel like the character feels. It’s audio verite. We’re commenting on the character and letting him speak at the same time. Hang on kid, things are gonna change.

“George Wirth and Slaid Cleaves helped me finish the lyric when I was stuck at one point.”