Amanda Shires- Vocals, Fiddle, Baritone Ukulele, Thumb Piano
Rod Picott- Vocals, Guitar
Influences
Ernest Hemingway, Frankie McWhorter, Jim Thorpe, Finches, Good Boots, Octavio Paz, Dwight Schrute, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill a Mockingbird, Rope, Reverb, Tremelo, Red Wine, Russian Thistle, Pavia Italy, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Coffee, La Terraza, Lubbock TX., Pine Trees, Biographies, Georgia O'Keefe, Vermeer, Harry Houdini, Chet Baker
Sounds Like
Dark Southern Acoustic Songs Carved from Birch Limbs, Soaked in Turpentine and Covered in Snow
Rod Picott and Amanda Shires
A yankee singer-songwriter and a Texas fiddler might seem an unlikely pairing but the natural chemistry between Rod Picott and Amanda Shires is undeniable. Rising from the sun-driven plains of West Texas is fiddler and singer/songwriter Amanda Shires and from the northern mill towns of New England is Rod Picott.
At 16 Amanda Shires was playing fiddle with The Texas Playboys, an auspicious start that testifies to her natural talent and soulful delivery. From there, Shires went on to be one of the founding members of Lubbock's Thrift Store Cowboys, releasing 4 albums independently and reaching top ten status on many CMJ charts around the country as well as becoming the number one selling act in 2007 for the respected internet retailer Miles Of Music. In 2008 one of Amanda Shires compositions was featured on NPR's All Songs Considered. As an in demand side player Amanda has worked with Texas legends Billy Joe Shaver, and Gary P Nunn as well as Folk/Bluegrass favorites The Rowen Brothers, Whit Smith’s Hot Jazz Caravan, and one of Indie rock's hottest acts Devotchka. Her first solo album release Being Brave from 2005 , mixes brilliant arrangements and performances of traditional fiddle music along with several of her own compositions. Now 25 Amanda Shires stands in front of an already impressive body of work and on the edge of a career in full bloom.
In 1994 Rod Picott moved to Nashville TN. where he established himself as one of the better new writers in town as well as opening shows for Alison Krauss and Union Station and Gillian Welch. His co-write Broke Down with Slaid Cleaves was the most played song on Americana radio in 2001. Rod Picott has released 5 albums since 2001 to stellar reviews both stateside and overseas. Picott's debut release, Tiger Tom Dixon's Blues received airplay from Bob Harris on the BBC, and Music Row magazine’s Robert Oermann called the debut, "the birth of a major, major artist". 2002's Straydogs featured guest appearances from Alison Krauss and frequent co-writer Slaid Cleaves and found it's way onto the Americana chart for 5 weeks. Released in November 2004, Girl From Arkansas brought Picott's eye for lyric detail and whiskey-voiced delivery together with a newfound intimacy. In 2005, a collection of live performances titled Travel Log was released. Recorded in front of a small crowd in Charlotte N.C. the cd documents a soulful performance with accompaniment from dobro and lapsteel player Matt Mauch. In 2006 Picott co-produced, [with David Henry] Slaid Cleaves' Rounder Records release Unsung to great reviews. In the summer of 2007 Rod assembled some of his favorite musicians and recorded another album Summerbirds. Maverick magazine called Summerbirds "as damn near perfect as you can get" and gave the album a full five star review.
Amanda Shires and Rod Picott met at the Folk Alliance Conference in Austin Tx. in 2006. Over the following 2 years they toured throughout the States and Europe playing more than 150 shows together. In the winter of 2008 they began co-writing and recording their debut duo project. Rod Picott and Amanda Shires are currently touring The U.K. and Europe in support of their debut duo release, titled "Sew Your Heart with Wires" . The album is a completely acoustic recording featuring only their two voices, Picott's guitar and Shires' fiddle and Ukulele. The songs range from a murder ballad [Little Darlin'] to a gospel rave up [When You Get Your Story Told] to an outlaw narrative [Ruby]. All ten tracks were co-written by Rod Picott and Amanda Shires. The album's sound is rich, full of texture and drenched with soul and reverb. The UK/ European release for Sew Your Heart with Wires is October 27th. The album, distributed by Proper Distribution, reached 7 on the Euro/Americana chart and was voted 4 best debut album of 2008 by the FAR Chart reporters.
For more information:
www.rodpicott.com
www.amandashires.net
Contact: mail@rodpicott.com
View Rod Picott and Amanda Shires's EPK
Rod Picott and Amanda Shires's Friend Space (Top 7)
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Looking forward to seeing the two of you Friday night. So after wowing the crowd before Slaid Cleaves takes the stage this week, what songs are you going to play with him?
"The Comfort Zone" on CMR Nashville (broadcast from the UK) LISTEN LIVE Tuesday 7th April 2009 UK (BST) : 4pm-6pm, repeated 10pm-midnight USA (EST): 11am-1pm, repeated 5pm-7pm & 11pm-1pm Wednesday 8th April 2009 UK (BST) : 4am-6am repeated 10am-Noon USA (EST): 5am-7am Sunday 12th April 2009 UK (BST) : 2pm-4pm USA (EST): 9am-11am _____________________________________________
"The Comfort Zone" on CMR Nashville (broadcast from the UK) LISTEN LIVE Tuesday 17th March 2009 UK (GMT) : 4pm-6pm, repeated 10pm-midnight USA (EST): 11am-1pm, repeated 5pm-7pm & 11pm-1pm Wednesday 18th March 2009 UK (GMT) : 4am-6am repeated 10am-Noon USA (EST): 5am-7am Sunday 22nd March 2009 UK (GMT) : 2pm-4pm USA (EST): 9am-11am _____________________________________________
"Sew Your Heart With Wire" is great, all Rod Picott and Amanda Shires fan should BUY THIS CD, IT IS GREAT !!! It was a fun show at Goodfolk last night, it is always great to hear y'all playing live.
"The Comfort Zone" CMR Nashville UK (GMT) times: Tuesday 17th February 2009 4pm-6pm, repeated 10pm-midnight Wednesday 18th February 2009 repeated 4am-6am and 10am-Noon Sunday 22nd February 2009 repeated 2pm-4pm Listen Live
Rod and Amanda- Just got my cd in the mail yesterday and I've already played it about 5 times. WOW! REALLY nice. Thanks to John Conquest and Joseph Hazelwood for bringing you both to my attention. PLEASE come to Chicago!
