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Michael Pickett
Some say the blues is at home in the Mississippi Delta where that river joins the Atlantic, but if singer/songwriter Michael Pickett is any indication, it vacations a bit further north.
Pickett, a native of Canada, discovered the blues at any early age when harmonica player Sonny Terry and guitarist Brian McGhee appear together on TV. One concert in Toronto later, and he was hooked.
“I discovered black American blues music, and I didn’t look back,” he said.
Starting in the ’70s, he was the harmonica player and frontman for a succession of blues bands before eventually embarking on this own in 2001. Unfortunately, he said, by that point he discovered he wasn’t up to the task of songwriting or guitar playing, a problem that took five years of extensive practice to alleviate.
“I was playing 12-16 hours a day, and I never left the house without a guitar,” he said. “I’ve never really had a guitar lesson in my life, so I watch, and I look at the shape of players’ hands.”
Modeling himself on artists such as Steve Goodman, Tom Rush and John Hammond, he developed an intense playing style that borders on instrument battery. He doesn’t just play the guitar — he assaults it, fingers attacking the strings while his foot pounds the beat into the floor.
He’ll continue his exploration of the blues Saturday night at Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse. He said he hopes this gig will be less nerve-wracking than his first Tennessee performance.
“The first trip I made was to Nashville for the Folk Alliance a number of years ago,” he said. “I had just started playing guitar, and I was thinking, ‘I just started playing, and I’m going to take it out of the box in Nashville? Are you kidding?’ ”
IF YOU GO
What: Michael Pickett in concert.
When: 8 p.m. Saturday.
Where: Charles & Myrtle’s Coffeehouse, Christ Unity Church, 105 McBrien Road.
Admission: $10 donation suggested.
Phone: 892-4960.
Venue Web site: www.christunity.org.
Related links at timesfreepress.com.
DISCOGRAPHY
1998, “Blues Money”
2000, “Conversation with the Blues”
2003, “Michael Pickett Solo”
2004, “Live at Winterfolk!”
AWARDS
1998 — “Blues Money” nominated for a JUNO (received the Jazz Report and Real Blues awards for Blues Album of the Year)
1998 — Pickett presented Maple Blues’ Blues With a Feeling Award in recognition of his passion and lifetime commitment to the genre
2000 — “Conversation With the Blues” earned another JUNO nomination and won the Canadian Indie Music Award for Blues Album of the Year
Casey Phillips has worked as a features reporter in the Life department for three years. He writes about entertainment, young adults, animals and people of interest. Casey hails from Knoxville and earned a bachelor of science degree in journalism and a bachelor of arts in German. He previously worked as the features editor for Sidelines at Middle Tennessee State University. Casey received the East Tennessee Society of Professional Journalists Award of Excellence for Reviewing/Criticism in ...
