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Inspired by a solitary trip through the South without a working car radio and only his own thoughts to keep him company, Mark Pickerel’s second album for Bloodshot, Cody’s Dream, is a Steinbeckian odyssey through modern America; a tale of throughways and the characters that occupy them. The result: 13 dusty gems flirting with the static-y ghosts of Motown, Tin Pan Alley, classic pop, and soul; dancing across the radio spectrum like a trail of mileposts in the rearview.

Cody’s Dream sees Mark once again back to work with legendary producer Steve Fisk (Nirvana, Screaming Trees, Wedding Present), and a crack team of Northwest music all-star players, including guitarist Johnny Sangster (whose production credits include Mudhoney, The Fucking Eagles, The Briefs), Jim Sangster on bass (Young Fresh Fellows), and drummer Michael Musburger (Supersuckers, Fastbacks, Posies). Other VIPs include Texan guitar slinger Ian Moore and cellist Barb Hunter (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers).

With Mark, it’s about THE VOICE – a sly baritone equally inviting and troubling but as-cool-as-the-other-side-of-the-pillow: a verbal reincarnation of Lee Marvin. Warm whiskey breath on a cold winter’s night. Quite a feat for a guy who made his name as a drummer for such seminal bands as Nirvana, Screaming Trees, and more recent not-too-shabby peers Neko Case, Brandi Carlile, and Mark Lanegan. A lover of touring, Pickerel covered the United States in the past few years, most notably with stellar performances at CMJ, SXSW and a tour with Robyn Hitchcock.

Cody’s Dream is a bold addition to Mark’s impressive canon of work: elegies and testimonials of the places for restless souls and the roads that take them there. So turn the key and head out into the wilderness. You’re not alone.

"Pickerel’s dusky baritone sounds like gathering storm clouds in the Arizona desert, while his band conjures up a dusty landscape of spaghetti-Western-tinged saloon rock and lonesome Americana, tempered with the occasional dash of cowpunk. If that sounds dour, it’s not: Pickerel’s a hopeless romantic with flawless tastes and an uncanny knack for combining his influences into remarkably compelling and original art and storytelling." Harp Magazine

"Sounding like a cross between Lee Hazelwood and Nick Cave, Pickerel has rustled up a batch of unforgettable country noir that references the past while sounding thoroughly modern." Barbara Mitchell Portland Mercury

"Like a dream half remembered, Pickerel’s music gives you a mysterious sense of déjà vu. I have been in this landscape/soundscape before, and I like it." The Scene

" Terrifically haunting...just might, in fact, put voices in your head on the next long drive." Andy Turner No Depression

"Cody’s Dream has a soul that goes beyond music and all the credit goes to Pickerel for moving forward and giving us the goods he teased his last go-round. Pickerel found direction and now we’re ready to hitch our car to wherever his speeding train takes us."Electronic Voice Phenomenon