Porter WagonerGold rhinestone-encrusted boots and elaborately stitched wagon-wheel cuffs provide some showbiz flash for the cover.
But inside photographer Ed Rodthe coffee table book Songwriter Musician: Behind the Curtain With Nashville's Iconic Storytellers and Playersa series of still images captures a raw sense of dozens of creators connected to Music City.
The chicks they make silly faces for the camera, informal Luke Bryan he plays the guitar with his shoe hitting the couch, Dolly Parton lost in personal nostalgia, Dierks Bentley strikes a pose next to the mud-covered pickup truck that brought him to Nashville and George Strait he flashes a smile under a clear blue sky, though his eyes suggest little sadness or weariness.
Humans operate in a dynamic world and through constant movement, convey multiple emotions simultaneously. When they reveal more than intended, a change in expression or gesture can mask deep feelings as they rise to the surface. But a still photo, taken at the right moment, can capture a fleeting window into something intangible in the subject that might have been perceptible for a millisecond.
Given the emotional mood at the heart of music, Rode's portraits add depth to a range of familiar artists and not-so-public songwriters and musicians. Self-published August 20 by Ed Rode Photography, Songwriter Musician is more than 30 years in the making, drawing on the thousands of music-related photos he's collected since moving to Nashville in 1990.
“The way I like to take pictures – as a photojournalist, as a documentary photographer – is to capture moments, capture people as they are, try to reveal personalities, try to really tell a story,” says Rode. “I want to tell a story with a picture.”
Writing about music, it's been said, is like dancing about architecture – words can never fully capture the tone of an apartment or the growl of a Telecaster. Similarly, a photograph cannot convey the soulful tone of a sparkling mandolin or the raucous volume of an amplified honky-tonk. But Rode's photo of the bluegrass icon Bill Monroeleaning against a tree as he plucked his Gibson F-5 Master provides a sense of Monroe's relationship with his instrument. And a two-page spread of it Keith Urban and Steven Tyler Jamming in front of a packed house in Tootsie's Orchid Lounge captures the exuberance in the room, even if the page itself is silent.
Rode relates the joy of the Urban-Tyler club partnership and the necessity that drove Monroe to play 10 minutes of impromptu for a Tennessee stadium crowd.
“When he started playing, he was [like] breathing,” says Rode. “That's how I feel. I wake up every morning and I want to get a camera, I want to go take a picture. I want to capture a moment that will never happen again. I dream about it. To me, I'm the luckiest SOB in the world. I'm doing something I absolutely love.”
Rode's younger years set him on a path that is obvious in retrospect. He grew up in a Midwestern home where Chet Atkins and The Beatles was often on the record player. He had an affinity for the drum, which ticked off his teachers and the principal of his Catholic school, who was able to monitor the lessons from his office.
“I'd be there and I'd come out of the office,” he recalls, “and over the loud speaker I'd say, 'Hey, stop beating the drums.' And for me that was like fuel.”
Studied at The Grand Rapids Press in Michigan, learning his craft while photographing rock concerts, car wrecks, political speeches and basketball games. Shortly after accepting a job at The Nashville Banner In 1990, he got an assignment to cover a No.1 party, where he met Atkins, the same guy whose albums were part of his childhood soundtrack. Rode liked Atkins and had him in his office on Music Row several times. And, as Rode became involved in the city's creative community, Atkins encouraged him to consider making some kind of documentary about Nashville's songwriters and musicians.
Within a few years, Rode went freelance, shooting album covers, Music Row parties and concerts, and built up a substantial catalog of candid shots and formal portraits. He periodically pitched the coffee book to publishers, but never ate any. Finally, with the help of several investors, he designed and self-published the book, unsure of its commercial value but convinced of its historical significance. It captures many familiar faces — Taylor Swift, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn and Chris Stapletonjust for starters — but it also features several “insiders,” including the songwriter Bob McDill (“Good Ole Boys Like Me,” “Amanda”), guitarist Mike Hendersonsongwriter Dennis Morgan (“Smoky Mountain Rain”, “River of Love”) and producer Chris DeStefano (Chris Young, Chase Rice).
Rode has an affinity for the work of his subjects.
“I feel like we're both starting with blank slates,” he explains. “Back in the day, you'd put in a blank roll of film and shoot. You start with nothing. And when you write a song, you have a piece of paper in front of you and a pencil or whatever and you start with nothing and then something comes out. And I kind of felt that kinship a little bit.”
Rode sells Songwriter Musician from his website, but although his 30-year project is complete, the project is not.
“I haven't stopped shooting songwriters,” he says. “The day I leave this earth, you can say my career is over. But until then, it's very easy to pick up this camera and take it with me wherever I go.”
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