My Appalachian Home-Randy Wood

 Long ago, surnames came to be in order to provide a family’s place of origin or the patriarch’s trade, and in the case of Randy Wood, the surname has served as creator of destiny: Wood’s father was a carpenter and a woodworker. His dad, along with some of his uncles, also loved music; the family played and sang together, adding another element to Randy’s future course. Fast forward: by the early 1970s, Randy had built a mandolin for Bill Monroe, added inlay work to Johnny Cash’s and Elvis’ guitars, been 1/3 of the trio that started what eventually became the now-famous Gruhn Guitars, and opened the original Old Time Pickin’ Parlor in Nashville.

Wood sold the business in 1979 — and he and Irene moved back to Georgia. For 22 years, they lived on the Isle of Hope; Wood considered himself semi-retired, and ran a woodshop, and a small mail-order business, out of the garage (“As long as UPS can find me, I’ll be all right”).

As more and more people moved into the area, however, he began to yearn for something more “rural.” Ten years ago, he bought four acres on Highway 80, built a house, a workshop and a retail store.

Later came the 100-seat performance venue (“Randy’s Pickin’ Parlor”) where some of the best bluegrass, country and acoustic musicians like to come and play – mostly because they know Randy Wood, and his reputation, and they know that wherever he is, there’ll be lots of people in the audience who love and appreciate top-quality acoustic music.

Every Saturday afternoon, there’s an informal jam in the store; pickers come from all over Georgia with their guitars, mandolins and fiddles.

Randy and Irene recently added a barbeque restaurant – it’s called the Pickin’ Pig – and on really busy days, the master instrument maker is in the kitchen, slow-cooking the ribs and chicken. 

“I stay broke, but I’ve always eaten good,” he laughs.

“I’ve made a decent living, and that I’m thankful for. I’ve been able to do something that I’ve always enjoyed doing. I can’t remember a day that I haven’t looked forward to getting up and going to work, and that’s something very few people can say.”