Charlie Pickett w/Peter Buck
What I like About Miami
Bloodshot Records
Back when I first moved to Florida in the 1980s, Charlie Pickett was something of a legend. He was a Miami punk spewing out primal rock that would later be embraced as Americana. His music was all about a vicious guitar hook and a story. His music career never really got much beyond cult status and Charlie eventually went to law school. These days, he’s a lawyer who plays rock and roll on the side.
“What I Like About Miami” is a new song. It’s from an album that’s still in the works, Charlie’s first new album in years. He brought in Peter Buck to trade guitar licks while Charlie sings about the things that keep him in the South Florida. Things like South Beach, Cuban girls and spending all night at Churchill’s Hideaway. It’s under three minutes of snarl and slicing slide guitar begging to be the title track to a gritty true crime drama.
Charlie and the folks at Bloodshot have released the single early because Hurricane Irma fucked up all of South Florida. All profits from the sales of this single (and the 2008 compilation album Bar Band Americanus) will go to Direct Relief emergency response for Hurricane Irma victims. In the press release, Pickett said, “Watching the storm approach, I wanted to do something to raise spirits as much as money. This song has been a celebration in our shows, and it’s a song that rallies around what makes South Florida what it is.
