We often forget that roots grow in Florida’s sandy soil. Buildings are demolished, progress is made, people move away and return – but at the base of it all is a historical underpinning of stories, music, and relationships that tells the underlying tale of what’s currently visible at the surface. The new film Pose Down takes place in southwest Florida in the mid-´90s. The story introduces us to a group of former classmates who are reunited several years after graduation, but then become entangled in a murder’s afterglow.
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The film’s creator, Erika Yeomans, knows the value of history; she drew from her own experiences growing up in that sweltering part of the state as she puzzled together various aesthetic elements for Pose Down. And like any life’s story, it wasn’t complete without music.
Yeomans is a fan and longtime acquaintance of Broward icon Charlie Pickett; she watched him in the ´80s, when his band Charlie Pickett and the Eggs ripped relentlessly across the country, branding each town it crossed with blazing hot rock 'n’ blues. She wanted his song “Phantom Train” to be in the soundtrack, and she asked him to play Sunday’s screening party as well; Pickett obliged on both counts. “It’s pretty amazing to be watching a movie and be like, ‘I know this,’” said Pickett about the proposal. But then, he’s been approached a lot lately from fans who grew up admiring him. Bloodshot Records contacted Pickett a couple of years back; they too were influenced by his music and asked if they could re-release a compilation of his greatest hits. The record should be out by this Christmas. And his recent reunion performance alongside another Broward former-rocker, Johnny Depp, was caught on film and is being turned into an arthouse flick.
These days Pickett is an attorney, and he’s humble about the attention his past is giving him: “To be 53 and lookin’ around sayin’ ‘Aint this something? Wow, damn! I would never have guessed this.’” He’s at a nice vantage point. He’s married with a son and a great career, but he admits that it was nice that his child was able to see Johnny Depp call him up on stage, “He said, ‘Wow, my dad really is a rock star!’” Get a first listen to our local legend, or soak up a piece of your musically formative years when Charlie performs today at the Pose Down screening party. New Times will be there, so will complimentary eats provided by Davie’s most generous tapas joint, Sips & Dips, and of course, Erika and everyone involved with Pose Down. The pre-party with Charlie Pickett runs from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30, on the patio of the Flight Deck, which is inside the newfangled student center/athletic complex at Nova University. The film screens at 7 p.m., just a few feet away at the Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center, also at Nova University (3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). Tickets range $5 to $8. Visit www.fliff.com.
Sun., Nov. 4, 2007
