The show that never happened?
Mickey Avalon might just be a figment of your imagination (Photo: Vector Management)
For about three days, Mickey Avalon and I played phone tag. I was supposed to interview him as a preview piece for his upcoming show at Whiskey Creek, but something always seemed to come up. I wasn’t too upset. I knew that either way, be it out of morbid curiosity or actual love for his music, people would show up …and they did.
When I first heard that Mickey Avalon was performing here in Mammoth, I recalled the first time I had experienced a Mickey Avalon song, which was about 3 years ago. My buddy Keith handed me his headphones on the chairlift here in Mammoth, “Wolf you gotta here this song.” I place the earbud, “My di*k VIP, your di*k needs ID. My di*k bigger than a bridge, your di*k looks like a little kid’s.” The song continues that rhyme scheme for about 3 minutes. The song, “My Di*k” was entertaining three years ago and has witnessed some longevity since being featured in films like “The Hangover” and “Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.” The subject matter of that song doesn’t stand alone. Most of Avalon’s lyrics bounce around themes of juvenile delinquency and an uncomfortable disdain for women.
His rap style evokes a sigh from seasoned hip-hop heads, but brings rebellious teenage girls and sexually confused boys to joyful tears. He doesn’t quite belong in rap and yet he doesn’t fit in rock. Perhaps a hybrid of David Bowie and Vanilla Ice, he truly is alone in his genre … appropriately called “Glam Rap.”
Instinctively you want to hate him, but who can blame the guy? His childhood resembles a Lifetime original movie mashed with “Requiem For a Dream.” In a very brief nutshell, Avalon’s story starts like an episode of HBO’s Weeds. His mother sold pot to pay the bills and when she caught the then 14 year old Mickey selling weed outside her house, she decided to bring him into “The Biz.”
Eventually Avalon became a successful drug dealer, and even began to raise a family. But things turned sour when he began dabbling in heroin. His mother fired him from “The Biz” and Mickey left his wife and daughter to pursue heroin, paying for it through male prostitution and porn.
After a chance meeting with ex-MTV VJ Simon Rex (aka Dirt Nasty) Mickey Avalon was inspired and thus began to work with Rex in developing his unique rap style. In a recent story in LA Weekly, Avalon claims he’s been clean from drugs for some time now.
It’s been more than 4 years since Mickey Avalon’s first and only self-titled album Mickey Avalon. For many artists, this would undoubtedly put them in the one-hit wonder category. But somehow Avalon stays relevant with non-stop touring highlighted by over-the-top performances. The subject matter of Avalon’s first album floats around themes of drug abuse, prostitution, themes of male dominance and criticism of “fake” Hollywood culture. These themes are evident in his live shows. If you attended his performance at Whiskey Creek last Monday then you know what I’m talking about. Avalon rarely travels without his two stripper/dancers that he routinely smacks around on stage.
Given Avalon’s checkered past, it’s easy to argue that Avalon’s lyrics and stage performances are something of a therapeutic exercise, a way to move past his demons. But I’m not sure if Avalon has ever actually done that. Several sources at the Monday night show told the Sheet that it was “blatantly obvious” that Avalon was too messed up to finish the show, and that during a few parts, Avalon actually pulled the microphone away from his face and yet, somehow, the lyrics continued.
Initial reactions from Avalon’s performance are a mixed bag of “awesome,” “too messed up to remember,” and “possibly the sh*ttiest show I’ve ever seen.” However, no matter the opinion of his act, people unanimously had a good time. The fact that people loved the show even if they hated Avalon, don’t remember it because they were too drunk, and don’t seem to care that Avalon probably lip synced most of the show is evidence that no one seems to really care. I think it’s safe to say that Avalon has now become more of a spectacle than a musician.
Do we have to be blackout drunk to enjoy an Avalon show? Does Avalon have to be blackout drunk to make it through a performance? One thing is clear, Avalon is an entertainer, not a rapper. The question is, for how long?
Ok, Lets sort out some facts rather than fiction. First, you claim that you never actually talked to Mickey Avalon but you seem to have quite a bit of information about him. Maybe you rewrote his biography off the internet? Is that considered lip-syncing in a journalists respect?
You also were not at the show but you say he had “strippers on stage” that he “routinely slaps around” Wow! first there certainly wasn’t any nudity and second he surely treats everyone in his crew with nothing but respect. I know I had spent 4 days with them and have also worked with the crew for over 5 years now.
You claim that Mickey “lip-synced” and “was too messed up to finish his show” (which neither is true) but again, you weren’t there to see for yourself AND you claim that your information comes from a third party that WAS too messed up to remember the show? Hmmm. Are you just upset that Mickey was too busy to return your last minute phone calls? What’s the real reason behind the bashing? Your “lip-synced” review coupled with third party information doesn’t seem to hold you to credible here.. I can tell you first hand, it was a sold out show and I’m still getting messages by the dozens about how incredible the show was and how Mammoth was nothing but ECSTATIC! 🙂
Really I’m not mad, but how do you write a review of an event you weren’t even at?! I just don’t think what you had to say was hardly fair let alone accurate! Shoot, the picture you used wan’t even from the Concert!
Wow, this article is pretty much garbage, and completely bogus by the end. I was off to the side of the stage for the entire show, and there is NO WAY that he lip synced any of the show at Whiskey Creek. I can’t believe that you would write this stuff. Mickey may still be a drug addict, but he definitely performed a complete show, and it never once seemed “blatantly obvious that he was too messed up to finish the show”…..this is a load of crap. The article makes it clear that you don’t have a clue what really went down that night. I was completely sober, and I thought it was an awesome show. Whether he was under the influence or not, he sounded great, finished a complete show, and performed with a style I expected. The guy might be dirty, but he’s definitely got skill with writing rhymes. Your entire article appears to be based off “hearsay”. Where is your credibility?! Maybe you would know more about him if you _actually_ got to interview him. Sucks for you. It seems that you should talk to more people who were at the Mickey show–people other than your select “sources”….All your sources were apparently “too messed up”.