Party Rockin'

Mickey Avalon once described himself as the opposite of Radiohead. “Some kind of music is like real smartypants, you know, like Radiohead or something – nothing against them, I never heard their stuff actually but I know that they're real smart,” he told Music Fashion Magazine. “I'm not very smart, so I think the masses can deal with it… someone's gotta speak for the lowliest of the low… that's me, a voice for the voiceless.”

When Avalon emerged in 2006 he sounded more like a voice for the brainless. His breakthrough single, a slinking rap anthem called Jane Fonda, was an ode to the many arses that Avalon has admired, complete with incest, big breasts and at least two references to poultry. In Mr Right, the follow-up single, Avalon introduces himself to the world as, “That dude sleepin' with ya girlfriend/That man in the black Sedan with two cheap hookers and a Mexican/Pumpin' white lines, sippin' warm Coors Light/Mickey Avalon, call me Mr Right”. His notoriety grew from there.

If anyone doubted Avalon's credentials as a legitimate king of underdog sleaze, they were probably convinced by the biographic details that spiced up his early press releases. The son of a marijuana dealer and a heroin addict, Avalon ended up prostituting himself in Portland to support his own drug addiction before returning to his native Los Angeles to wreak havoc on the music biz. Seven years later, Avalon's reputation is still grimy as sin, but his reality is a fraction tidier. At 37, the most exciting event on the horizon for the perennially youthful-looking waif is a mortgage; he just bought his first home: “It's a very positive thing. I've never owned anything, I've always rented, so I'm super excited. I just wish I could be more present to take it all in, but once we're done I can get stuck into it.”

Fear not fans, the author of Stroke Me (2007) and Tight Blue Jeans (2011) is still devoted to his role as a first-rate hedonist and entertainer. As part of his forthcoming Australian tour, Avalon will host a private party for one lucky admirer and 20 of their closest friends. Presented by Kill Rock Stars, The Music and Store DJ, the 'Project: Mickey' competition is a first for Avalon: “I'm a little nervous!” he laughs. “I mean, it'll be fun. Most people don't look at partying as a responsibility or anything, but we've got so much stuff to do. I gotta make sure I don't get stuck there, you know what I mean? Like a one-night party turns into a three-day party, you know, that's my concern. But I also don't want to be the guy who's like, 'Oh yeah, that was fun, now I gotta go!'”

Avalon says he wouldn't dream of attempting a private party in the States; that privilege is reserved for his followers Down Under.” I hang out with my fans [in the States] a little. I'll do an hour meet-and-greet after the show or something, but I don't go back to hotel rooms,” he explains. “Everything here is uptight and I'm scared of cops getting called. I don't like being paranoid, either. If it's too loud or you're smoking in your room or whatever, the next thing you know someone's knocking at the door. I don't like things ending in handcuffs, you know, that's never fun. [In Australia] things have to be a bit more drastic out there before they call the cops, right?”

The favourable house party scene is just one of the things Avalon loves about our country. The heavily tattooed artist has an Australia flag etched on his right arm and his next visit will be the fifth in almost as many years. Avalon brought his 16-year-old daughter with him last time he was here and he plans to stick around after the shows and have a little vacation with his girlfriend.

“I always used to say… people around the world suck, I mean, except for your friends and family. For the most part people are shitty, so just go where the weather is good. Australia is the first place I found where the weather is good and everyone's super cool,” he enthuses. “If there was anywhere I'd live other than [the United States], it's there. I mean, I'd probably live there rather than here, but getting visas and leaving all my family and stuff is tough. But if shit ever went down here and I had to leave, Australia is where I'd go.”