Fifteen Questions with Mickey Avalon

1. Fifteen Minutes: You grew up in California and have been living there for almost all of your life.  Are you a Cali boy at heart?

Mickey Avalon: Yeah, I really am. You don’t really realize those kinds of things until you go somewhere else .... Now that I have been around the world, I definitely know that I am a California boy. I think people are pretty fucked everywhere in the world, so it’s best to find a place where the weather is good and where your family is.

2. FM: How does the East Coast compare?

MA: I like the East Coast. I like the pace; it’s fast ....  [People on the East Coast] might get a bad rep, but they are more no-nonsense and just don’t have the time to be all warm and fuzzy.  I also like the colder places because it makes the girls have to hold on to a couple extra pounds, to be a little thicker.

3. FM: Do you think there are differences between East Coast and West Coast audiences?

MA: I think that if you’re going to come to my show, it’s pretty similar across the board.  But I think in general in Hollywood ... Some people think they are too cool for school and may be secretly enjoying themselves but not showing it.  You came to this show for a reason, so have fun!

4. FM: How do you know if you gave a really good performance?

MA: That’s like knowing if you had good sex or bad sex. You just know. I guess I gauge it off of how much fun I had .... The less it felt like work, the better it probably was.

5. FM: Have you ever had a really strange concert experience?

MA: Recently I played in Toronto, and somebody gave me a bunch of GHB. When I got on stage, I was on autopilot for the most part. The words were there, but I couldn’t get them out of my mouth. It was like reaching in a drawer where you can see everything that’s in the drawer, but you can’t grab it for whatever reason .... I am obviously not anti-having-a-good-time, but you should still be able to perform and do your job well.

6. FM: Where do you think you derive the intensity of your lyrics from?

MA: The same things that get me in trouble are the things that make my lyrics.

7. FM: It seems like you have been maturing a lot as a person. Do you think your music is also maturing?

MA: I don’t make music. I don’t make the beats. I just do the words and the vocals, which forces me to work with other people .... Maybe the maturity comes in with the team that’s behind me.

8. FM: You have been keeping pretty busy lately. What do you do in your spare time?

MA: I like to watch reality television. I tend to watch the worst of the worst.

FM: Like Jerry Springer?

MA: Close. I like “Bad Girls’ Club.” But I also like to watch documentaries .... Painting is also one of my biggest passions. I never thought I would go into music. I kind of like that I make my living doing something else so that I can paint for myself.

9. FM: You’ll be in town soon, so what’s your perception of Harvard?

MA: I dated a girl when I was younger who went to Harvard. I remember feeling important and flattered that she liked me. It was definitely a turn on. She was beautiful.

10. FM: You have listed some of your favorite artists as The Rolling Stones and Dolly Parton, but do you have any favorite Top 40 songs that are your guilty pleasures?

MA: Fuck, there is a lot of good stuff out there right now .... One night I saw Bassnectar, and I don’t know if I would listen to it in my car, but the show, the lights, the music. It felt incredible. It felt like something church should be like.

11. FM: Do you have a tattoo that’s especially meaningful?

MA: Some people can use tattoos to beautify their bodies, but I don’t really take that angle. To me, it’s more like a scrapbook .... The tattoo of my daughter’s name means a lot. I have a flying saucer on my wrist that my dad had on his neck. I have my grandfather’s Holocaust number tattooed.

12. FM:  You have been talking about your daughter a lot. Are there any other women in your life at the moment?

MA: Fortunately or unfortunately, it seems like there are only females in my life right now. I grew up with my mother and my sister, so I seem to be more comfortable with girls.

13. FM: If you had your friends and family in a room with you, how do you think they would sum you up in three words?

MA: My mom used to say, “For a good time call Mickey.” I know that is more than three words, but I think people think I am fun ... People have said that they like my laugh, and if they go too long without hearing it, something is not right.

14. FM: Does your stage persona differ from who you are in real life?

MA: Who you are in the bedroom versus who you are with your friends, those are different things. So how I am in real life may be different than how I am on stage, which is very high energy and concentrated.

15. FM: Where do you see yourself in 15 years?

MA: Well, I have to be alive for anything to be happening.

FM: So you see yourself as alive?

MA: Yeah, I want to be as healthy as I can be .... I hope I could still be doing what I’m doing.