Mickey Avalon

With a childhood rough enough to guarantee him rock star success, by the time he was out of his teenage years -- at least according to the few details he's given -- Mickey Avalon had sold pot (with his mother), been addicted to heroin and dope, worked as a graffiti artist in L.A., converted to Orthodox Judaism (his parents were both non-practicing Jews, and his paternal grandparents were survivors of Auschwitz), got married and had a daughter, prostituted himself for drug money, watched his father die, and found his sister's dead body. All of this gave ample material for his rhymes, which he started writing after his pal, the former MTV VJ Simon Rex, encouraged him to compose his own songs. Avalon, Rex (who rapped under the name Dirt Nasty), and Armen Melik (aka Andre Legacy) began recording and releasing their own material as the Dyslexic Speedreaders, an irreverent group that gave a satirical and often lascivious look into the L.A. club and drug culture.

Avalon's stage presence, which mixed a kind of hyper- and often ambiguous sexuality akin to the trashy glam rockers of the '70s, gained the attention of DJ and aspiring manager Kev-E-Kev, who was soon helping Avalon hawk his self-titled CD -- wrapped in a newspaper advertising adult services -- on the streets. His music, in particular the song "Jane Fonda," thanks to its appearance in the HBO series Entourage as well its availability on his MySpace site, started gaining an audience, and in 2006 his album was reissued as the first release from MySpace Records in joint collaboration with Interscope.


Born and raised in the Bay Area, Dirt Nasty started rappin' on karaoke machines at the age of 14. He grew up listening to Too Short, Geto Boys, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Terence Trent D'Arby, and Sade.

Never having a father figure to look up to, he learned about the game, the streets, and the ladies from his record collection. Hollywood is now his home, where he found and started his 3 man group "Dyslexic Speedreaders" (which also includes Mickey Avalon and Andre Legacy).

Dirt Nasty produced and was featured on the cult hit "My Dick" which was featured on Mickey Avalon's debut self-titled Interscope release and has been licensed in numerous film and TV shows including: "Harold & Kumar: Escape From Guantanamo Bay," HBO's series "Hung" & "Entourage", and the upcoming film, "The Rebound." Dirt has also produced tracks for The Living Legends, Mickey Avalon, Andre Legacy, Pittsburgh Slim and numerous others.

Dirt Nasty released his self titled, debut album in 2008 on the label he co-owns, Shoot To Kill Music. You can get it now on I-Tunes and all other digital outlets across the globe (c/o IODA online distribution) as well as through the CIMS network (Coalition of Independent Music Stores) of retail stores across the country.

For a quick lesson in the world of Dirt Nasty and to both see (his online videos have amassed millions of views) and hear his raunchy reports from Hollywierd, check out his MySpace (www.myspace.com/dirtnasty).

Look for Dirt Nasty playing a show in a town near you...