Mikel Jollett

Mikel Jollett is a musician and writer. His band, the Airborne Toxic Event (named for the section in Don Delillo’s White Noise) has drawn widespread critical acclaim, (from the BBC: “a crushing classic,” Spin: “The rock and roll equivalent of a tear-soaked novella,” as well the LA Times, Boston Globe, Q, the Guardian and others) and enjoys a worldwide following for its combination of Clash-like rock and roll and literary storytelling.

The certified Gold song “Sometime Around Midnight,” widely considered a modern classic of rock and roll, was named the iTunes Alternative song of the year in 2008. Three other singles have reached the top-20 on the American Alternative charts and the band had made major appearances at Coachella, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Riotfest as well as sold-out tours throughout the United States, headlining such venues as the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, Summer Stage in Central Park New York and Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado The band is known for it’s live-show culture, the onstage antics of its charismatic frontman, and songwriting, which was praised by the LA Times as, “Poetry you can dance to. Nothing short of amazing.”

Jollett and the band have appeared on The Tonight Show, Late Night and other network late night television dozens of times. A longtime fan, David Letterman invited the band to perform on his 30th anniversary show. Jollett and the band also had featured appearance on Gossip Girl as well as featured music on HBO, Showtime, as well as many major box office films and network TV shows.

Before starting the Airborne Toxic Event, Jollett was a frequent contributor to All Things Considered on National Public Radio. An on-air essayist discussing culture and music, his radio essay “My Dad, the Ex-Con,” was selected by NPR for it’s year-end compilation of most popular stories entitled Driveway Moments. At this time Jollett was also an Editor-at-Large for Men’s Health magazine, and the managing editor of Filter Magazine. His first short story, The Crack, was featured in issue 27 of McSweeney’s Quarterly. For this story, he was admitted into the Yaddo writer’s colony. Jollett’s memoir Hollywood Park was published in May 2020. It debuted its first week at #8 on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Born in Santa Monica in 1974 in the utopian drug-rehab cult, Synanon, Jollett escaped with his mother and brother in 1978. After witnessing acts of violence and threats of kidnapping the three moved to Oregon in secrecy. There, the family lived on food stamps and supplemented their diet by raising and slaughtering rabbits under the guidance of Jollett’s alcoholic step-father who disappeared and was later believed dead. Jollett moved to Los Angeles in 1985 to live with his ex-con, ex-heroin addict father and step mother (also a Synanon survivor) where they grew close and dealt with his brother’s worsening addiction. Jollett became as standout student and athlete. He was eventually admitted to Stanford University in 1992. He graduated with honors in 1996. Mikel Jollett is an outspoken advocate and political activist who has earned a large and influential Twitter following (217,000) with a online imprint averaging 80 million impressions per month Jollett’s Twitter account is followed by countless influencers from celebrities such as Chrissy Tiegan, Rob Reiner, Ben Stiller, Alyssa Milano, Seth Rogan and Patton Oswald to national political figures such as Cory Booker, Bill de Blasio, and Chelsea Clinton, writers such as Cheryl Strayed, Danny Zuker, Brad Meltzer, Harlan Coben to journalists Joy Reid, Frank Rich, Charles Blow, David Farenthold, Van Jones and Dan Savage as well as countless other members of the online, print, film and television media. Overall in 2018, Jollett’s Twitter feed earned roughly 16 million engagements (likes, retweets or replies) and over half a billion impressions. In addition to Jollett’s Twitter feed, the Airborne Toxic Event has roughly 250,000 followers across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

In conjunction with his NYT best-selling memoir, Hollywood Park, the Airborne Toxic Event has completed an album by the same name, a fourteen-song concept record which draws from scenes and themes in the book and functions as a soundtrack to the book. The record deals with Jollett’s father’s life in prison and heroin addiction before his birth, the poverty and abuse of his childhood and the surprising relationship with his father which he believes changed his life. It also deals with his father’s death from cirrhosis and the grief which followed. Incorporating real audio from his family, gospel singers, symphonic players from violins to timpani to horns, the record is Jollett’s attempt to capture the high hopes of his parents, the dashed dreams and hard times which followed, the confusion of an adult romantic life spent nursing the wounds of childhood and the ultimate redemption which came from looking inward and finding an acceptance of self and love of family.

Jollett currently lives with his family in the Silver Lake hills area of Los Angeles. He is available in partnership with Collective Speakers.