It's been a rough summer so far for Bret Michaels.

First, there was the head-blow heard round the world, when the Poison frontman was toppled by a descending stage prop during the live Tony Awards telecast last month. After a quick recuperation of his cranium, nose and ego, Michaels then hit the road full-throttle, bouncing between Poison's co-headlining tour with Def Leppard and solo gigs. He's doing the latter tonight at Taste of Minnesota.

It was no surprise, then, that one of rock's most privacy-eschewing stars -- who also stars in VH1's No. 1 reality-TV show, "Rock of Love" -- changed a phone interview into an e-mail exchange through his manager last week, allegedly because his voice was shot. Whether or not the answers were entirely his, at least we know they didn't come from of any his "Rock of Love" co-stars (the words were all spelled right).

"Personally, I wish it would have never happened," he responded, when asked if the Tonys incident was a smash in the right direction for his career. "Then I could have went to the after-parties and hung with James Gandolfini and Anne Hathaway."

He conceded, though, "I have a strange feeling, since I may be the only man that has been knocked out at the Tonys, it may never be forgotten. ... Seriously, I mean, who gets knocked out at the Tonys?"

For those who haven't seen the viral clip from the awards show, Michaels, 46, was clipped by a giant sign as he exited from a performance by Poison and the cast of the glam-metal-derived Broadway show "Rock of Ages." Representatives from the awards show callously brushed off the incident, issuing a statement that Michaels "missed his mark."

To his credit, Michaels -- whose bloody-lipped nose and mouth photos were also seen by millions -- didn't bite back.

"I had a great time at the Tonys right up until I got knocked out," his e-mail said. "After that, it was all a little blurry due to the fact that I got my bell rung pretty good. But I have no regrets. They treated us great, and it was a freak accident."

'Rock of Love, IV'?

Anyone hooked on watching "Rock of Love" might also view it as an equally freaky debacle that has benefited Michaels' career.

The show, which wound down its third season in April, is like the "Survivor" of the Sunset Strip, with 20 buxom women in leather and bikinis competing to become the singer's steady girlfriend. Some of the co-stars now appear in newer (and even trashier) spinoff series, including "Charm School" and "Daisy of Love." A surprise to no one, though, none of them has wound up being Mrs. Right, although Michaels is supposedly still seeing this past season's winner, Taya Parker.

"Taya and me are still dating and having fun," he said. "Not to mention, her being Penthouse Pet of the Year doesn't suck and has its perks."

Predictably, he said he still hasn't ruled out a fourth season for the show: "They would like me to do another one, and I must admit dating 20 hot, crazy women is a lot of fun."

As if we don't already know too much about the guy, he has also written an autobiography due out around the end of the year, titled "Thorns & Roses" (subtitle: "The Reality of My Rock & Roll Fantasy"). The book delves into the singer's tumultuous years with Poison, the glory days of hair bands, his lifelong struggle with diabetes, his little-known actual personal life as the father of two daughters, and even his bootlegged sex tape with Pamela Anderson. Yeah, he was the other guy to star in one of those.

"I must admit it is very therapeutic and at times very tough to write a book that stretches from birth to present day," he wrote. "However, on a very funny note, I demanded that the book be filled with pictures. Honestly, when you see my prom photo and realize that I was the original Napoleon Dynamite -- well, that alone makes the purchase of the book worth it."

Michaels' knack for not taking himself too seriously has come in handy of late, since he was the subject of recent spoofs on "Saturday Night Live" and in Eminem's video for his song "We Made You." He shrugged those off, too, saying, "It's all good."

"If there is one positive trait I possess, it's my ability to roll with the punches," he said.

Now that, we can believe, is reality.

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658