Miroslav Šmajda
| Max J. Mai | |
|---|---|
Max in 2016
|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Miro Smajda |
| Also known as | Max Jason Mai, MAXJMAI |
| Born |
27 November 1988 Košice, Czechoslovakia |
| Origin | Prague, Czech republic |
| Genres | Alternative Rock, Hard Rock, Metalcore, Post-Hardcore, Experimental, Pop Rock, Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer. |
| Instruments | Vocals, Guitar, Piano |
| Years active | 2009-present |
| Labels | Sony Music, Independent |
| Associated acts | MAXJMAI, Terrapie |
| Website | http://maxjmai.com; http://mirosmajda.com |
Max J. Mai (born Miro Šmajda; 27 November 1988 in Košice, Czechoslovakia) is a Slovak musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of the hard rock/pop rock band Terrapie and alternative/metalcore band MAXJMAI.
Max was raised in Košice, Slovakia, where he played with several music groups. He began his music career in 2004 as the singer and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock-jazz band Skivers. He also played in heavy metal/trash metal band Blackened. In 2009 he achieved success in Czechoslovak Idol, where he reached 2nd place. In 2010 he toured the Czech Republic and Slovakia with his band Terrapie, releasing three studio albums - Čo sa týka lásky (2010), mirosmajda.com (2013) and Terrapie (2015), achieving success in "Zebrik Music Awards" - and winning 3 awards from 4 nominations in the categories of newcomer of the year, record of the year and song of the year.
In 2012 Max founded a new band named Max Jason Mai / MAXJMAI using his childhood PC gaming nickname "MaxJMai" and participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 for Slovakia with single "Don't Close Your Eyes", where he finished 18th in the semi final with 22 points, thus failing to qualify for the grand final. In the end of 2015 he released a new single called Rising Angels.
Max is influenced by a wide range of artists of several genres. His earliest influence was Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, and the first album he owned when he was only 8 years old was Ozzy Osbourne's Ozzmosis which was also one of his earliest inspirations as a singer. Additional influences include Whitesnake, Guns N' Roses, System Of A Down, Alice In Chains and Alter Bridge. Max's favorite singers include David Coverdale, Robert Plant, Serj Tankian, Myles Kennedy, Rob Halford, Chris Cornell and Axl Rose. He fuses together his favourite elements of rock, pop and soul singers into his own singing style based primarily on emotion. He has a four octave vocal range.
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