For Max

Max, as we call my Dad, has always believed in us. He not only bought all our instruments, he went to all the gigs he could go to, he listens to our music, he loves our music.
Max came from a very poor background, he lost his Mom at 6 years old and was abandoned by his Father at the age of 11 to fend for himself. His first job was to sell bananas in the streets of Duque de Caxias, our home town in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. He was helped by a mechanic who felt sorry for him, for even though he was 11 he looked like he was about 7 or 8 because of malnutrition. The guy let him stay at his Garage and so he learnt everything about cars, one of his biggest passions, after Flamengo, one of the biggest Brazilian Football teams. He played football very well and it was playing alongside my uncle that he met my Mum at the tender age of 16, she was only 13. At first she didn't want anything to do with him as she wanted to be an artist and a singer but as persistant as he was he kept saying he was one day going to marry her until she fell for his Italian looking charm. My Dad was always a fighter, he was determined to give my Brother and I everything he never had as a child and so he did, not just to us but to all our friends. Everybody who knows him knows his joy is to give, for nothing in return.

Friends who shared the stage with us know we would always gather at our place for eating and drinking at any time of day or night. He famously bought a bakery display of sweets with 20 containers which decorated our kitchen and was always full. All friends loved to come in and just open the containers satisfying a hidden childhood dream in everyone, eating as many as you wanted.

After working for nearly 50 years he retired and enjoyed some time off with us in Europe when he received a letter from the Brazilian Government that his pension would be cut because there was fraud in the department that issued it. He has been fighting for the last three years to prove his innocence and have his deserved pension back and in the meantime to survive he sells with my Mum sugar cane juice and pastries at a street market, they work really hard and do not have much but never lost their giving personality, they find joy in giving.

I don't believe my Dad ever thought or desired that we were commercially successful, I think in his mind he would provide for us forever, that's what he would have wanted, he is ashamed of taking anything from us but I am absolutely certain he would love for our music to be recognized, to be listened to, for every body's music to be listened to. You could always see him with tears in his eyes when he saw some story of musicians or artists who never made it in life but suddenly got a later break or something of the sort. Perhaps his own story would have made him sensitive to the hardships of life.

As Max is recovering in hospital we would like to play a song we made for him called Sugar Cane, just like he is, so sweet!

Sugar Cane (Willesden Green) by Loosh

Come back to us safe and sound Max, we love you!

Paulo, Simone and Tayo (sign your name below) Your children on children's day