Max Cottafavi was born on the 16th June 1964. He first picked up a guitar by chance at the age of 14, but in a short time he mastered the instrument to the max! After playing classical guitar for a year with maestro Glauco Baricchi, who also encouraged Max towards the electrical guitar, he managed to convince his father to buy him his very first electric guitar. It was a Cimar Les Paul copy and he used this along with an Electro Armony 40 Watt amp which seemed to him at the time as if it had an enormous amount of power.

At the age of 16, he finally answered an ad in a music magazine looking for a guitarist. It was here that Max met up with Luciano Ghezzi who shared most of his "muscial journey".
In 1980 he performed his first concert with the band Railroad, whose influences ranged from Deep Purple, to Iron Maiden and the Sex Pistols.

In 1985 he started a new adventure with Pekino Politic (which becamoe Pekino soon after) which took him into a recording studio in Kempsey, England, and then on to a gigging experience at the infamous Hammersmith Odeon.

In 1989 he met Luciano Ligabue who was, at that time, looking for a band to collaborate with on some of his demos. Liga had seen Pekino play at a local gig in Modena and liked the band's sound, but his proposal included only Max and Gigi Cavalli Cocchi. On bass, however, he immediately turned towards Luciano Ghezzi due to the time spent with Max and the friendship that also tied in with Gigi. It was to be the beginning of te journey, a dream which had turned into reality. Together they started writing material which went on to become part of the album which would change all of their lives forever: Ligabue's self-titled debut album.

In October 1990, after having played numerous dates in Emillia Romagna and also having appeared on Festival Bar with the infamous song Balliamo sul Mondo, they embarked upon one of the periods which would become one of the most memorable of their lives. After starting the first tour, there was no stopping the band, juggling tour and album, right up until the end of '94.

In 1994 Clan Destino officially parted from Ligabue. In the meantime, Giovanni Marani - the first keyboard player - had left the band in 1992 and was subsequently replaced by Gianfranco Fornaciari. It was the start of what proved to be a difficult period for the band, sad as it saw the end of the dream that broke life's dullness, and challenging given that Clan Destino were about to set upon a new solo career. In September 1994 even Luciano Ghezzi left the band but was soon replaced by Fabrizio Palermo, at the time, bassist for Enrico Reggueri. It became apparent that the magic was over, and in 1995 Clan Destino split up.

After a period of crisis and reflexion, things turned around in 1996 when Max met Lor and Wilco of the band Rats, Graziano Romani and Brighel of RitmoTribale and, took part in a charity concert organised by Dinamo Rock where they all militated. This gave life to a new band oozing with that seventies sound. It all came together to form Megajam Five who recorded the album of the same name.

After hundreds of concerts all across Italy, their paths separated. Max met Francesco Renga who had just left the band Timoria. Together they started writing material which formed most of the artist's debut album 'Francesco Renga'.

In 2005 Max ruinited with the other memberds of Clan Destino to partecipate in the mega concert held in Campovolo, Modena on 10th September, once again, sharing the stage with Ligabue.

In 2006 Max formed part of Ligabue's band, and toured the stadiums and clubs. The story is of course still being written, let's see what the future holds...