about us
Talk about keeping it in the family!!! The Mik Maks consist of brothers Joel and Al McInnes as well as their loveable friend Drums the Panda (Yes, he plays the drums). Recently, Joel’s talented 13-year-old daughter Ava has also joined the group. The Mik Maks are now into their 10th year of performing live shows across the country and kids continue to go NUTS for their music.
There has been plenty of bumps along the way in The Mik Mak journey. No more so than tragically losing our younger brother and pink Mik Mak Deano. He was an incredibly talented musician with a very cheeky smile that children just adored. Dean lit up the stage and just loved the buzz of connecting with young kids through music.
Dean’s passing has truly served as inspiration and provided heightened purpose for the group. We’re so blessed to be able to continue Dean’s work and share it with the world.
The Mik Maks fanbase now extends far beyond their native country of sunny Australia. Due to the overwhelming success of The Mik Maks online music videos, The Mik Maks can now be seen on Amazon, Kidoodle TV, KidsBeeTV, Tubi TV, PeacockTV as well as their rapidly growing YouTube channel. Children can now enjoy Mik Mak tunes all across the world in over 100 different countries.
To date, The Mik Maks have had over 2.6 billion streams.
Joel
‘You know I’d love to perform for kids.’ These are the words Joel stated confidently 11 years ago to his brother’s while on summer holidays. From that moment Joel’s passion to write for and connect with children has continued to strengthen. A Primary School teacher by trade Joel was heading down the leadership pathway when suddenly the performing bug grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and said, ‘let’s walk this way.’
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In his spare time Joel loves nothing more than being in the outdoors with his three children, wife and dog Maggie. There favourite place to be is the family farm in the tiny town of Wickliffe.
Al
Hitting a power note or wowing the crowd with a ballad, his voice is the core of The Mik Mak sound. Al is the third eldest of the brothers and the tallest. Al also has a passion for all things digital and has produced many of The Mik Maks songs, plus manages The Mik Maks YouTube channel and other digital distribution outlets.
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Al is 192cm tall (10 centimeters taller than Joel) He has 10 years teaching experience as a Secondary PE and Outdoor Ed teacher. Al has been performing in cover bands since the age 16 and is a self confessed music buff.
When he’s not performing Al loves getting away on camping trips with his wife and three girls.
Ava
Ava knew from a very early age that she wanted to be on stage singing and performing. For many years Ava watched her father and uncles perform together as she trained her skills. Ava first appeared with The Mik Maks on stage at the age of 9 in their Christmas stage show as a cheeky Christmas Elf.
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Now at the young age of 13, Ava has already performed professionally abroad with stage show ‘School of Rock.’ Ava was also cast as Mary Lennox in the Australian tour The Secret Garden. Unfortunately, Covid prevented the show from going to stage.
She loves performing for young children. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I just love meeting the children after shows’ she stated.
In her spare time Ava completes 5 hours a week of ballet training, singing lessons and squeezes in the odd game of netball here and there. She enjoys travelling to the family farm and spending time doing sheep work and helping her grandparents.
‘Drums’ the Panda
Not only a very talented musician, Drums the Panda is also an incredible artist. Did you know that every animation that appears in The Mik Maks videos is hand draw by Drums? That 1000’s of images that appear in our YouTube animated clips!
And yes he really is the worlds best drumming Panda!
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In his spare time Drums the Panda loves rolling down hills with his three young Panda cubs and painting on canvas.
The story behind The Mik Maks
Why we do what we do.
“Our mother Pamela instilled the love of music and performance in us from an early age. Family gatherings would involve a lot of guitars, singing and carrying on like pork chops! It was at one such gathering that we decided to write a song for our children. One hour later of creative fun ‘Bruce the Hairy Crocodile’ was born”.
“From that moment we were hooked. We could see instantly the joy it gave to the people around us. We love bringing families together through music. We love hearing stories of entire families dancing in the kitchen or singing along together in the car. That is why we do what we do”.
Three years ago the Mik Mak family suffered the enormous loss of youngest brother and pink Mik Mak Deano. After a period of mourning and absence from the stage The Mik Maks once again performed due to the overwhelming support of their fan base. ‘The incredible support we received was truly overwhelming and gave us the courage to continue doing what we love,’ commented Joel.
‘The Mik Mak music also gives us an opportunity to stay connected with and develop the incredible work Deano had previously done. There’s a little piece of Deano in everything we do. We’re incredibly grateful for this.’ Stated Al.
Over the past 3 years, The Mik Maks have turned their attention to producing online music video and their YouTube Channel has had 2.6 billion streams. There songs can also be viewed on many other streaming services including Amazon, KidoodleTV and Tubi to name a few.
The Mik Maks own children play a very active role in many of their clips and song writing process. Known as ‘The Mini Maks’ this tribe of talented young performers feel right at home on stage or on the screen.
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