{"id":2065675,"date":"2026-07-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2065675"},"modified":"2026-07-28T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:00:00","slug":"wonderland-294","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2065675","title":{"rendered":"Wonderland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t
\n\t\t\tWonderland<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/h1>\n
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\n\t\t\tMAXX MORANDO & LIILY<\/span>
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He\u2019s the chillest dude, the sharpest drummer, and the loyalist friend. He\u2019s also the husband-to-be of one of pop\u2019s biggest stars of the century. So who really is Maxx Morando? And is his band, Liily, LA\u2019s next big rock\u2019n\u2019roll phenomenon?<\/h3>\n
\"Maxx<\/figure>\n

Maxx Morando is recounting the story of how he proposed to his fianc\u00e9e. \u201cWe were in Kyoto, Japan,\u201d he begins, setting the scene, sweeping his signature mop of unkempt dark brown hair out of his eyes. \u201cFor some reason \u2013 you\u2019ll find this as crazy as I did \u2013 she\u2019d never been to Japan before. Neither had I, and we\u2019d both wanted to go for a really long time. There were talks before we went about me popping the question but I was trying to keep it secret. She was not trying to keep it a secret, if you know what I mean. So I had to be really sneaky about it. We went to Tokyo first for a couple days and then on to Kyoto. I think she had a sense that it was coming, so I was waiting until the very last moment of the very last day to throw her off the scent as much as I could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe took a walk around the hotel grounds,\u201d he continues. \u201cThere was this little outer garden that you had to cross a plank to get over. There was a sign that said you couldn\u2019t cross; I was like, \u2018That\u2019s crazy, let\u2019s go over there.\u2019 She\u2019s like, [teasingly imitates her] \u2018No, it\u2019s blocked.\u2019 Eventually I persuaded her and we walked in and it was a little dead end, this beautiful Japanese forest-y situation. She was taking videos, and was turned away. That\u2019s when I got on one knee and tapped her on the shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old wasn\u2019t anxious in anticipation of asking for Miley Cyrus\u2019 hand in marriage. At least, not until five or 10 minutes before. \u201cThen I was sweating,\u201d he admits with a smirk. \u201cI could feel my heart pounding. You grow up as a kid watching the movies where the guy gets on one knee and does the whole thing, and you know that\u2019s what you\u2019re supposed to do. But then you realise, \u2018Okay, I literally have to get on one knee.\u2019 I didn\u2019t want to fuck up and fumble or drop the [ring].\u201d The slight pre-show stage fright feels valid. It\u2019s one of life\u2019s defining moments, after all, that \u2013 if all goes well \u2013 you only do once. And one that, you can only assume, is intensified when the person you\u2019re proposing to is one of the most famous musicians on the planet. But that\u2019s Maxx\u2019s life now. And he wouldn\u2019t change it for anything.<\/p>\n

Several months on from getting engaged halfway across the world, Maxx is hanging out in his back yard. More specifically, his Airstream, the makeshift studio in which his band, Liily, meet up, shoot the shit, and record most of their music. It\u2019s a funky space, in look and tone, somewhere between a garden shed, a futuristic spaceship, a party bus, and an air raid shelter. There\u2019s just enough room for a large computer monitor and recording desk, an enviable synth rack, a pantheon of guitars, and \u2013 of course \u2013 its owner\u2019s cherished drum kit.<\/p>\n

For some, music is an awakening. For Maxx, it\u2019s woven within the seeds of self. Born and raised in LA, he had a pair of drumsticks in his hand before he could spell the word. Aged seven or eight, he joined an after school club called School of Rock (\u201cI know, it\u2019s a real thing,\u201d he exclaims at my exasperation) with a childhood friend. There, he met Dylan Nash, who would become lead singer of his band a decade later, and guitarist Sam De Le Torre. He then met bassist Charlie Anastasis in a music theory class at their all boys catholic high school, and bonded over a distaste for the lesson and a love of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Death Grips, et al.<\/p>\n

Dylan came back onto the scene as Maxx, Sam and Charlie entered their mid-later teens and began playing gigs as a jam band, and was enlisted as frontman and songwriter. And with that Liily was born. The guys have been a musical unit ever since, for over 10 years, through thick and thin. \u201cI think it\u2019s pretty brotherly,\u201d the drummer pinpoints. \u201cWe\u2019ve known each other since we were kids. We\u2019ve grown into each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Maxx<\/figure>\n

The seemingly unbreakable bond the four share has paid dividends. Bolstering a raw rock sensibility, a punkish aptitude and a keen ear for experimentation, Liily have touredacross the States and Europe, and appeared on festival bills at Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo. Discography-wise, they\u2019ve shared a 2019 breakout EP \u201cI Can Fool Anybody In This Town\u201d,an acclaimed 2021 debut album, TV Not TV, and most recently, a self-titled EP in 2024.<\/p>\n

The latter eponymous project is a re-introduction of sorts. They broke away from their previous label, regained their urgency and artistic autonomy, working with people they knew on a personal level rather than strangers who they\u2019d been put into rooms with. \u201cThe EP was us scrounging things together. We used some of our friends as producers \u2013 who are great producers, but we met them as our friends first and foremost. We had them come in and help us produce.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLiily\u201d boasts the band\u2019s best collection of songs to date. It\u2019s angry, fearless, compulsive and cinematic. The mixes feel lighter but the music feels heavier, sharpened in execution while looser in approach. And it\u2019s highly eclectic \u2013 a track like \u201cMOTIVATION\u201d descends into metalcore mayhem, while the hollowed out droning of \u201cIMITATE\u201d feels like an \u201880s nu-wave jam, and the hazy closer \u201cSWALLOW\u201d comes off like a surf rock anthem. \u201cThe EP was in some ways a reset,\u201d Maxx reflects. \u201cLike, this is what Liily is now. Setting the stage for future records.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liily are mainstays on the LA gig circuit and social circles, which is how Maxx and Miley first met. \u201cSam in my band, his sister\u2019s friend knew Miley,\u201d he explains on first meeting the 33-year-old in 2021. \u201cThey just put us on a blind date. Which, from Miley\u2019s perspective, I don\u2019t think is really possible, because she\u2019s so in the public eye.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maxx, unbothered by pop culture and relatively off-grid from social media, was the perfect antidote for Miley, who had spent her twenties in very public relationships, fatigued by their subsequent fall outs. \u201cSo it felt like if there was a way to have a blind date for her, this might be the most blind date that she could do,\u201d he says. They hit it off immediately, and \u201cjust never stopped hanging out.\u201d<\/p>\n

A handsome drummer in an LA rock band, Maxx is no stranger to the spotlight. But to be the +1 of the Miley Cyrus \u2013 a Grammy-winning musician whose name is known and loved by quite literally billions of people across the globe \u2013 brings with it endless attention. The type of scrutiny an understated guy like Maxx would rather avoid.<\/p>\n

But his temperament seems to have drowned out his sudden cacophony of noise. He favours remaining away from the public\u2019s uncompromising parasocialism and the media\u2019sshallow, judgemental stare. Their relationship is no mining for celebritydom; he sees the \u201cathome\u201d Miley \u2013 not Miley on the red carpet, the arena stage, or the television screen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first met her, that part of it was strange,\u201d he acknowledges on dealing with the newfound spotlight. \u201cI\u2019ve never experienced people waiting outside places for you and things like that. But as time\u2019s gone on, now it\u2019s kind of the inverse. Whenever we go to some event, that\u2019s when I am reminded that she is who she is, you know. But I love going with her to certain things to support whatever she\u2019s doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their relationship is bountiful professionally too. They\u2019ve collaborated musically over the past few years, with Maxx co-writing and producing \u201cHandstand\u201d and \u201cViolet Chemistry\u201d from Miley\u2019s acclaimed 2023 album, Endless Summer Vacation. She has pushed him to new creative heights, motivating him to be his best self and to make his best work. \u201cI had never really been around someone like that before we met,\u201d he muses on her impact. \u201cIt has given me a whole new outlook and perspective on life and art and music. She\u2019s such a workhorse, a go-getter, and when she sets her mind on something \u2013 even if it\u2019s down to building a small enclosure for a tortoise that we have \u2013 it always gets done. When it comes to music, it\u2019s turned up to 11. Most people who don\u2019t know the pop world have misconceptions, but she is a true artist through and through. She has her hand in every single thing that you see or hear. Music or visuals, business or financial. Whatever you see is very uniquely her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now engaged \u2013 as of late last year \u2013 the couple are going from strength-to-strength, on an upward trajectory of joy and security. And on the Liily front, things are about to turn up a few notches too; Maxx teases that new music is finished and coming soon. In majority self-produced, the new body of music promises to be the most important release for the band so far. \u201cWe\u2019ve learned a lot, and now we\u2019re on a fresh slate even more so than with the self-titled EP,\u201d he says. \u201cWhat\u2019s coming next is the most honest representation of what we sound like. And a real jumping off point for future stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drums, his band of best friends, and Miley Cyrus. Maxx Morando is living the dream. \u201cYeah,\u201d he chuckles boyishly. \u201cI guess I am.\u201d <\/p>\n

WONDERLAND SUMMER 2026. GUEST EDITED BY MILEY CYRUS. SHOP NOW.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Photography<\/strong> Mario Sorrenti
Chief Creative Officer & Styling <\/strong>Alastair McKimm
Words<\/strong> Ben Tibbits
Hair<\/strong> Bob Recine
Make-up<\/strong> Diane Kendal
Set Design<\/strong> Philipp Haemmerle
Executive Producer<\/strong> Dana Brockman
Producer<\/strong> Max Bonbrest
Casting<\/strong> Alexandra Antonova for Samuel Ellis Scheinman<\/p>\n

Lighting Technician<\/strong> Lars Beaulieu
1st Photo Assistant<\/strong> Kotaro Kawashima
Photo Assistants<\/strong> Paolo Afante, Kurt Mangum
Digital Tech<\/strong> Charles Meyer
Fashion Assistants<\/strong> Taylor Wood, Kassidy Taylor
Hair Assistant<\/strong> Jeelan Aleem
Make-up Assistants<\/strong> Eduardo Jiminez, Breanna Harmon
Set Assistants<\/strong> Oscar Haemmerle, Xavier Mozejewski
Production Assistant<\/strong> Din Morris<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t28 July 2026\t\t\t<\/div>\n
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Music<\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\tTish Cyrus-Purcell<\/span> <\/span><\/a>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wonderland MAXX MORANDO & LIILY He\u2019s the chillest dude, the sharpest drummer, and the loyalist friend. He\u2019s also the husband-to-be of one of pop\u2019s biggest stars of the century. So who really is Maxx Morando? And is his band, Liily, LA\u2019s next big rock\u2019n\u2019roll phenomenon? Maxx Morando is recounting the story of how he proposed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,257],"class_list":["post-2065675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-wonderlandmagazine-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2065675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065675\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2065675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2065675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2065675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}