The Clownkiller project was something Max Rossi had in mind since 1990. The problem was to find the right musicians to play with. The research went on during the following 8 years. Meanwhile, his guitar technique as well as his ability of playing keyboards grew up; he decided that a 6 strings guitar was not enough for playing his music and started thinking of adding a "B" bass string to give the chords more depth; he played as a fifth member with his all time mates MAD MICE, scoring for them some strings arrangements for their first CD and playing keyboards and an additional guitar for their live shows. During this experience he had the chance to taste the potential of MAD MICE singer, Jacopo Meille, and decided he would be the lead vocalist for his more hard rock oriented songs. In 1996 he moved to RUDA, near UDINE (ITALY), and started building his own recording studio, called UTOPIA. After 8 years of hard working, Max decided it was time to release his first album, and called his friend Pietro Serravalle to play drums, his brother Federico to play bass and Jacopo to add his vocals to the music. The Joker Affair (1999) was his first release as composer, arranger and producer, as well as the first CD to be released on his personal record label HAMLETRECORDS.