Michael Ray Maleckar

ABOUT MAL

Music has always been a major part of my life.

I started piano lessons when I was five years old, and by high school I was playing performing in the Wind Ensemble, leading the percussion ensemble, and teaching myself the guitar. With so many other Mikes always around, I picked up the nickname Mal and it just stuck.

I studied music and liberal arts at Slippery Rock University and Chandler-Gilbert Community College, which eventually led me to creating an alternative rock/reggae band called The Morning After in Tempe, Arizona.

The Morning After played all over Arizona for several years, opening for a bunch of then up-and-coming reggae bands including Iration, Tribal Seeds, The Supervillains, Mike Pinto, and Collie Buddz. When the band broke up in 2011, I took about a year off to figure out what I wanted to do next.

As it turns out, I was just getting started.

MR. MAL

In early 2012, Mr. Mal was born.

The name is a kind of abbreviation of my full name — Michael Ray Maleckar — as well as a tribute to my late father, known to my friends as Mr. Mal.

Within a year, I had taken my solo show from a 40-song repertoire to more than 200 songs, using my Boss RC-20 looper to build a bigger sound with just a guitar and my voice. That eventually led an me performing for a few weeks aboard the Carnival Cruise ship Ecstasy.

When I came back to land, I continued building the Mr. Mal show and eventually released my debut EP, Rest, featuring nothing more than my guitar, voice, and loop station. The EP was recorded at Willow Disc Studios in Phoenix and is available on the major streaming platforms.

THE HUMAN JUKEBOX

These days, I'm lucky to be making a living doing what I love — playing music.

You'll find me performing at resorts, restaurants, bars, weddings, private events, and just about anywhere else people want to hear some live music around Arizona. Most of the time I'm playing solo, but you can also find me teaming up with other musicians for duos, trios, or the occasional full band.

And then there's the song list.

I've spent years building what has become a 1,000+ song repertoire, and I'm still adding to it. I like being able to jump from The Beatles to Sabrina Carpenter, Frank Sinatra to Taylor Swift, or 2Pac to Garth Brooks depending on who's in the room.

Requests are encouraged. In fact, they're one of my favorite parts of the job.

So check out the schedule and come say hello at a show. Throw a request my way, or try to guess what song I play next.

Hope to see you out there!

— Mike

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About Mr. Mal

Mr. Mal is a professional singer and acoustic guitarist based in Phoenix, Arizona, with more than 15 years of experience performing at resorts, restaurants, bars, weddings, private events, and corporate gatherings throughout Arizona and beyond.

Known for his laid-back personality, crowd interaction, and massive song list, Mr. Mal has built a repertoire of more than 1,000 songs spanning rock, pop, country, reggae, hip-hop, oldies, American standards, and everything in between. Requests are encouraged, and no two shows are quite the same.

Whether he's performing with just an acoustic guitar and loop pedal or putting together a larger duo, trio, One-Man or Full-Band setup, Mr. Mal's goal is simple: play great music, read the room, and give everyone a reason to smile.

Think of him as a human jukebox with an acoustic guitar.