Eduardo Rivadavia (aka Ed Rivadavia) was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and by his late teens had already toured the world (and elsewhere), learning four languages on three continents. Having also accepted the holy gospel of rock & roll as his lord and savior, Eduardo became infatuated with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and all things heavy, crude, and obnoxious while living in Milan, Italy, during the mid-1980s. At this time, he also made his journalistic debut as sole writer, editor, publisher, and, some would claim, reader of his high school's heavy metal fanzine, earning the scorn of jocks and nerds alike, but uniting the small hardcore music-loving contingent into a frenzied mob that spent countless hours exchanging tapes, talking shop, and getting beat up at concerts. Upon returning home to Brazil, Eduardo resumed a semi-normal existence, sporadically contributing music articles to local papers and magazines while earning his business degree. Finally, after years of obsessive musical fandom and at peace with his distinct lack of musical talent, Eduardo decided the time had come to infiltrate the music industry by the fire escape. He quit his boring corporate job, relocated to America, earned his master's degree while suffering the iniquities of interning for free (anything for rock & roll!), and eventually began working for various record labels, accumulating mountains of records and (seemingly) useless rock trivia in the process. This eventually led him back to writing, and he has regularly contributed articles to multiple websites since 1999, working with many different rock genres but specializing, as always, in his personal hobby: hard rock and heavy metal. To quote from the insightful 'This Is Spinal Tap': "People should be jealous of me...I'm jealous of me...." Eduardo currently resides in Austin, TX, with his wife, two daughters, and far more records, CDs and MP3s than he'll ever have time to listen to.
Eduardo Rivadavia
Chicago Play Classic Hits at Grammys With Robin Thicke
As it happens every year, the 56th annual Grammy Awards featured a number of surprise, and at times somewhat far-fetched, collaborative performances. Among them was an unlikely pairing between R&B heartthrob Robin Thicke and classic-rock icons Chicago.
35 Years Ago: UFO Release ‘Strangers in the Night’
When UFO released their first live album, the poetically named ‘Strangers in the Night,’ in January 1979, they surely couldn’t have guessed it would stand the test of time as one of history’s greatest concert documents — let alone mark the apex of their entire career.
31 Years Ago: Bon Jovi’s Uneven Debut Points to Bigger Things
Seeing how they've dominated airwaves and concert arenas over the past three decades, it’s easy to forget that Bon Jovi faced odds as steep as any lottery when they released their self-titled debut album in January 1984.
41 Years Ago: Eric Clapton’s Rainbow Concert Takes Place
Most stints in rehab take place secretly, or at the very least privately. Then there was Eric Clapton’s famed Rainbow Concert, which served as an all-too-public, one-night cold turkey of sorts proclaiming the legendary guitarist's resurgence from the dire depths of heroin addiction – goosed along by some well-intentioned celebrity friends.
Def Leppard Guitarist Phil Collen Reveals New Project, Delta Deep
2013 was a busy year for Def Leppard, between their Las Vegas residency, assorted live and studio engagements and guitarist Vivian Campbell’s treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. But not busy enough for guitarist Phil Collen, apparently, since he is devoting parts of his holiday season to promoting a new musical endeavor named Delta Deep.
Vince Neil Invites Two Little ‘Girls, Girls, Girls’ Onstage to Sing With Him
While his Motley Crue bandmates headed home for the holidays, singer Vince Neil is still keeping busy, wrapping up his fall solo tour with Queensryche and Great White.
How REO Speedwagon’s ‘Ridin’ the Storm Out’ Succeeded in Tough Times
Back then, no small amount of confusion still surrounded these legendary Illinois rockers.
Metallica and Iron Maiden Team Up to Headline Sonisphere
Two of heavy metal’s greatest champions, Metallica and Iron Maiden, have been officially confirmed as headliners for Sonisphere 2014 -- the European continent-touring mega-festival first launched to great success in 2009, but which latter suffered a last-minute cancellation of its UK leg in 2012, and took a year off in ’13...
How Frank Zappa Returned to His Youth on ‘Cruising With Ruben and the Jets’
A mysterious group of pompadoured cartoon faces turned back the clock to highlight the golden era of doo-wop.
50 Years Ago: Black Sabbath Goes Deeper on ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’
This became their fifth and final universally adored masterpiece, but it wasn't easy.