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
45 Years Ago: ‘The Velvet Underground’ Released
The Velvet Underground released their album known as 'VU' in March 1969.
How Marillion Fashioned an Early Neo-Prog Triumph on ‘Fugazi’
Their sophomore album dealt a symbolic deathblow to punk’s late-‘70s hopes of slaying the prog dinosaur.
30 Years Ago: Golden Earring Releases ‘N.E.W.S.’
When veteran Dutch rockers Golden Earring unveiled their seventeenth studio album, ’N.E.W.S,’ in March 1984, they were still feeling the love shown for their latest Top 10 single, ‘Twilight Zone,’ released just two years prior. But remember that it took nearly a decade after 1973’s career-defining hit, ‘Radar Love,’ to once again breathe the rarefied air found near the top of the charts. On top of
45 Years Ago: Blue Cheer’s ‘New! Improved! Blue Cheer’ Released
Like a musical tsunami swallowing everything in sight, San Francisco’s Blue Cheer submerged all of those happy-go-lucky denizens of the Age of Aquarius with the chaotic soundwaves, howling feedback and sheer deafening volume produced by their seismic 1968 debut album, ‘Vincebus Eruptum.’
Iron Maiden’s Bruce Dickinson To Pilot ‘Led Zeppelin’
Well, not THAT Led Zeppelin, of course -- but the world’s newly unveiled longest aircraft certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to the hydrogen-filled airships of old, and counts Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson among its primary champions and private investors — as well as test pilot.
How MC5 Started a Revolution With ‘Kick Out the Jams’
“Right now … right now … right now it’s time to …”
45 Years Ago: Iron Butterfly Release ‘Ball’
Who was having a ball in February 1969? Why, the members of Iron Butterfly, that’s who, as they collectively unveiled their hotly anticipated third album, which they chose to christen simply as ‘Ball.’
When George Harrison Returned With a Relaxed Self-Titled Album
The project coincided with a particularly idyllic period, marked with personal stability and happiness.
How Humble Pie Reached a Career Crossroads With ‘Thunderbox’
The album was titled after a 17th-century slang term for toilet. Coincidentally, that's also where their sales were headed.
Why the Alan Parsons Project Began to Fade on ‘Ammonia Avenue’
The group's sixth album, 1982's 'Eye in the Sky,' had crashed the U.S. Top 10.
15 Years Ago: Iron Maiden Welcomes Back Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith
The heavy metal community was virtually celebrating in the streets on Feb. 10, 1999 when it learned that British legends Iron Maiden would be welcoming fan-favored vocalist Bruce Dickinson back into the fold after a six-year absence (and guitarist Adrian Smith after a decade).
Why Iggy Pop Got Beaten to a Pulp Recording ‘Metallic K.O.’
Live album documented their last show for nearly 30 years. It didn't go well.