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
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.
40 Years Ago: Foghat Releases ‘Energized’
What’s in a name? Well, nothing and everything, if the subject is legendary blues-rockers Foghat, since their curious moniker meant absolutely nothing. Still, their prophetically named third studio album truly ‘Energized’ their career, when it was released in January 1974.
30 Years Ago: Judas Priest’s ‘Defenders of the Faith’ Released
Perhaps the definitive Judas Priest offering of the '80s, 'Defenders of the Faith,' their ninth studio album, was released on Jan. 4, 1984.
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.
WTF of the Week: 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.
40 Years Ago: REO Speedwagon Releases ‘Ridin’ The Storm Out’
Looking back on the 40th anniversary of REO Speedwagon’s third studio album, ‘Ridin’ the Storm Out,’ one is struck by the sheer confusion surrounding these legendary Illinois rockers during the early days of their '70s career.
AC/DC Almost Fired Bon Scott After 1975 Heroin Overdose, Claims Former Bassist
According to a new book, former AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott was nearly fired from the group back in 1975 after he almost died from a heroin overdose.
45 Years Ago: ‘Live! Bootleg’ Presents Aerosmith Unvarnished
It was a hot mess but also perhaps the most authentic concert release of the period.
35 Years Ago: Boston’s ‘Don’t Look Back’ Released
One of the ‘70s’ most remarkable breakthrough success stories turned sour with the release of an second album that redefined the “sophomore slump” – and all because it was so late on arrival.