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Friday, February 21, 2014

ROCK IN RIO, 1991.....PART 1 OF A 2 PART SERIES...

When I first visited Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1990, the band and I had a discussion about the upcoming Rock in Rio, which would be held the following year, in January of 1991.  This was huge!!  Something to really look forward to!  Much bigger than the festivals going on in Europe or the US at the time.  We all knew this was going to be a rager in every respect!
Copacabana Beach 

Rio Palace Hotel
Arriving at the Rio Palace Hotel for press was action packed!  Artists, crew, organizers, press and fans everywhere!  My hair was pink and everywhere I went I heard, "It's Dee-Lite!"  Funny, actually..a couple times I had to run from the fans!
Dee-Lite


Press Conference 
The air reeked of party atmosphere, crawling into your bloodstream!  Laughter, cheers, and beers!  Press  people and photographers all clamoring to get that one big story, that one world changer photo!  And the parties....

Roadrunner Records Brazil  was a force to be reckoned with.  Strong and hard working, organized.  We were busy non-stop with photo and interviews.  We even took the gondola ride to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain to conduct press conferences and photo shoots.  Roadrunner Holland sent many of their key people to Rio for the event, effectively setting up the Sep's next release.  In the 90's when fans strongly supported Metal by buying cds, many promotions were consistently available.  It made a huge difference.  Things like in-stores, Metal TV and radio shows, were all common tools for music sales.



Interview

Max at coconut bar
At night we partied our butts off!  The bars were all stuffed with fans, artists and press.  Caipirinhas were icy cold, a sweet/sour concoction.  The plates of steamy grilled chicken hearts and oil covered green olives kept you real. Pop music blaring completed the mix.  You could even walk on the beach and not get mugged!  The biggest crime was the taxi drivers and their obscene rates!

The big day came and we all prepped in the dressing room.  Wandered around and scoped out Guns 'n Roses dressing room for a bit, and Megadeth's.  All good in our hood. Excitement that built for days was finally able to escape in our breaths!
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And then it was time...the Seps aired on the side of the stage...
Sepultura waiting at side stage




Class dismissed....