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My name is Maila-Kaarina Riippa, I am a musician born in Rio de Janeiro and started HARD BLAST in January of 2007, initially as a blog with the purpose to discuss Rio´s underground scene and to open a space where Hard Rock, Heavy and Thrash Metal bands from Brazil would be able to show their work, since it is really hard to find in the specialized media.
I have been actively part of this scene, as a musician since 1993 and also as a producer since 2005. My work with HARD BLAST began without any pretension. All I wanted was to have a place where I could talk about my feelings in relation to the lack of opportunities and concerts in the city of Rio. I felt I had to do something, even if little, accessible to all those who wanted to join me and help these ideas grow up.
I found my space at the music related website Canções, www.cancoes.com , where I still have a column called “Maila On The Rocks”. Right after that I decided to create a blog called Hard Blast to publish a collection of my work as a columnist. Hard Blast visibility started to increase and only three months later I covered my 2 first international concerts, officially as a columnist: TESTAMENT and MOTORHEAD, in April, 2007. |
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As I received great feedback in relation to my articles and the reviews written about the two concerts I decided to commit myself even more with the blog, updating it weekly with news about everything that involved Hard Rock, Heavy and Thrash Metal, talking not only about the bands and local events but also adding information and reviews of the international concerts that would happen in Rio.
In July of 2007 I got more support, this time from Rodrigo Sclelza (www.myspace.com/rodrigoscelza) and Atitude Produções, www.atitudeproducoes.com , from Rio that started not only to apply me to all events but also to book exclusive interviews to HARD BLAST with the international artists that would participate on them: Ted Poley (Danger Danger – www.tedpoley.com ), Eric Martin (Mr. Big – www.ericmartin.com ), C.J. Snare (Firehouse – www.firehousemusic.com), Michael Clayton (Tyketto – www.tyketto.de ), Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow e Deep Purple - www.joelynnturner.com), Tony Martin (Black Sabbath – www.tonymartin.net). Besides interviews I did the concert reviews of all those events and many others.
To the Brazilian bands that looked for HARD BLAST I give exactly the same space as to the international ones. The only thing I require is a work with professional level, being well recorded and principally, well played.
In the second semester of 2007 the blog was already well known not only in Rio de Janeiro but in other Brazilian cities too.
One of the most positive marks of my work were the invites from official and recognized music related websites (see who they are at the partners section in this website) to be a correspondent sending my reviews and interviews to be published.
The best thing, though, happened in August of 2008 and, from that time on, keeping HARD BLAST just as a blog focusing on national subjects and national happenings became impossible.
I was invited by the journalist Leão Carvalho, also correspondent to REVISTA MUSICA and editor of the blog HEAVY BANGER, www.heavybanger.net, to help him with an important mission: covering the biggest Heavy Metal Festival of the world, WACKEN OPEN AIR (W.O.A. - www.wacken.com), in Germany, as some kind of official “anchor” of the website in Brazil, to comment the festival´s news Leão would send to us. The texts plus the interviews I did, with the Scottish band ALESTORM and with one the greatest Thrash Metal icons of the world, Gary Holt (EXODUS – www.exodusattack.com), gave to HARD BLAST a visibility outside Brazil and the invitation of Thais Grossi from IN-PULSE PRODUCTION, based in Houston – USA, to start a partnership joining Hard Blast and In-Pulse. In November of 2008 I joined the webdesigner Márcio Amaral and we created HARDBLAST.COM, the first bilingual rock news website from Brazil with a new goal: being GLOBAL since rock´n roll is everywhere.
Thanks a lot to all readers and friends, all correspondents and partners, producers and managers that believed in this challenge, musicians that helped me sending so good stuff to feed the blog with quality and all those who gave me the chance to grow up doing what I like best after being on stage: writing about those who fight for keeping themselves on it.
I hope you enjoy HARD BLAST.
STAY ROCK!
Maila-Kaarina
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