Originally published in the Lakeland Magazine, Spring 2006

Rivers' Music Flows From Deep Within

Bryan Rivers fondly remembers the moment he first knew he wanted to be a musician. "February 9, 1964, when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan."
Inspired by the quartet from Liverpool, Rivers wanted to get a guitar, but he immediately faced opposition. "My dad, being very military and very conservative, said no. Boys play baseball." He made a deal with his dad: he would play baseball if he could get a guitar. His father agreed, and Rivers' destiny was forged.
Rivers, now 51, is the first to admit that during his early years as a musician, his only desire was to look good. "Until the age of 15, maybe 16, I was in cheesy rock bands that were mostly trying to impress girls." About that time, he discovered folk music. Inspired by bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Rivers knew what kind of music he wanted to play, and he took his music more seriously from that point on.
Music remained a part-time vocation for many years while he taught college English. He created many songs, but had no time to write lyrics. "I was driving myself crazy, because I really wanted to write." Finally, in 1998, he made his break from teaching and became a full-time musician. A year later, he released his self-titled debut CD. In 2004, he released "Boom," his second CD. The title track features television characters from old shows and describes what their present lives would be like. "Toward the end I say, 'Beaver met his beloved Marcia Brady on the set of Jerry Springer last fall. Both had ex-lovers that slept with their mothers and their eyes met during the brawl.' It's a nod to how dysfunctional our society is at the family level and at the society level, too."
Rivers has plenty of material to choose from, if and when he decides to release a third CD. "I have about 25 to 30 songs that should be on the next CD. How do I pick the ones that go on it?"
He writes songs about everything from the hurricanes that tore through Florida in 2004 to his dog, Daisy. "I write what it occurs to me to write," he says. "There's a point where I know where I want to go with this song. I totally seclude myself and forget about time and space and everything and attack it, and at that point it's just a process of letting it unravel."
It helps that his family is supportive. He has been married to Etsuko, a native of Japan, for 19 years. They met when she was in the U.S. as a student, and they married a year later.
His daughter, Cheyenne, is following in his footsteps. She is a voice major at Harrison Center for the Visual and Performing Arts and performs with her dad occasionally. "I didn't see that coming," Rivers says, "because she was a very shy girl and suddenly out of nowhere she started singing."
"My dad is definitely one of my major artistic influences," Cheyenne says, "because, ever since I can remember, our house has been filled with music."
She admires her father's passion for music. "He takes his music very seriously but enjoys it at the same time. When he's on stage, playing his guitar and singing, it's obvious how much he enjoys what he's doing."
Rivers regularly plays Tony's Airside Restaurant on Thursday nights and the Highlander Bar and Grill in Lake Wales most weekends. "He's very entertaining, and he interacts with the audience," says Robert Connors, owner of the Highlander. "I admire his songwriting and performing ability."
So, what's next for Rivers? In "Escape from Margaritaville," he explains it this way: "Maybe someday I will escape from Margaritaville, if only a break comes my way. So spare me the attitude and give me some latitude, 'cause I've got my own songs to play."