CHRIS BIONDO INTERVIEW: Eva’s producer and bassist, Chris Biondo, discusses The Making of the Album EVA BY HEART in the very first of the interviews written especially for this website in August 1999, long before Eva’s music became well-known around the world. BIONDO: “I think she understood that being popular and famous was not all it’s cracked up to be. That wasn’t what drove her to make music. There are singers who are successful now, popular now, who won’t be remembered like Eva. They don’t have the emotional impact of Eva. There might only be 30,000 people in the whole world that have even heard of her, compared to some other singers you hear a lot about, but to those thirty thousand people, Eva really means something to them, there’s a real emotional connection.”
KEITH GRIMES INTERVIEW: Also exclusive to this website, a fascinating interview with Keith Grimes, the lead guitarist for THE EVA CASSIDY BAND. In this interview, Keith discusses what it was like working with Eva, and the history of the Eva Cassidy Band. My favorite quote: “Eva carried more of the band’s equipment than any female singer I have ever worked with.”
MIKE DOVE INTERVIEW: What was it like to attend an early performance by the Eva Cassidy Band? Mike Dove was there from its first engagement at Fatty’s to the final Tribute Concert at the Bayou. I think you will enjoy reading this interview with Mike, and learning more about Eva’s guitar technique, the kinds of places where the band performed, and how Eva decided to sing “Fields of Gold” for her Blues Alley album. “The Trade Winds was their first regular gig, that was a Polynesian restaurant over by Congressional Plaza in Rockville. It’s a Brazilian barbecue place now. It was a really big place, a large banquet room, the band played for food. I think the first week there were four of us there, and after that it was mostly just me, for the next eight weeks. There might have been another person off and on, but for the most part it was just me.”
AL DALE INTERVIEW: An exclusive interview with Eva’s manager, Al Dale. From 1988 to 1996, Al Dale was Eva Cassidy’s manager, booking her into clubs, providing support and encouragement, and trying to get her a record contract. When those efforts failed, he persuaded Eva to make a live album which they entitled LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY. ‘I think about all the people that I brought in from the record labels, and everywhere else, and how they couldn’t see it, they couldn’t hear it, or they couldn’t get beyond the little thing that says “She’s got to be pop, or blues,” I think about how they missed the boat. I think those people look back on it now and say “Man, that was a big mistake.” I haven’t really had any dialogue with them about it, but they can’t help but think, “Man, did I blow this one.” ‘
LIVE AT BLUES ALLEY — YOU ARE THERE: If you’re wondering what it was like to see Eva perform at Blues Alley the night the live album was recorded, read my article entitled “You Are There.”
DAVID CHRISTOPHER INTERVIEW: From February, 2000, an interview with David Christopher, who worked with Eva in the late 1980s to record the first album to feature her on lead vocals, METHOD ACTOR. “Eva recorded a lot of different music because she loved it. When she had to sing in front of an audience, though, she really hated it. But if you asked her to be a background singer for a performance she changed, she’d do the dance steps with the other singers, she’d relax and have fun. She didn’t like the pressure of being in front.”
EILEEN WHITE INTERVIEW: Learn more about the photos and artwork on the TIME AFTER TIME album in this interview with graphic designer Eileen White. In this interview, she discusses how she approached the project and how she turned detective from basement to attic to track down some of the photos and artwork. Get out your CD and take a look while you read! “…at the bottom of one of the drawers were a couple of rolls of undeveloped film….I got the film developed, and on one of the rolls were some pictures of Eva….”
NEW ARTICLE: Have you ever wondered how Eva Cassidy would do on a TV talent show? This article attempts to explore the question. Many thanks to Dan, Ned, Margret, Chris, and Steve for sharing your memories.
GRACE GRIFFITH INTERVIEW: Steven Digman sent me an article he wrote for the Pickett News (a newspaper in Hagerstown, Maryland) and has allowed me to reprint it for the Eva Cassidy fans who visit this website. It is an interview with singer Grace Griffith about how she came to know Eva, and ultimately how she introduced Eva’s music to her own record label, Blix Street Records. “All the colors of the rainbow, all life’s palettes of beauty and sadness and sweet passion and eternity–it was all there in that voice that came from that heart and those hands.” For more about Grace Griffith, visit the Grace Griffith web site.
ALBUM-BY-ALBUM ARTICLES
OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES
- Q & A : Questions and Answers about Eva. (“What kind of guitar did Eva play?” “How do you pronounce Eva’s first name?” etc. etc.)
- Biographical Fact Sheet about Eva. Potentially useful though dull. (Bowie-ites, could you please verify the date of Eva’s high school graduation?)
- Rest in Peace: remembrances about people who were part of Eva’s story
GUEST ARTICLES
EVA AND ELAINE ON THE C&O: I asked Eva’s friend Elaine Stonebraker to tell the story of her bike trips with Eva along the C&O Canal. She even found some snapshots that had never been published.
“DREAMS BENEATH THE RAINBOW” is a “guest essay” for the site. The author, Eric, is a gifted writer whose occasional entries in the Guestbook have been noticeable for their sincerity and their quality of expression. When I decided it would be interesting to offer a few people the opportunity to write at greater length for “publication” on this site, Eric was the first person I contacted. His completed essay has exceeded my most optimistic expectations! Enjoy.
“EVA” SCREENPLAY
“EVA” SCREENPLAY NOW AVAILABLE TO READ: Over the years several potential Eva Cassidy film projects have come and gone. Most of the scripts I saw were terrible, from the point of view of someone who actually knew Eva. So a few years ago, I wrote a screenplay myself, to try to tell her story in an interesting and truthful way. Nobody seems to want to make it into a movie, so I thought I would share it with Eva’s fans who visit this web site. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed researching and writing it. You can make your own movie in your imagination!
You can download it from this page.