F. Scott Fitzgerald once asininely proclaimed that there are no second acts in life. History bears out the simple truth that humans have the capacity to have second (and third) acts in their lifetimes. Witness a Steve Jobs who was on the ropes in 1985 with Apple, the company he co-founded, and in a Shakespearian turnabout, took over the company a decade later. Adversity breeds success, and Easthampton songstress Eva Cappelli is a living embodiment of that uniquely indomitable spirit. She’s a survivor of both domestic and sexual abuse, and of a life which took a disastrous U-turn from a potentially promising career and some personal happiness. She’s tough, and somewhat hardened by her experiences, but simultaneously vulnerable and self-deprecating.
Admittedly a late bloomer at 59, Cappelli’s star has risen on the local music scene in the past few years with her mellifluous voice, easy charm and devoted fans whose demographics don’t fit neatly into any A & R person’s marketing plan. After decades of deferring her musical ambitions to raise children, suffer through disastrous marriages, and toil in soul-sucking jobs, she’s rebounded like a cool Terminator mom that all the neighborhood kids wish was theirs. Late last year she released her third CD, Bits and Bobs, a hodge-podge of all the musical genres that have informed her journey as a singer and musician. She’s everywhere on a given day, hosting open mics or headlining gigs in tiny joints throughout the Valley. Her knowledge of musical idioms is solid as evidenced in her records — competent and confident jaunts through country, blues, and folk, mix it up with detours into jazz, world, Latin and even prog rock.
Cappelli took some time out recently to reflect on her life, personal lows, new found success, and what the future looks like for her in 2012.
Examiner: You’re a late bloomer in terms of where you’re at currently. Has singing and playing music always been a part of your life?
EC: Both my parents were both musically inclined. They divorced when I was ten, so I grew up fast. I remember being very young and always singing and having songs in my head. Dancing and singing was a type of therapy for me. My mother was a dancer and an actress. She sang beautifully and exposed me to Broadway music. When I was young I sang in chorus and excelled in band and art class, but wasn’t really interested in anything else. Music was the only thing that really made me happy.
Examiner: What were your earliest musical memories?
EC: Listening to records — Elvis, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, and Motown. I went to concerts; saw Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company and Jimi Hendrix before anyone knew who he was. I went to Woodstock; and got involved in anti-war protests and sang a lot about it.
Examiner: Did you perform or have musical experiences in your youth?
EC: I married at 18 and had a child when I was 21. I played in several bands back then. Even after my son Rob was born, I would bring him with me to band practice. He was exposed to music right from the beginning. My husband was also a musician and played with me in a band called Little Eva and the Studebakers. Both of us were visual artists and we struggled to make a living. After five years of marriage we divorced. I remarried shortly after and had another son, Josh. The marriage was violent and disastrous . . . as well as being a very difficult time for me. I ended up playing and writing music by myself.
Examiner: Did you have any musical aspirations during that difficult period in your life?
EC: Music has always been a part of my life. It’s been like air to me. I never grew out of it or found a way to survive without it. It’s in my head constantly and when I dream it’s there as well. I never really had aspirations up until now; I was too busy just trying to survive.
Examiner: In some of the press that I’ve read about you, there’s mention of personal tragedy that you’ve had to overcome. Can you elaborate on that? How does it fit into the greater narrative of your music?
EC: There’s been a lot of violence and abuse in my life, starting in my childhood and continuing throughout my adult life. I was married for a third time to an extremely abusive and controlling man for 20 years. I lived a hidden life of emotional, physical and sexual abuse. I was completely humiliated and embarrassed to have put myself in that position — and paralyzed to do anything about it. It's not easy for me to talk about. I blocked out my memories of those years. When I turned 50, I made a promise to myself that I would find a way to take back my life — and my music. Near the end of that marriage I started to play music again after years of being silenced. My ex-husband said to me, "Why don't you put that guitar down and grow up?" So instead, I put him down and grew up! I finally found a way to exorcise my demons by writing about them.
Examiner: You’re audience seems to have special connection to your music. What do you attribute this?
EC: There's nothing like playing music in front of an audience. I never knew there were so many men and women (and even kids) out there who shared similar feelings and experiences. I thought I was alone in this world with these feelings until people started coming up to me telling me how my songs touched them.
When I'm singing to an audience I can feel their energy and I feel connected to the world. I guess it's the stories in the songs and the fact that they're real. Even the ones that come from my dreams are somehow real and alive.
My songwriting partner, Joe Carvalho, always says if men really listened to my lyrics, they would have a better clue as to what women want — and don’t want in their lives.
Examiner: The blues, country, swing and rock ‘n’ roll are the predominant flavors of your music — do you have any boundaries?
EC: On our most recent record, Bits and Bobs, we gave our fans 15 songs which tapped into a bunch of musical styles. There are three country-flavored tunes, “Fields of Hay,” “The Forecast,” and “That's What You Do.” We were fortunate to have our friend, Tom Wolverton (former pedal steel guitarist for San Diego-based Three Chord Justice) add some country feel to those tracks. There are also some Latin, Worldbeat and prog rock influences. Joe and I wrote the song “Can’t” as homage to King Crimson. The song “Bottom Line,” while referencing our current economic crisis is indebted musically to Jefferson Airplane’s sound. We love all sorts of musical styles and experiment with them all. Joe and I also play in a 10-piece orchestra, East of the Sky (best described as “intergalactic rock”) where there are no boundaries.
Examiner: Do you feel an affinity to a particular sound or artist?
EC: I'm not sure . . . I’ve found that the blues come to me very easily, but honestly I feel that I’m here as a host to give this world music in general. I don't know why, but I know it's so. Songs just come to me . . . they could be anything. I love it all as long as it's honest and real, and has good, solid music and lyrics that make you feel. My son Josh is one of my favorite writers — and not just because I'm his mom.
Examiner: What’s your musical partnership with Joe Carvalho and the band like?
EC: Joe and I started working together in 2008 after I met him at an open mic in Westfield. His friend Tom Sawyer who ran the open mic at Tommy D's told him about me, so Joe came down and sat in with me one night — we've been cranking out music ever since. He’s been the biggest inspiration in my life and
I’m very grateful to him for everything.
Joe’s also the band manager; he plays lead guitar (and other instruments) and does all of our musical arraignments as well as co-writing songs with me. Larry Dulong is our keyboard, guitar and accordion player; he’s also a songwriter and has been with us since the beginning.
We recorded our first two records, Are You Out There (2008) and Valentine (2009) at Shoe Strings Studio, in Belchertown. In 2010 we put our own studio together (Watershops Studio in Springfield) and released our CD, Bits and Bobs last year.
Examiner: Your sons, Robert Ives and Josh Boyle are fairly intriguing characters in their own rights — have you collaborated with them?
EC: Rob's band, Problem With Dragons is doing well. He lives with me and practices here, so I am very much in touch with what he's doing. On occasion we hang out and he'll play my acoustic guitar.
Josh is a little more like me. His writing is similar to mine and we do play and sing together at times. He’s got an ongoing project in our Watershops Studio. We are all very close.
Eva Cappelli and the Watershops Band perform at Jitters Coffeehouse February 18, 2012.
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