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By Stephanie Dean
For the Enterprise

Those who play music know the special ingredient needed – a sufficient amount of seasoning.
In a recent chat, I picked with local music maker, Eva Casstevens, for her thoughts on the subject.
She kicked things off by giving me a breakdown of just what it takes to be a seasoned musician.
“I would say time and experience.”
Taking the lead, she made note of a familiar quote that serves as a reminder of the long road traveled to get where she is today. “Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.”
Long before Eva made bad decisions or gained experience, this girl already had what it took – the grit and determination that playing music requires. One strength that helped make her a good musician was a generous measure of stick-to-itiveness.
“I don’t really consider myself proficient yet, but I’m determined. If I don’t know something, I’ll work on it until I do. And apparently, I’m not afraid of embarrassing myself as you have to do a lot of that.”
Eva grew up on a dairy farm in Mocksville. Even as a young girl, she always loved to sing.
“I can remember when I was 7 or 8, and while riding my pony on the farm, I’d be singing at the top of my lungs and swinging my feet – and I always wanted to learn to play the guitar.”
When her grandmother offered to pay for piano lessons, Eva had her heart set on learning guitar and refused the lessons. In hindsight, there’s slight regret for having not taken her up on the offer. But on the other hand, piano lessons might have changed the trajectory of her life’s story.
Despite having two uncles and an aunt who played music, Eva doesn’t credit them for being the musical influencers in her life. “We kids were never allowed in the room when they played – so I really didn’t grow up around music.”
Later on, when Eva’s brother, Joe, began to play guitar, she asked him to teach her. Joe didn’t feel like he knew enough to be proficient at teaching, so he took his sister for lessons at Dave’s Music, a downtown music store.
The year was 2001 when Eva began taking lessons from Danny Casstevens. That was the beginning of a wonderful musical journey and legacy of shared music. Together, the two proved to be a good mash.
But how that happened is another story.
As time went on, Eva continued taking guitar lessons. And the day came when Danny finally asked her out on a date. The girl was baffled. She thought he could hardly tolerate her.
“You really want to go out with me? she asked, incredulously.
As a student, Eva was a slow learner although she tended to learn things thoroughly. While others might have grasped on a little faster and moved more quickly, she wanted knowledge and a deeper understanding. Eva understood that teaching can be tedious for an accomplished musician when having to listen to a beginner.
“He’d always been all business, so it surprised me, so.”
However, it didn’t surprise the budding musician so much that she refused to go out with Danny, and the two began dating.
Along the way, dating had advantages and disadvantages. For instance – dating your teacher.
“My experience was probably a little different than other people’s because of my relationship with my teacher.”
The disadvantages?
“What might be considered an advantage because you’re familiar enough to say what you want to say – can also have its disadvantages. When you’re a student, you’re not going to really tell your teacher what’s on your mind.”
Six years later, Eva and Danny were married in 2007 – and the couple has played and sung in perfect harmony ever since.
“It took us a while because we’d both learned from previous experiences, and we were cautious.”
Even back then, the common sense and simple truth of Eva’s favorite quote had come into play. It was true – experience had come from poor decisions.
There were a few other things Eva learned along the way – a few decisions she might have made differently.
“I was probably playing in public when I had no business playing in public. In some ways, it helped me, and in some ways, it didn’t. I thought, if I go ahead and start playing publicly when I don’t really know what I’m doing, by the time I’m a more accomplished musician, the butterflies will be gone.”
What sounded good in theory was in fact, not – and the plan backfired. “By the time I got better, I was so nervous because I’d messed up so many times before – and that took a long time to heal.”
Musicians need to possess a certain amount of humility because they’re going to make mistakes.
“I’ve played at fiddler’s conventions and wanted to walk off stage with a paper bag over my head. And nothing’s so humbling as singing a song in the wrong key. I’ve done that many times. There’s nothing that will make one get butterflies any faster than messing up badly on stage.”
Everyone who plays music makes mistakes – it’s inevitable. But when they do – they can’t stop or give up.
“The first time I went to Galax, I stopped three times. Crashed and burned and embarrassed myself to death. They say the kiss of death is to stop; they say to keep going.”
And keep going this musician did.
Eva first learned to play guitar, so it’s her first love. And while considering herself more of a rhythm guitar player, she also plays a little lead.
Eva’s branched out, learning to play mandolin and dulcimer. “I started playing mandolin because Danny is such an accomplished guitarist that there wasn’t much to fill in there.”
Finding the mandolin to be an easier instrument to play lead as opposed to guitar, she said:“In the first four frets you have 16 notes, while on the guitar, there are 24 notes. Odds are better because you have fewer wrong choices.”
Although Eva plays Dulcimer mostly for fun, she carried home a winning ribbon by placing 5th out of 15 winners at the 2024 Galax Fiddler’s Convention – competing against almost 30 other musicians.
Eva’s favorite places are anywhere there’s an engaged audience. Playing for people is a different kind of enjoyment. She enjoys playing music others enjoy but also enjoys playing the music she loves to hear.
On a few occasions, Eva has played solo.
For a while, she shared a music hour with kids at a local daycare every week. Also, she provided music and song for hayrides leading to the pumpkin patch at Tanglewood’s Pumpkin Pick event and the Festival of Lights, as well.
“It’s easier to play for a crowd than a small group of people. It’s more comfortable with a large group. Small groups feel kind of weird. But they all can be fun for different reasons.”
Eva and Danny have always played gigs together. They enjoy playing and performing as a pair. An advantage is always knowing the other will show up. Occasionally, they’ll play with another musician, such as a bass player, but mostly depend on one another – eliminating any conflict with scheduling.
They each have their own PA system, so when arriving to play, Eva sets up her equipment and Danny, his. They do a sound check and are ready to go – there’s no need for a sound person.
“Gigs are a lot less pressure. If you’re playing a gig for three hours, it’s no big deal if you mess up. You can always make it up by performing well on the next song.”
However, playing at fiddler’s conventions is different. The events are competitive. Musicians are tested and judged on their kick-off, how they play, the complexity of the tune, and the ending. They have one chance to get it right. The pressure is on.
“The fiddler’s conventions are challenging. Danny and I always back each other up. I love and hate them the most – it’s stressful. Whether I place or not, if I can go on stage and play it without messing it up – I’m happy. If I play it as well as I can without shooting myself in the foot – then I’m pleased. You can play a song in your sleep, but the stress level is so high when you get up there, you’re apt to make a mistake.”
Eva finds the conventions rewarding and fun as everyone’s so supportive.
“The event is like having a big family reunion. Year after year, you see the same people at all the conventions and get to know them. Even though that’s the only place you see them – they become like family.”
WEva has a long list of songwriters and musicians who have inspired her, but it was her brother, Joe, who was her greatest inspiration.
“Joe and I played a lot when I was first learning. He was happy I was playing guitar, and he’d come by my house, stopping in on his way home. He’d show me his versions of songs and help me learn them. He played with Danny and me, too. We were like twins born three years apart. We both worked at the post office. We lost him in 2009 to a motorcycle accident. I have his guitar.”
She also has her uncle’s old 1948 Gibson J45.
One day, Joe called Eva and wanted to know if she could come down to his house. When she arrived, he was sitting in a chair playing an old guitar.
“And he said to me, ‘Aunt Betty brought me Uncle Mac’s guitar, but I think you’d love it more than I would.’ That was the kind of brother he was.”
Joe was self-taught, and Eva loved his style of playing. To this day, she continues to play some of the songs he taught her.
“I don’t care how it was recorded because this is the way I play and the way Joe taught me. If you’re going to cover a song, I think you should put your own self into it and do it from your heart.”
Eva acknowledges that not all musicians would agree.
“I have written one song, and it was after my brother, Joe, was killed. The song was called ‘One More Time.’ It was probably a year before I could sing it without choking up and crying. But anyone who’s lost a loved one suddenly can relate to it. You just pay more attention to the things you’d want to do, one more time. I was so emotionally charged with grief – apparently, it takes a lot of emotion to do it (songwriting), and I don’t want to feel that much pain again.”
Eva recognizes her husband as having a huge impact on her, claiming he’s one of the best musicians she knows.
“He does a lot of luthier work – anytime I need guitar work. Danny’s a great husband and friend, and I respect him greatly as a musician as well as a luthier.”
Both love to collect guitars.
“It’s funny because some people talk about wanting to buy a guitar, but their spouse won’t let them We can be excited for each other when buying; it’s a passion we share.”
Every musician has a personal creative process – and Eva has hers.
And it goes like this: Practice, practice, practice, and then more practice.
Now retired from the post office since last March, she has more time for practice. Now, she practices every day. When she first began playing, she was working part-time and practicing from home.
But for the next 16-17 years, after she became supervisor, the job consumed most of her time. Eva had to report to work at 5 AM – leaving home by 4 to get to Elkin. For quite a few years, even though she played, she didn’t get to practice as much.
But now, keeping a guitar by her chair at all times, she’ll pick it up when having her morning coffee. If she’s learning a new song, she’ll work on it while Danny’s gone to work at the Guitar Center in Winston-Salem.
“I’ll play it for an hour when I’m learning a new song, and that would drive anyone mad. So I try to get a song under my belt before I broach it with Danny He helps me tweak it.”
Kicking off a new year, Eva hopes to continue what she’s doing but has added a few new projects. Since retiring, she hopes to play more gigs.
“Most gigs were on weekends, and I couldn’t play due to work. This year, I’m hoping to play more out in public as I have time to do it.”
Eva also hopes to improvise more and strengthen her ability to play lead on any song.
“In order to play lead, I have to learn a song and practice it to death.”
A future aspiration of hers is to hear any melody and be able to take a break on it the way accomplished musicians can.
Eva’s favorite part about being a musician is the creative outlet. She’d love to learn to play claw hammer banjo; she bought one and wants to play old-time music.
“I started late in life – the year was 2001, and I was 44 years old when I began taking lessons. So, I’m the Grandma Mosses of guitar.I still have so much to learn – you never run out of things to do, and there’s always something else to learn.
“I love music. I love the feel of holding a guitar and playing a guitar. I love playing music that you want to listen to. I love learning new songs.”
Eva wrapped up the conversation with a turn-around to where our chat beganm taking a break to reflect on the last 27 years.
“Again, it’s time and experience.”
Even though invested in both, Eva hesitated to call herself “seasoned.”
But she takes it home with a humble tune of “I’ll keep trying.”
And, as they say – that’s a good ‘un.