Rory Block‘s Blues: A lifetime in the genre has made her a master of the game

Acoustic blues artist Rory Block heads north to the Milliken Auditorium this Saturday, February 5 with a Delta sound that has earned her a living legend title. Now a resident of Ann Arbor, Block certainly has not taken the road less traveled in her pursuit of mastering her craft as a blues singer and guitarist.
In 1964 at the age of 15 she left her New York City home and headed west to pursue a musical career. Her parents lived a bohemian lifestyle and her father, a musician and poet, had a shoe store in the Soho district where he made leather sandals and hosted jam sessions in which Bob Dylan and John Sebastian came regularly to play. Block was exposed to music, musicians and artists early in life and one particular album changed her forever.
“One day in 1964 I heard an album called ‘Really The Country Blues’, and from that moment on, my life was dedicated to learning how to play blues,” said Block. “I spent untold hours and two years of my life with my ear glued to a speaker. I was determined to figure out each and every note and play the great songs with as much accuracy as I could muster out of a deep reverence for the music.”
Prior to heading out on her own, she met up with blues great Son House (Robert Johnson’s mentor) and while trading licks he kept asking her, “Where did you learn to play like this?” She took her first lessons from blues and gospel legend the Reverend Gary Davis and traveled often to see Mississippi John Hurt, spending hours with him to absorb his techniques and creativity. She was in her early teens at the time and had no realization of what she was in the middle of.
“This period seemed to last forever,” said Block. “I now realize how lucky I was to be there, in the right place at the right time. I thought everyone knew these incredible men, these blues geniuses who wrote the book. I later realized how fleeting it was, and how even more precious.”

SUNSHINE KATE
Block started her career in the mid to late ‘60s and was known as Sunshine Kate. She recorded an instructional record called “How To Play Blues Guitar.” Block then took a decade off from music to start a family. In the mid- and late ‘70s she made a few records that ran counter to her inherent blues instincts, and the result was frustration.
“I was disgusted with trying to accommodate a business which never seemed to accept me or be satisfied with my efforts,” said Block. “I gave up totally and went back to the blues.”
In 1981 she released “High Heeled Blues,” of which “Rolling Stone Magazine” wrote, “some of the most singular and affecting country blues anyone – man or woman, black or white, old or young – has cut in recent years.” The rest is history for Block who by the 1990s had become a household name in blues circles.
She has released 18 CDs and her 19th is due out soon. Her career has included several awards including four coveted Handy Awards: two for Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year and two for Best Acoustic Blues Album of the Year.

BEST LIVE
Block’s recorded works have received positive reviews from the critics but her fans know that she is even better live.
“I get massive amounts of energy from the audience, and no matter what mood I may be in, I always connect with them within a song or two and from there the sense of being among friends actually overtakes me and I open up,” said Block. “I never have a set list and each show is as different as it can be as a result. There is a sense of suspense, of the unknown. I use the audience as a guide; I feel their mood and take the cues. This is one reason why I hate playing in one place for two nights, because it robs me of this particular need for spontaneity. I become really stale if I know what to expect.”
Her work is anything but stale on any night. Her music is reflective of her personality: passionate and expressive. But being a blues musician isn’t easy, especially for a woman who plays the guitar.
“In the beginning of my career and until fairly recently it was a distinct disadvantage to be a woman. No one thought you had the ability to produce yourself or make any logical choices. I had the worst experiences in the studio trying to run my own show,” said Block. “Women were always getting pigeonholed as “difficult” and I eventually realized, after hearing my favorite female stars badmouthed repeatedly, that it wasn’t the woman they were criticizing, it was her ability to be independent and strong which grated. I think a woman with a guitar makes a very strong state-ment of power and equality, and it took awhile for that to become acceptable.”
CONFESSIONAL SONGS
Block has proven to be a successful songwriter as well. Her lyrics delve into areas others often tend to steer clear of.
“I’ve been writing deeply personal, confessional songs for most of my career. At first I tried to edit the personal stuff out of my songs thinking it would be too embarrassing, even boring to other people, but over the years fans have repeatedly told me that this is really the most important thing I do,” said . “I always seem to write songs about unglamorous, uncomfortable issues that people tend not to talk about openly. I think that is probably what strikes a chord for my audiences; something I wrote about made them realize they were not alone, not the only one with that same thought or experience. People frequently tell me ‘this song’ saved their life, and ‘that song’ helped them through a terrible time.”
Rory Block is definitely one of the highlights of the Milliken Auditorium Fall/Winter Concert Series and is a must-see show for the true fan of the blues. Tickets are selling quickly and may be purchased online at
www.dennosmuseum.org or by calling the box office, (231) 995-1553. If you already have plans for February 5, change them.

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