Chip off the old Block

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Chip off the old Block
July 5, 2009
By Keith Loria
Wilton Villager

When you look at Rory Block's upbringing, it kind of seems that she didn't have any choice but to follow a career in music. Her father owned an infamous Greenwich Village sandal shop, where musicians the likes of Bob Dylan, Maria Muldaur and John Sebastian all were frequent patrons and acoustically jammed along with his fiddle playing.

As a teen, Block spent most of her days in Washington Square Park, which in the ''60s was the meeting place for singer songwriters playing the blues and folk and rock and she regularly joined in the jams with such legends as Dylan, Joan Baez and Pete Seeger.

"At the age of 10, I was suddenly inspired to play guitar, so I picked up my mother's old Galiano and began figuring out 'Froggy Went A Courtin.' From that moment on the guitar was virtually welded to me," Block says. "I have a picture of myself at summer camp when I was 10 years old. My friends were all smiling at the camera, and I was looking down at my guitar."

When she was just 15, Block left home with some friends and chose the Bohemian way of life, heading to California to try and make it as a musician. It was during this time that she began developing her trademark fingerpicking and slide guitar style that would make her one of the biggest names in the blues during the past 40 years.

"I first heard Stefan Grossman playing ragtime guitar in Washington Square Park in 1964 when I was 14. He gave me a record called 'Really The Country Blues' and that was the beginning of my love affair with the music," she says.

She played during the next 10 years, recorded a little, but then took some time off to stat a family and think about becoming "an adult."

In 1981 Block burst back onto the scene with the critically acclaimed album "High Heeled Blues," and has been a fixture in the country blues scene ever since.

"Music, the guitar, the songs I write have always been a life saver to me. At the lowest points in my life, in moments of zero hope, something has prompted me to start playing," she says. "I have literally been able to turn despair into joy in minutes through playing or writing a song. I have survived the worst feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem by searching out an instrument and losing myself in music."

Year after year, she hits the road for a tour, which she says is one of her favorite parts of the business. Block travels in her own personal "home on wheels" with her husband who acts as her engineer.

"I love touring and it's totally enjoyable," she says. "There hasn't been a bad experience in so long and I absolutely love doing the shows."

Block says she gets massive amounts of energy from the audience, and no matter what mood she's in, it's easy to connect with them within a song or two.

"I love being spontaneous on stage, I am very comfortable with that. I don't have to have a set list or anything rehearsed in my mind," she says. "The audience gives so much back to me and I am inspired by them. I sometimes say the audience really does all the work and I just sit there having fun."

Although her routine is different every night, Block does have certain songs that she plays just about every night.

"I use the audience as a guide. I feel their mood and take the cues," she says. "I tell stories, it's personal, there's a lot of songs I write or stories I tell with deep emotional issues. I talk about the songs, the history, the writers and talk about my own experiences and the feedback is it helps you understand the song because there is a little introduction."

Discussing her musical journey, Block has been awed by all that has come her way, mentioning having Stevie Wonder perform on her record as her favorite memory, and looks forward to what's ahead.

"Every time I reach a landmark, I feel content. At every level, I never thought that this would happen to me," she says. "I've accomplished more than I thought I would accomplish -- with the awards, reviews -- but I constantly reach a point where something else comes up and it becomes really vital and alive again and I just want to go forward."