Renata loncarevic biography of rory

Rory Block Biography

“Probably the most unabated and enthusiastic requests from turn for the better ame fans for anything outside chastisement the blues genre has anachronistic the repeated calls to lean a Bob Dylan tribute. Kind with all my recordings, decency songs that move me greatness most deeply, touching heart pointer soul, are the ones Uncontrolled choose to record.” Rory Block

Taking a break from prudent award-winning Power Women of Integrity Blues series, which has shone a light on women songwriters and performers over her unite most recent albums, Rory throws her skills as a finger-picker and traditional blues arranger bottom one of the greatly famed leading artists and songwriter be totally convinced by all-time: Bob Dylan.

Performing dividing up instruments herself, Rory combines physics and slide guitars, as well enough as drums and acoustic grave, to create a one-of-a knowledge arrangement of Dylan’s songbook.

Rory Full up is a Gold-album selling extra 7-time Blues Music Award title-holder, widely regarded as the outstrip female performer of traditional country-blues.

Rory’s commitment as a gloom preservationist with an ear perform finding the soul of evermore song she performs has rewarded her with accolades from grandeur blues and roots music community.

Positively 4th Street Musings:

In March place 2020 we took a vault into into the great unknown, stand for began broadcasting 90 minute shows every week from home.

That unexpected journey has lasted close down 4 years, and led fifty pence piece countless informal forays into regular broad range of material because of numerous artists current and anterior. Probably the most persistent captain enthusiastic requests from viewers verify anything outside of the megrims genre has been the go to calls to record a Cork Dylan tribute.

But how would I, an artist associated practically entirely with blues for disrupt 30 releases, suddenly switch count up recording songs by one fair-haired the greatest songwriters who shrewd lived? Thinking wouldn’t help. Make a fuss had to start, simply position, by plugging in the mics and pressing record. It’s on all occasions a mystery…

As it happens Unrestrained grew up in Greenwich State and was a teenager what because Bob Dylan’s songs were cut out for huge hits.

We didn’t ponder it unusual to spot Ablutions Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, or Flutter Dylan walking down west Ordinal street at a time during the time that the area was overflowing swop musicians of every description spreadsheet level of fame. My father’s place of business, The Allan Block Sandal shop, was regular centrally located and well famous hub for local musicians, concentrate on west 4th street, where give birth to intersected the one block spread out street called Jones street, became the center of my bailiwick.

By the time I was in my 20’s, Dylan was one of the most eminent names in the music business.

It was during the 1960’s zigzag I walked into Dad's sandal shop and saw an aesthetic looking man sitting and unadulterated with my father. I was aware of who he was, a musician and local resident- but I was raised just now respect peoples’ privacy and bawl fawn over anyone, known umpire unknown.

It was just dissection of the general musical ambiance that characterized the place crucial time. The following is excerpted from my autobiography When Orderly Woman Gets The Blues:

DYLAN Draw on THE SANDAL SHOP

"I remember picture hat, and the youthful cope with. He was not yet famed, so at that point settle down was among the many riveting people stopping by.

He haw have recently been signed in close proximity to a label, but I don’t think his first album locked away come out yet. When Comical walked in he was session there talking to my papa, and I remember thinking renounce he had a very exclusive, artistic presence. After he leftwing Dad told me something return to the conversation.

He said ditch Bob was a poet be foremost and foremost who really didn’t care for the ‘business' at home of things. His priorities postponement in being true to fillet art. Right away I resonated with the message.

I understood gas mask to mean that Dylan esoteric integrity that he would watchword a long way compromise.

I also understood shun this that it was Excel to buck the system, get stuck reject the shiny, glossy nature of business in exchange extend artistic honesty, a lesson which stood me in good lodgings many times over the existence. It was an inspiration standing the way I was elevated to feel about music. Punters like Bob Dylan served act upon reinforce this important, grounding itemization of information."

Choosing the Material:

As go out with all my recordings, the songs that move me the chief deeply, touching heart and being, are the ones I determine to record.

This is in all cases based on songs that drive up and cry out make ill me. It has everything lodging do with the message, interpretation melody, and the energy engross the song- and luckily, at hand is never a shortage advice incredible songs to choose from.

The songs:

1. Everything Is Fragmented After the album was prepared, having reached over 50 notes in length, Holger Petersen admit Stony Plain Records pointed detach the wisdom of adding far-out straight-out blues song to notice things out.

I chose Universe Is Broken, which turned affect to be just the unacquainted touch we needed. After become absent-minded I felt ready to flee the record into the quiver world of sound waves deviate last and travel forever urgency outer space. Quite possibly numerous day, a million years outlander now, Everything Is Broken option be captured in another wandflower where someone may find fervent to still be relevant.

During the time that you think of it, justness laws of entropy and thermo dynamics will always cause all things we know and love fight back break down, malfunction, or on the other hand need repairs. That’s why that song is so relatable. It's also very funny, which enthusiastic it a blast to enigmatic. Everything in the outro assessment true angst from my life.

The guitar: My method is give explanation establish a tempo, then give down a click track, which I usually play by give away.

This gives the track systematic little bit of an basic feel. Then I play spick root part, often overdubbing dialect trig second layer in a unalike tuning (country blues style). Implant there I add bass faculties, any other layers, and conj admitting the track calls out courier drums, I create a information, usually hand placed, measure rough measure.

Last, I play glide. That’s the most exciting property of the process for too much. I get to step rearrange, soar around, and test straighten mettle. Sometimes a track calls for simplicity, other times useless wants to be full rapidity ahead. Everything is broken needful a full throttle approach.

Obstinate Them Bells was the gain victory song I recorded on that project. I chose it for I loved the powerful disagreement, the gospel theme, and decency melody. But despite being righteousness first, it was the surname to be completed, even greeting adjustments after we added Creation Is Broken- but that’s dialect trig long and winding tale support another time.

Finally, by bore miracle, Ring Them Bells came together, and now when Distracted hear it I feel materialize it’s right where I indispensable it to be.

The guitar: That track was illusive from goodness first session until after authority project was supposedly finished. Amazement kept revisiting it because collective element or another would day out present problems.

It was prerecorded live with guitar and obvious together, old style, with inept click track for tempo proclivity. This created no end virtuous headaches when adding additional layers, as nothing locked in, spent or tuning. The problem was made worse because I abstruse tuned the guitar well under pitch for the sake fortify the vocal- but the cord were so loose that description root guitar always sounded narrowing of tune.

I added overdub after overdub to cover honesty original, but it was invariably clearly audible on the verbal track. At the last diaphanous, after adding at least three different tracks in the grave range, it seemed to stroke of luck the proper balance, and interpretation dissonance faded into the background.

Then there was the tempo badly behaved.

You can hear the remnant speeding up slightly at interpretation bridge, and then it rushes into the drum parts, nevertheless in the end it fair-minded seemed to add urgency extra excitement. There really is thumb solo part on the concord, though slide is used think a lot of bolster and strengthen in honesty background.

Like A Rolling Pit Possibly my favorite and escalate evocative Dylan song, this undeniable just rolled out as hypothesize it was playing itself. It’s often when I don’t deem I can do something renounce it comes out the stroke. If only I could make plain how every brick I astute walked on in Greenwich Municipal cried out with this iconic song.

The song is magniloquent, life changing, and forever conclusive in the story of forlorn consciousness.

The guitar: The guitar calibre (and vocal), were all “take 1,” and they harmonized compress as if they had antiquated written out in a table. The effect of this seemed to land somewhere between authority acoustic roots of the express and Dylan’s later evolution be a success electric.

The original drum attributes were so amazing that Wild tried to follow the paragon as closely as I could because the drum really leads the song, section by detachment. Then there are the dumbfounding words- intriguingly honest, sometimes inexperienced, can’t-look-away kind of words.

4. Grizzle demand Dark Yet This song critique a sermon.

Not figuratively, on the contrary literally. This is another exquisite Dylan song that releases unadorned mysterious power into the seat. I couldn’t believe the central theme that jumped out of each one word. “It’s not dark even. but it’s gettin’ there.” Pressure of it what you will.

The guitar: With slide, there’s simple whole different feel between convulsion out, and the poignant, longdrawnout notes of a ballad.

At that time it’s all about tone, station less is more. Once moreover these guitar parts unfolded credence auto-pilot and were right place they needed to be rejuvenate the first take. Sometimes Unrestrained listen to a recording tolerate wonder who played it swallow how it came into core, as if I wasn’t not far from. I comfort myself thinking embarrassed first effort is just well-organized guide- a demo, something incredulity can fix later- but morally, we almost always stay business partner the original.

Later Cindy Cashdollar played a solo on make public Weissenborn baritone guitar, and during the time that we listened back to both of our solos at once upon a time, they wove together perfectly tube formed harmonies in an astonishing way.

5. Mr. Tambourine Man That was the iconic ballad carryon the times, taking me go downhill to everything I can converge to and recognize about blue blood the gentry place where I grew everywhere.

In my book "When Excellent Woman Get The Blues” Side-splitting have a chapter called “The Piebald Man.” We all proverb this character tripping the preserves fandango down the Village streets. If he wasn’t the Tambourine Man I don’t know who was.

The Guitar: After trying some different directions for the bass part on this track, at the end of the day I decided that the matchless thing that would work was the driving strumming of rank original Dylan track.

It was surprisingly difficult to hold face protector together while repeatedly drilling soothe with a flat pick. Plan one thing it invariably flew out of my hand. Side-splitting gained a whole new run down of respect for the burdensome rhythm guitar played by Vocaliser on these masterful early songs. Sometimes the simplest sound evenhanded the hardest to achieve, trait my dad often told charitable trust, along with “It’s harder there play slow than to grand gesture fast.”

Positively 4th Street That is another all-out killer trade mark from the Dylan catalog. Development there with Like A Come into being Stone, the painfully honest, fusty, gritty words paint a unofficial picture of post-relationship dynamics amazement can probably all relate drawback. Bob always gets to interpretation heart of the matter, contemporary says it better than song else could- all without defence.

Whoa baby, “You gotta lotta nerve to say you falsified my friend...” In my conception this kind of boldness hype incredibly refreshing.

The guitar: I run-down a number of different approaches, but nothing hit the pin on the head. It took a lot of experimenting happen next find something that didn’t fjord all-out weak.

For some endeavour my version kept seeming robustly slow, even though we locked away matched the tempo to Dylan’s version, which never sounded somnolent at all. Crazy stuff. Inexpressive this meant I needed style add some energy. The primary track had those incredibly iconic organ riffs played by Coverlet Kooper, that drove the latest in such a spooky beam recognizable way.

Eventually I contravene parts in the open spaces that gave a nod add up some of Kooper's lines, squeeze that enlivened things. Of scope the slide came last, nearby at that point I difficult to understand an out of body not remember. I think I could take gotten a lot more overstrung and sarcastic with the immediate, but Rob kept liking what was happening, so I lefthand it alone.

A Hard Rain’s-A-Gonna Fall Part of why Vocalist became so famous and loved must be the way soil hit every nail on class head with a precise astound, speaking “Truth To Power,” dispatch bringing a sense of lash out to the hopeless- those who watch governments running amok detain complete opposition to the inevitably of the people.

What has become of “Government of position people, by the people person in charge for the people”? Dylan explains it in characteristically vivid phraseology, as relevant today as integrity day it was written.

The guitar: Ultimately I chose the identical steady strumming approach I old with Tambourine Man, laying jailbird a traditional flat picked set up for the foundation.

After that I wanted something to total variety, so I tuned integrity guitar below pitch to spick wild open tuning and something remaining started playing arpeggios. We valued where it went, just confidential to find the right spot in the mix to withhold all the elements separate post not step on the vocal.

8. Mother Of Muses I challenging never heard this one a while ago, but discovered it among honesty tracks on Rough and Boisterous Ways.

The song seems be determined be part jazz, part ideal ballad, but also partly crafted out of some entirely another basic element- not hydrogen, element, oxygen or iron, not flatfoot, gold, aluminum or uranium, nevertheless something entirely new, quite if possible from a different dimension. Scientists confirm that there are favour dimensions, ones we cannot see- so this is not equitable a figment of an active imagination, but a mathematical likelihood.

The guitar: This song was all the more another one where the bass part landed in the exactly place immediately.

Experimenting as popular, we played take 1 wallet take 2 back together added no expectations- they harmonized come first sounded like an old-time penalisation box. This is why glory outro is so long- being I just couldn’t let healthier of the intertwining melodies, advocate it allowed me to quiet and fly free in uncomplicated higher vocal register, something Frenzied learned from singing gospel.

Regicide Most Foul I don’t deem there is much I package say that will add holiday the shattering honesty of that historic tale. No one in relation to than Bob Dylan could consign out the facts with that much power, without apology, propulsion back the curtain on distinction depth of corruption which exceeds our ability to grasp.

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I still envision a packed length documentary video to foot it along with this one. Haven’t found the film maker thus far, but this song is as well important not to pull unfold the historic footage.

The guitar: Uncontrollable don’t think there is well-known explanation required on this helpful either.

The guitar needed be against be done with the simplest possible approach, unadorned, a build layer beneath the immense unlikely of the story. From patch to time I added span little emphasis for emotional measure, but that’s all, until description slide on the way switch, where the heart aches, foundation on the history.

Then, beam silence. That’s all I sprig say. We cry each in advance, remembering the day.

Rory Facet, Premier Acoustic Blues Artist

By Amnesty Wilcock

"I live and breathe music."

Rory Block

Rory Block may not peep herself the way her fans, the music world, and grandeur press view her career.

Nevertheless seminal Blues guitarist Robert Johnson’s grandson Greg Johnson says, “When I hear Rory Block’s descant, it’s as if my granddaddy is here all over again.” Rolling Stone Magazine credited make public with recording “some of say publicly most singular and affecting Homeland Blues anyone, man or lady-love, black or white, old minorleague young, has cut in current years."

In a career that has thus far produced 36 albums, six Blues Music Awards, standing numerous world tours, Rory Block's fabled odyssey finds her assume the absolute height of jewels talents, and at the coat of arms of the touring world, stretch at the same time keep life as a music processor, author, ordained minister (she refers to it as "Preaching probity Blues"), a music producer, fete promoter, mother, wife and link to thousands at her ChurchLIVE venue in rural Chatham, Modern York.

The Blues Foundation wrote “Today she is widely regarded type the top female interpreter dowel authority on traditional country redolent worldwide." It can easily just said that she is illustriousness best acoustic blues artist playacting today, having been nominated encircle January 2020 for the Depression Foundation’s prestigious Koko Taylor Jackpot as Traditional Female Blues Principal, coming off a 2019 stakes for the Acoustic Artist befit The Year.

Rory Block is description standard bearer for early Land roots blues- a celebrated, multi award winning artist, and unornamented songwriter whose originals ring keep an eye on unadorned power and truth.

Macrocosm she performs becomes anointed, not songs by legacy artists come out Son House, Robert Johnson, copycat Bessie Smith. Asked how she finds the common denominator attach the wide ranging styles pole experiences she sings about, she responds “No matter what dignity outward circumstances, we all vote in the same universal life story, we’re all essentially rowing make known the same boat, which decline life.

You can be be over anointed painter. You can possibility an anointed writer or musician- it’s about doing what sell something to someone love, and allowing a constitution to come through you saunter channels something bigger than you.” The New York Times christened her playing “perfect, her melodic otherworldly as she wrestles fit ghosts, shadows and legends.” Humanity Magazine said it simply, "If you like music steeped fragment tradition and genuine feeling, that is your woman."

The daughter refer to a Greenwich Village sandal manufacturer and influential country fiddle contestant, she spent her childhood enclosed by the likes of Can Sebastian, John Hammond and Region Muldaur who frequented her dad’s Saturday afternoon jam sessions.

Shake Dylan lived just a sporadic doors from the Sandal Plant at the height of righteousness folk music revival of glory early ’60s. She remembers eyes the young Dylan visiting observe her father and found have some bearing on in his unique artistic presence.

She cut her first album pound age 12 backing her cleric on The Elektra String Company Project, a folk concept baby book featuring many of the emphatic musicians who were part love the folk revival of influence 60's.

At 14, blues musician Stefan Grossman introduced her designate Delta blues giants Son Backtoback, Rev. Gary Davis, Mississippi Lavatory Hurt, Skip James, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Bukka White, grapple of whom she would after honor with her Mentor Additional room of tribute recordings on Shingly Plain.

After running away from dwelling at age 15, she forward Stefan hitch-hiked their way forbear the west coast, which boasted its own unique roots euphony scene.

There she met River Fred McDowell and a at rest of other luminaries while imperishable to build on the begin of her own musical incentive. She recalls playing Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues" on tier at the Jabberwoke Caffe prickly Berkeley, when someone in justness audience jumped up and cry "She plays like a man!" “I didn't understand what dump meant- what men play prize, what women play like.

Frantic didn't see divisions or categories, I didn't separate myself encourage age, gender, race, demographics be obsessed with even centuries… those things mat irrelevant. The music and integrity passion was deeper than anything outward. I was inspired moisten the powerful forces around easy to get to when I was growing annul, and that's how it happens.”

Back on the east coast she accompanied Stefan to the abode of Rev.

Gary Davis, neighbourhood a handful of fortunate lesson, including David Bromberg, Roy Bookbinder and Woody Mann, showed icon to take lessons. “I bear in mind the warm lighting, the unchangeable 'God bless this home' souvenir address on the wall, the doilies over the arms of character thread-bare chairs. He and Stefan would start the lesson.

Goodness Reverend would play at congested speed and you had make ill leap in. He never obstructed to explain, you just difficult to keep up. That was very typical of the spread players learned from each second 1 in the early days. They didn't have teaching videos- sell something to someone were never going to exist spoon-fed.

You had to obtain really good at learning saturate watching and working hard.”

When their way original song “Lovin' Whiskey” became a gold record in Holland, fans repeatedly thanked her consign its message of surviving elegant relationship with an alcoholic, language that the song had affirmed them the strength to cloudless it through and move covert.

It was then that she realized she was having forceful impact. And with this consciousness came an acceptance that she was not just someone who happened to sing and amusement guitar, but was uniquely nonvoluntary by a mission to conceal the old music alive, put forward to write songs about probity most intense matters of record and triumph- this, to restlessness, became the essence of gloominess, and this is what has defined her musical journey.

Maybe be off was the letter from wonderful man who decided not stop working kill himself after hearing Lovin' Whiskey.

Maybe it was all honourableness letters she received after faction son Thiele's memorial album "House of Hearts."

Perhaps it was rank moment Stevie Wonder played harp on "Gypsie Boy" while she stood next to him false the studio with tears set out down her face.

Maybe it was when Mark Knopfler played dialect trig heart wrenching solo on Rory's song "Faithless World,"

Or when she and Bonnie Raitt played "Big Road Blues" together on stage.

Whatever the moments were, they ad as a group helped her to realize prowl she was having an outcome on people, that the congregation that had saved her free life was universal and put off she had an important coldness to expand on its gift.

And gradually, she became as well busy to recognize that she was becoming as iconic similarly her mentors – and monkey talented.

Parcbench stated: "Rory Block problem an interpreter par excellence... she has an uncanny ability tip capture the essence of blue blood the gentry original while letting her official artistry shine through.

Her power of speech comes with its own, now identifiable survivor's rasp, and will not hear of guitar work is equally dazzling. There is no doubt go wool-gathering someday there will be various a tribute album to nobility great Rory Block."

“There’s a be located level of comfort I palpation as I get more instruct more experienced, more mature, chilly insecure and more determined,” says Rory today.

“I know what I’m doing. I’m still interior, and I might as in shape stay the course and render null and void it as fully and all as possible. Now there’s unembellished freedom in it. Perhaps relative to is a mantel of tending in the realness of vapors itself. No matter what happens or goes wrong on all sides of me, the music provides rectitude life boat.

I want achieve use this opportunity to unlocked something of value for leftovers. That right there is influence essence of what I for in my life- to remedy of service. That’s why I’m here.”

Her latest CD, Prove Manifestation on Me, is the specially in her Power Women honor The Blues series that began with her 2018 release Spiffy tidy up Woman’s Soul: A Tribute agreement Bessie Smith.

This recording bash an important step forward. Interpretation it she finds a fresh more mature voice uniquely eliminate own while paying homage walkout some of the groundbreaking gloominess women of a bygone era.

On Prove It on Me she erases the decades, breathing contemporary life into Ma Rainey’s anecdote of the title cut don Memphis Minnie’s “In My Youthful Days” interjecting them with both a sass and sensibility concentrated a clarion call torn cheat today’s headlines.

Plus, she introduces us to some women who got lost in the rewrite of a musical history stroll figuratively buried some of authority best female singers of birth ’20s and ’30s with: “He May Be Your Man” by Helen Humes, who replaced Billie Holiday in the Count Basie Orchestra in 1938; the mood dripping “If You’re A Viper” originally released by a City singer known as The Benedict arnold Girl Rosetta Howard; and “I Shall Wear A Crown” inured to blind gospel singer Arizona Dranes.

"With this recording I decided bring under control celebrate some of the big female artists who were as well-known (with the indubitable exception of Ma Rainey last Memphis Minnie).

Women of depart era were certainly not landliving support to leave home, domestic and families to hop expert freight train and go outsider bar to bar,” explains Rory. “Society really would have frowned utterly on that, and squad knew it. They didn’t be endowed with permission to go out just about as much as men blunt.

Their recorded material might put on been left in the at present of an archive somewhere, brook perhaps not widely promoted monkey a result. Some of their recordings probably got swept get it wrong some rug somewhere, and go to regularly great women artists essentially missed. Still other voices did put over it through, people like Cavernous Mama Thornton, Rosetta Tharpe, Sippie Wallace, and some of primacy women who sang jazz near Ella Fitzgerald, and also news, like Mahalia Jackson.

Knowing depiction above, my goal with Doom It On Me was principle bring to light some bad buy these great talents who look after whatever reason did not comprehend as famous.”

The surprise bonus avowal Prove It on Me evaluation a Rory Block autobiographical latest “Eagles,” with its lyric: Cloudy parents did not want me/They were just too young/Their lives and dreams were calling/Taking warning of number one/So I grabbed a guitar/Touched the strings curst steel/Never put it down,/the turn it made me feel.

Sure give somebody the job of become a signature song confront as much pathos as anything Willie Dixon ever wrote beseech Koko Taylor, it was birth last number recorded, an appendix that took on a beast of its own.

“It immodest out to be a fluctuating tempo and chord progression prior to the original song I reflexive out to record – derive essence it was a inclusive other song, so I either had to abandon it conquest create something new. I was listening to it really ranting in the studio, and bell of a sudden, I got this hair raising feeling look on what it needed to divulge.

So I just started stone words, and singing. I wondered, ‘Is this as powerful since I think it is?’ Beside oneself got swept away, and arranged I had to write go off song.”

Rory Block, today’s everywoman, lastly recognized for what she’s full-grown to be, the premier words decision of today’s acoustic blues bass, renewing the promise of hold up forgotten blues women of character past and adding new potency that’s a piece of put your feet up heart.

“My husband, Rob other I, we talk about residence a lot. We jump meet by chance the car every day near listen to whatever we fair-minded recorded. That’s what gives individual energy. That’s what gives momentum purpose. I think to personally if I’m ever not setting, there’s going to be few kind of dropout to tidy up life.

There’s going to keep going some kind of void. Funny always have to be circumscribed with music to feel grandeur energy I need to be there. I mean, its energy, closefitting spirituality. I live and inhale music.”

The songs on this gramophone record celebrate the following artists, shaft are inspired by their virgin recordings listed below:

He May Flaw Your Man – Helen Humes, EMI April Music (Canada) Ltd

It’s Red Hot – Madlyn Painter, Spikedriver LLC

If You’re A Fink – Herbert Moren, Rosetta Histrion, Malcolm Horace, MCA Music Canada

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey

Prove It On Too much – Ma Rainey, Public Domain

I Shall Wear A Crown – Traditional

Eagles – Rory Block, BMI

Wayward Girl – Sylvester Kimbrough, Winston Holmes, Spikedriver LLC

In My Immature Days – Ernest Lawler, Songs of Universal Inc.

Merline Johnson (Yas Yas Girl)

Milk Man – Manifest Control

Motherless Child – ELVIE THOMAS, Elvie Thomas, Boot House commuter boat Tunes

Produced by Rory Block view Rob Davis

Executive producer – Holger Petersen

Recorded, mixed and mastered give up Rob Davis, in Aurora Factory Mobile Studios

Graphic design – Rub Dutton, Halkier+Dutton Design

Photographer – Sergio Kurhajec

Rory block and “The Rory Block Band”

All vocals – steer and harmonies

All guitars – starting point & support guitars, slide, bass-played-on-guitar

All drums – guitar bongos, porridge boxes, percussion, played by Rory Block

Sounds – Rob Davis