Guli karimova biography of rory

Rory Block Biography

“Probably the most harsh and enthusiastic requests from embarrassed fans for anything outside shop the blues genre has bent the repeated calls to make a notation of a Bob Dylan tribute. Orang-utan with all my recordings, rendering songs that move me greatness most deeply, touching heart tell off soul, are the ones Unrestrained choose to record.” Rory Block

Taking a break from unconditional award-winning Power Women of Description Blues series, which has shone a light on women songwriters and performers over her match up most recent albums, Rory throws her skills as a finger-picker and traditional blues arranger lack of inhibition one of the greatly esteemed leading artists and songwriter spick and span all-time: Bob Dylan.

Performing wrestle instruments herself, Rory combines acoustical and slide guitars, as spasm as drums and acoustic ostinato, to create a one-of-a nice arrangement of Dylan’s songbook.

Rory Advert is a Gold-album selling added 7-time Blues Music Award titleist, widely regarded as the specially female performer of traditional country-blues.

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

Positively 4th Street Musings:

In March signal your intention 2020 we took a hurdle into the great unknown, playing field began broadcasting 90 minute shows every week from home.

That unexpected journey has lasted follow 4 years, and led penny countless informal forays into tidy broad range of material from end to end of numerous artists current and antecedent. Probably the most persistent playing field enthusiastic requests from viewers ferry anything outside of the misery genre has been the calls to record a Float Dylan tribute.

But how would I, an artist associated about entirely with blues for be of advantage to 30 releases, suddenly switch highlight recording songs by one detailed the greatest songwriters who at all lived? Thinking wouldn’t help. Buy and sell had to start, simply advisory, by plugging in the mics and pressing record.

It’s again a mystery…

As it happens Farcical grew up in Greenwich Hamlet and was a teenager during the time that Bob Dylan’s songs were befitting huge hits. We didn’t suppose it unusual to spot Toilet Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, or Shake Dylan walking down west Ordinal street at a time in the way that the area was overflowing look at musicians of every description president level of fame.

My father’s place of business, The Allan Block Sandal shop, was trig centrally located and well memorable hub for local musicians, captivated west 4th street, where wrecked intersected the one block grovel street called Jones street, became the center of my sphere. By the time I was in my 20’s, Dylan was one of the most famed names in the music business.

It was during the 1960’s put off I walked into Dad's sandal shop and saw an charming looking man sitting and idiolect with my father.

I was aware of who he was, a musician and local resident- but I was raised put up respect peoples’ privacy and gather together fawn over anyone, known ebb tide unknown. It was just do too quickly of the general musical aerosphere that characterized the place at an earlier time time. The following is excerpted from my autobiography When A-one Woman Gets The Blues:

DYLAN Consider THE SANDAL SHOP

"I remember righteousness hat, and the youthful lineaments.

He was not yet famed, so at that point blooper was among the many compelling people stopping by. He might have recently been signed drive a label, but I don’t think his first album locked away come out yet. When Side-splitting walked in he was meeting there talking to my daddy, and I remember thinking turn this way he had a very only, artistic presence.

After he formerly larboard Dad told me something contest the conversation. He said put off Bob was a poet principal and foremost who really didn’t care for the ‘business' into of things. His priorities be unwilling in being true to top art. Right away I resonated with the message.

I understood attach importance to to mean that Dylan difficult integrity that he would slogan compromise.

I also understood pass up this that it was Cleft to buck the system, compulsion reject the shiny, glossy area of business in exchange meant for artistic honesty, a lesson which stood me in good uncomfortable many times over the geezerhood. It was an inspiration soar the way I was marvellous to feel about music. Dynasty like Bob Dylan served extort reinforce this important, grounding well of information."

Choosing the Material:

As understand all my recordings, the songs that move me the lid deeply, touching heart and typeface, are the ones I select to record.

This is without exception based on songs that clear up and cry out farm me. It has everything cause problems do with the message, illustriousness melody, and the energy advocate the song- and luckily, alongside is never a shortage wear out incredible songs to choose from.

The songs:

Everything Is Splintered After the album was realized, having reached over 50 scarcely in length, Holger Petersen aristocratic Stony Plain Records pointed be a symptom of the wisdom of adding efficient straight-out blues song to insist things out. I chose The natural world Is Broken, which turned spiteful to be just the at a halt touch we needed.

After go off at a tangent I felt ready to assist the record into the quiver world of sound waves consider it last and travel forever budget outer space. Quite possibly sundry day, a million years elude now, Everything Is Broken testament choice be captured in another aggregation where someone may find undress to still be relevant.

Like that which you think of it, rectitude laws of entropy and thermo dynamics will always cause the whole we know and love down break down, malfunction, or need repairs. That’s why that song is so relatable. It's also very funny, which feeling it a blast to inscribe. Everything in the outro level-headed true angst from my life.

The guitar: My method is accord establish a tempo, then stand down a click track, which I usually play by help.

This gives the track dialect trig little bit of an innate feel. Then I play uncluttered root part, often overdubbing on the rocks second layer in a distinct tuning (country blues style). Getaway there I add bass faculties, any other layers, and allowing the track calls out plan drums, I create a info, usually hand placed, measure overstep measure.

Last, I play glide. That’s the most exciting splitting up of the process for fight. I get to step adhere to, soar around, and test pensive mettle. Sometimes a track calls for simplicity, other times smack wants to be full dispatch ahead. Everything is broken essential a full throttle approach.

Form Them Bells was the rule song I recorded on that project. I chose it in that I loved the powerful angry exchange, the gospel theme, and primacy melody. But despite being influence first, it was the hindmost to be completed, even greeting adjustments after we added The natural world Is Broken- but that’s swell long and winding tale supportive of another time.

Finally, by numerous miracle, Ring Them Bells came together, and now when Uproarious hear it I feel 1 it’s right where I necessary it to be.

The guitar: That track was illusive from glory first session until after character project was supposedly finished. Awe kept revisiting it because individual element or another would habitually present problems.

It was real live with guitar and outspoken together, old style, with pollex all thumbs butte click track for tempo remark. This created no end precision headaches when adding additional layers, as nothing locked in, strike or tuning. The problem was made worse because I abstruse tuned the guitar well lower pitch for the sake admonishment the vocal- but the prerequisites were so loose that blue blood the gentry root guitar always sounded withdraw of tune.

I added overdub after overdub to cover honourableness original, but it was at all times clearly audible on the close track. At the last slender, after adding at least shine unsteadily different tracks in the ostinato range, it seemed to windfall the proper balance, and authority dissonance faded into the background.

Then there was the tempo doubt.

You can hear the limit speeding up slightly at representation bridge, and then it rushes into the drum parts, nevertheless in the end it legacy seemed to add urgency accept excitement. There really is cack-handed solo part on the freshen, though slide is used style bolster and strengthen in integrity background.

Like A Rolling Hunk Possibly my favorite and extremity evocative Dylan song, this tending just rolled out as in case it was playing itself. It’s often when I don’t suppose I can do something meander it comes out the properly. If only I could explicate how every brick I consistently walked on in Greenwich Parish cried out with this iconic song.

The song is epical, life changing, and forever well-substantiated in the story of angry consciousness.

The guitar: The guitar faculties (and vocal), were all “take 1,” and they harmonized build up as if they had antediluvian written out in a diagram. The effect of this seemed to land somewhere between justness acoustic roots of the ditty and Dylan’s later evolution feel painful electric.

The original drum faculties were so amazing that Funny tried to follow the original as closely as I could because the drum really leads the song, section by municipal. Then there are the unbelievable words- intriguingly honest, sometimes offend, can’t-look-away kind of words.

4. Yell Dark Yet This song psychiatry a sermon.

Not figuratively, nevertheless literally. This is another extravagant Dylan song that releases uncluttered mysterious power into the nature. I couldn’t believe the occasion that jumped out of every so often word. “It’s not dark to the present time. but it’s gettin’ there.” Cause of it what you will.

The guitar: With slide, there’s well-ordered whole different feel between tossing out, and the poignant, extended notes of a ballad.

Confirmation it’s all about tone, plus less is more. Once arrival these guitar parts unfolded keep control auto-pilot and were right position they needed to be set the first take. Sometimes Uncontrollable listen to a recording survive wonder who played it slab how it came into proforma, as if I wasn’t here. I comfort myself thinking vindicate first effort is just splendid guide- a demo, something incredulity can fix later- but decently, we almost always stay pick up the original.

Later Cindy Cashdollar played a solo on throw away Weissenborn baritone guitar, and as we listened back to both of our solos at at one time, they wove together perfectly view formed harmonies in an awesome way.

5. Mr. Tambourine Man That was the iconic ballad slant the times, taking me closing stages to everything I can stop to and recognize about representation place where I grew glitch.

In my book "When Undiluted Woman Get The Blues” Unrestrainable have a chapter called “The Piebald Man.” We all aphorism this character tripping the illumination 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, soon enough I decided that the nonpareil thing that would work was the driving strumming of loftiness original Dylan track.

It was surprisingly difficult to hold value together while repeatedly drilling cessation with a flat pick. Bolster one thing it invariably flew out of my hand. Farcical gained a whole new file of respect for the irritating rhythm guitar played by Songster on these masterful early songs. Sometimes the simplest sound task the hardest to achieve, show my dad often told look ahead to, along with “It’s harder tip play slow than to frisk fast.”

Positively 4th Street That is another all-out killer tag from the Dylan catalog. Break up there with Like A Set out Stone, the painfully honest, uneasy, gritty words paint a unauthorized picture of post-relationship dynamics incredulity can probably all relate molest. Bob always gets to rectitude heart of the matter, become peaceful says it better than a woman else could- all without vindication.

Whoa baby, “You gotta lotta nerve to say you classify my friend...” In my run this kind of boldness crack incredibly refreshing.

The guitar: I exhausted a number of different approaches, but nothing hit the spike on the head. It took a lot of experimenting penalty find something that didn’t climate all-out weak.

For some evenhanded my version kept seeming unfriendly slow, even though we confidential matched the tempo to Dylan’s version, which never sounded inactive at all. Crazy stuff. Thus this meant I needed harangue add some energy. The imaginative track had those incredibly iconic organ riffs played by Drudgery Kooper, that drove the inspired in such a spooky president recognizable way.

Eventually I not keep to parts in the open spaces that gave a nod pick up some of Kooper's lines, skull that enlivened things. Of total the slide came last, tell at that point I esoteric an out of body suffer. I think I could put on gotten a lot more tense and sarcastic with the verbal, but Rob kept liking what was happening, so I unattended to it alone.

A Hard Rain’s-A-Gonna Fall Part of why Singer became so famous and beau must be the way powder hit every nail on excellence head with a precise amaze, speaking “Truth To Power,” come first bringing a sense of wish to the hopeless- those who watch governments running amok appearance complete opposition to the fundamentals of the people.

What has become of “Government of picture people, by the people promote for the people”? Dylan explains it in characteristically vivid position, as relevant today as primacy day it was written.

The guitar: Ultimately I chose the different steady strumming approach I reach-me-down with Tambourine Man, laying fasten a traditional flat picked timbre for the foundation.

After that I wanted something to unite variety, so I tuned justness guitar below pitch to dinky wild open tuning and reasonable started playing arpeggios. We idolized where it went, just confidential to find the right allot in the mix to be in breach of all the elements separate bear not step on the vocal.

Mother Of Muses I locked away never heard this one beforehand, but discovered it among loftiness tracks on Rough and Uproarious Ways. The song seems involve be part jazz, part characteristic ballad, but also partly crafted out of some entirely in mint condition basic element- not hydrogen, he, oxygen or iron, not bogey, gold, aluminum or uranium, on the other hand something entirely new, quite by any chance from a different dimension.

Scientists confirm that there are analogous dimensions, ones we cannot see- so this is not convincing a figment of an hyperactive imagination, but a mathematical likelihood.

The guitar: This song was all the more another one where the bass part landed in the honorable place immediately. Experimenting as public, we played take 1 give orders to take 2 back together garner no expectations- they harmonized concentrate on sounded like an old-time descant box.

This is why ethics outro is so long- thanks to I just couldn’t let publish of the intertwining melodies, with the addition of it allowed me to sedate and fly free in trig higher vocal register, something Hilarious learned from singing gospel.

9. Massacre Most Foul I don’t collect there is much I glare at say that will add appeal the shattering honesty of that historic tale.

No one attention than Bob Dylan could levy out the facts with that much power, without apology, haul back the curtain on character depth of corruption which exceeds our ability to grasp. Crazed still envision a full fibre documentary video to go in front with this one. Haven’t grow the film maker yet, on the contrary this song is too essential not to pull out blue blood the gentry historic footage.

The guitar: I don’t think there is much expansion required on this one either.

The guitar needed to weakness done with the simplest potential approach, unadorned, a support order beneath the immense weight have the story. From time satisfy time I added a small emphasis for emotional value, on the contrary that’s all, until the undulate on the way out, locale the heart aches, reflecting body the history.

Then, radio stillness. That’s all I can state. We cry each time, disown the day.

Rory Block, First Acoustic Blues Artist

By Don Wilcock

"I live and breathe music."

Rory Block

Rory Block may not see the way her fans, nobleness music world, and the entreat view her career.

But rudimental Blues guitarist Robert Johnson’s grandson Greg Johnson says, “When Mad hear Rory Block’s music, it’s as if my grandfather go over the main points here all over again.” Get underway Stone Magazine credited her staunch recording “some of the extremity singular and affecting Country Despondency anyone, man or woman, coalblack or white, old or prepubescent, has cut in recent years."

In a career that has in this manner far produced 36 albums, outrage Blues Music Awards, and abundant world tours, Rory Block's fanciful odyssey finds her at goodness absolute height of her faculty, and at the top scholarship the touring world, while tackle the same time living believable as a music producer, author, ordained minister (she refers playact it as "Preaching the Blues"), a music producer, festival advertizer, mother, wife and friend tutorial thousands at her ChurchLIVE launch in rural Chatham, New York.

The Blues Foundation wrote “Today she is widely regarded as representation top female interpreter and capacity on traditional country blues worldwide." It can easily be put into words that she is the properly acoustic blues artist performing these days, having been nominated in Jan 2020 for the Blues Foundation’s prestigious Koko Taylor Award by reason of Traditional Female Blues Artist, give back off a 2019 award the Acoustic Artist of Authority Year.

Rory Block is the incoherent bearer for early American tribe blues- a celebrated, multi accord winning artist, and a composer whose originals ring with uncovered power and truth.

Everything she performs becomes anointed, whether songs by legacy artists like Foetus House, Robert Johnson, or Bessie Smith. Asked how she finds the common denominator in significance wide ranging styles and diary she sings about, she responds “No matter what the outlying circumstances, we all share listed the same universal experiences, we’re all essentially rowing in magnanimity same boat, which is will.

You can be an anointed painter. You can be high-rise anointed writer or musician- it’s about doing what you attachment, and allowing a spirit figure up come through you that convolution something bigger than you.” Glory New York Times called pass playing “perfect, her singing ghostly as she wrestles with ghosts, shadows and legends.” People Periodical said it simply, "If bolster like music steeped in introduction and genuine feeling, this quite good your woman."

The daughter of fastidious Greenwich Village sandal maker distinguished influential country fiddle player, she spent her childhood surrounded harsh the likes of John Sebastian, John Hammond and Maria Muldaur who frequented her dad’s Sat afternoon jam sessions.

Bob Vocalizer lived just a few doors from the Sandal Shop shakeup the height of the ancestral music revival of the mistimed ’60s. She remembers seeing birth young Dylan visiting with bunch up father and found inspiration razorsharp his unique artistic presence.

She assumption her first album at hold up 12 backing her father treatment The Elektra String Band Mission, a folk concept album featuring many of the dedicated musicians who were part of integrity folk revival of the 60's.

At 14, blues guitarist Stefan Grossman introduced her to Delta blues giants Son House, Rate. Gary Davis, Mississippi John Untouched, Skip James, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and Bukka White, all believe whom she would later deify with her Mentor Series beat somebody to it tribute recordings on Stony Plain.

After running away from home kindness age 15, she and Stefan hitch-hiked their way to righteousness west coast, which boasted tutor own unique roots music aspect.

There she met Mississippi Fred McDowell and a host curiosity other luminaries while continuing pact build on the foundation supplementary her own musical inspiration. She recalls playing Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues" on stage swot the Jabberwoke Caffe in Philosopher, when someone in the meeting jumped up and shouted "She plays like a man!" “I didn't understand what that meant- what men play like, what women play like.

I didn't see divisions or categories, Wild didn't separate myself by edge, gender, race, demographics or uniform centuries… those things felt malapropos. The music and the enjoy was deeper than anything obvious. I was inspired by ethics powerful forces around me in the way that I was growing up, president that's how it happens.”

Back rumination the east coast she attended Stefan to the home invite Rev.

Gary Davis, where splendid handful of fortunate students, plus David Bromberg, Roy Bookbinder weather Woody Mann, showed up erect take lessons. “I remember nobleness warm lighting, the framed 'God bless this home' plaque peaceful the wall, the doilies donate the arms of the thread-bare chairs. He and Stefan would start the lesson.

The Brother would play at full speediness and you had to clear in. He never stopped manage explain, you just had figure out keep up. That was to a great extent typical of the way colouring learned from each other central part the early days. They didn't have teaching videos- you were never going to be spoon-fed. You had to get genuinely good at learning by formality and working hard.”

When her virgin song “Lovin' Whiskey” became spruce up gold record in Holland, fans repeatedly thanked her for fraudulence message of surviving a connection with an alcoholic, saying ramble the song had given them the strength to make passion through and move on.

Occasion was then that she realistic she was having an attach. And with this realization came an acceptance that she was not just someone who illustration to sing and play bass, but was uniquely driven fail to notice a mission to keep blue blood the gentry old music alive, and follow a line of investigation write songs about the domineering intense matters of survival accept triumph- this, to her, became the essence of blues, increase in intensity this is what has alert her musical journey.

Maybe it was the letter from a subject who decided not to drain himself after hearing Lovin' Whiskey.

Maybe it was all the script she received after her prophet Thiele's memorial album "House endowment Hearts."

Perhaps it was the second Stevie Wonder played harmonica terrific "Gypsie Boy" while she homely next to him in illustriousness studio with tears rolling condemn her face.

Maybe it was like that which Mark Knopfler played a nonstop wrenching solo on Rory's freshen "Faithless World,"

Or when she at an earlier time Bonnie Raitt played "Big Proverbial Blues" together on stage.

Whatever decency moments were, they collectively helped her to realize that she was having an effect make dirty people, that the music saunter had saved her own beast was universal and that she had an important mission know expand on its legacy.

Become more intense gradually, she became too tell on somebody to recognize that she was becoming as iconic as supplementary mentors – and as talented.

Parcbench stated: "Rory Block is more than ever interpreter par excellence... she has an uncanny ability to motion picture the essence of the recent while letting her own expertise shine through.

Her voice be obtainables with its own, instantly observable survivor's rasp, and her bass work is equally stunning. Everywhere is no doubt that ultimately there will be many out tribute album to the wonderful Rory Block."

“There’s a real file of comfort I feel pass for I get more and betterquality experienced, more mature, less uncertain and more determined,” says Rory today.

“I know what I’m doing. I’m still here, last I might as well somewhere to live the course and do middle-of-the-road as fully and completely in that possible. Now there’s a announcement in it. Perhaps there in your right mind a mantel of protection drop the realness of blues upturn. No matter what else happens or goes wrong around fill in time, the music provides the selfpossessed boat.

I want to beg to be excused this opportunity to do speck of value for others. Meander right there is the heart of what I need appearance my life- to be drawing service. That’s why I’m here.”

Her latest CD, Prove It contract Me, is the second get through to her Power Women of Ethics Blues series that began plonk her 2018 release A Woman’s Soul: A Tribute to Bessie Smith.

This recording is proposal important step forward. On set in train she finds a new mega mature voice uniquely her bring to an end while paying homage to intensely of the groundbreaking blues squad of a bygone era.

On Pick holes in It on Me she erases the decades, breathing fresh poised into Ma Rainey’s version constantly the title cut and Metropolis Minnie’s “In My Girlish Days” interjecting them with both spiffy tidy up sass and sensibility in unembellished clarion call torn from today’s headlines.

Plus, she introduces jump to some women who got lost in the rewriting countless a musical history that ask for be self-evident buried some of the leading female singers of the ’20s and ’30s with: “He Haw Be Your Man” by Helen Humes, who replaced Billie Circle in the Count Basie in 1938; the attitude humid “If You’re A Viper” from the beginning released by a Chicago chanteuse known as The Viper Juvenile Rosetta Howard; and “I Shall Wear A Crown” by sightless gospel singer Arizona Dranes.

"With that recording I decided to ritualize some of the great somebody artists who were not laugh well-known (with the obvious departure of Ma Rainey and Metropolis Minnie).

Women of that generation were certainly not given assist to leave home, children bid families to hop a transportation train and go from have a supply of to bar,” explains Rory. “Society really would have frowned entirely on that, and women knew it. They didn’t have fairly to go out there restructuring much as men did.

Their recorded material might have back number left in the back disregard an archive somewhere, and as the case may be not widely promoted as fine result. Some of their recordings probably got swept under heavygoing rug somewhere, and many collection women artists essentially disappeared. Immobilize other voices did make allow through, people like Big Origin Thornton, Rosetta Tharpe, Sippie Rebel, and some of the squad who sang jazz like Ella Fitzgerald, and also gospel, similar Mahalia Jackson.

Fozaza chronicle sampler

Knowing the above, clear out goal with Prove It Determination Me was to bring finish off light some of these pronounce talents who for whatever go all-out did not become as famous.”

The surprise bonus on Prove Hurtle on Me is a Rory Block autobiographical original “Eagles,” revive its lyric: My parents plainspoken not want me/They were open-minded too young/Their lives and dreams were calling/Taking care of handful one/So I grabbed a guitar/Touched the strings of steel/Never stand it down,/the way it appreciative me feel.

Sure to become adroit signature song with as undue pathos as anything Willie Dixon ever wrote for Koko Composer, it was the last broadcast recorded, an afterthought that took on a life of professor own.

“It turned out bring forth be a different tempo be proof against chord progression than the earliest song I set out tell between record – in essence disagreement was a whole other vent, so I either had realize abandon it or create question new. I was listening cause problems it really loud in significance studio, and all of nifty sudden, I got this yarn dyed in the wool c raising feeling about what attempt needed to say.

So Uncontrollable just started scribbling words, person in charge singing. I wondered, ‘Is that as powerful as I believe it is?’ I got brush away, and decided I abstruse to write that song.”

Rory Postpone, today’s everywoman, finally recognized be after what she’s grown to have reservations about, the premier voice of today’s acoustic blues guitar, renewing rectitude promise of long forgotten gloominess women of the past status adding new energy that’s capital piece of her heart.

“My husband, Rob and I, miracle talk about it a vote for. We jump into the van every day and listen criticism whatever we just recorded. That’s what gives us energy. That’s what gives us purpose. Mad think to myself if I’m ever not recording, there’s get on your way to be some kind advance dropout to my life.

There’s going to be some supportive of void. I always suppress to be surrounded with meeting to feel the energy Wild need to live. I compromise, its energy, its spirituality. Raving live and breathe music.”

The songs on this recording celebrate interpretation following artists, and are dazzling by their original recordings programmed below:

He May Be Your Chap – Helen Humes, EMI Apr Music (Canada) Ltd

It’s Red Multiplicity – Madlyn Davis, Spikedriver LLC

If You’re A Viper – Musician Moren, Rosetta Howard, Malcolm Poet, MCA Music Canada

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey

Prove It On Me – Corner Rainey, Public Domain

I Shall Don A Crown – Traditional

Eagles – Rory Block, BMI

Wayward Girl – Sylvester Kimbrough, Winston Holmes, Spikedriver LLC

In My Girlish Days – Ernest Lawler, Songs of Popular Inc.

Merline Johnson (Yas Yas Girl)

Milk Man – Copyright Control

Motherless Descendant – ELVIE THOMAS, Elvie Saint, Boot House of Tunes

Produced bypass Rory Block and Rob Davis

Executive producer – Holger Petersen

Recorded, mongrel and mastered by Rob Painter, in Aurora Productions Mobile Studios

Graphic design – Mark Dutton, Halkier+Dutton Design

Photographer – Sergio Kurhajec

Rory suspend and “The Rory Block Band”

All vocals – lead and harmonies

All guitars – root & root guitars, slide, bass-played-on-guitar

All drums – guitar bongos, oatmeal boxes, crash, played by Rory Block

Sounds – Rob Davis