A very talented and funny fellow, James “Gamble” Rogers used to wander up from his home in St. Augustine FL to Chicago every now and again. First saw him at the Earl of Old Town in 1980 when he was scheduled on a co-bill with Michael Smith. Smith simply blew me away with. His words and music and presence appeared to me like a lone, country dirt road I might want to travel down on another day. On the other hand I was quickly smitten by Gamble’s picking, storytelling and command of the stage. My arrangement here is as close as I’ll ever to Gamble’s. He died summer of 1992 at age 52 after jumping into to the water to try and save a drowning man whose boat had capsized in the wind and the waves. “Do you think I could leave you dying?"
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“Very few in the United States, embody the folk music tradition more than Mark Dvorak. Anyone who has interacted with him is transported to the core of what this music is ultimately about: Community.”
Mark Guarino, author “Country & Midwestern"
“For decades now he has been an important, popular and influential part of the Chicago folk scene…”.
Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune
“Chicago’s official troubadour”
The Midnight Special
“Masterful” Chicago Tribune
“Dvorak shines!” SING OUT!
“A master musician, storyteller & songwriter” WKMS, Murray KY
“Dvorak’s song book ranges across the American heartland” Blue Bear Music School, San Fancisco CA
“Funny, passionate, intimate and unforgettable” Old Town School of Folk Music, Chicago IL
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